CELPIP Reading Part 3 Practice Test: Snowy Owls: Hunters of the Tundra

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With its bright yellow eyes and thick white feathers, the snowy owl is one of the most recognizable birds in North America, and in 1987 it was named the official bird of Quebec. It is also one of the continent’s largest owls, with wings that can stretch about one and a half metres from tip to tip, and it is generally considered the heaviest. Adult males are often almost pure white, while females and young birds are marked with dark bars and spots, a difference that allows experienced birdwatchers to tell them apart from a distance. The owl’s feathers are unusually dense and cover even its legs and toes, which helps it survive temperatures far below freezing.

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Snowy owls nest on the open Arctic tundra, well beyond the tree line. The female chooses a slight rise in the ground, from which she can watch for danger, and scrapes a shallow hollow there; she does not build a nest of sticks or grass as many birds do. During the breeding season, the sun barely sets in the far north, so unlike most owls, snowy owls do much of their hunting in daylight. Their main prey in summer is the lemming, a small rodent whose numbers rise and fall dramatically from year to year. When lemmings are plentiful, a pair may raise a large family, but when they are scarce, the owls may lay only a few eggs or not breed at all.

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Most snowy owls move south for the winter, although how far they travel varies greatly. Some remain surprisingly far north, while others reach the southern Prairies, the Great Lakes region and beyond. In certain winters, unusually large numbers appear well south of their normal range, an event known as an irruption. For many years, it was assumed that hunger drove the owls south after lemming populations crashed. More recent research, however, suggests that irruptions often follow a very successful breeding season, when many young owls must spread out to find territories of their own. Indeed, most of the snowy owls seen in the south during these winters are young birds, and scientists have begun fitting some of them with small tracking devices to learn more about where they go.

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Once they arrive in the south, snowy owls are drawn to wide, open spaces that resemble the tundra, such as farm fields, shorelines and, more surprisingly, airports. Large airports offer flat ground, few trees and plenty of small animals to hunt, but owls near runways can be a danger to aircraft. Several airports in Canada and the United States have therefore trapped owls and released them in safer areas far away. Wildlife experts also urge the public to watch owls from a distance. A bird that is repeatedly disturbed uses up energy it needs to survive the winter, and photographers who put out food to attract owls can teach them to approach people and vehicles.