The endless snow-white expanses, only in some places “decorated” with sparse bare shrubs and dried grasses - it is here that the polar owl lives - a bird with impeccable beauty and mysterious mystery.
From ancient times, people attributed mystical abilities to this creature . Thus, the ancestors of modern inhabitants of Egypt, America, China, India and Japan considered the owl a harbinger of death and various misfortunes. In many ancient religions, the image of this bird was the emblem of a messenger from the underworld or the prototype of the lord of the dark kingdom.
In Christianity, the mysterious feathered predator was a symbol of desolation, darkness, grief, loneliness and bad news. Hearing the scream of an owl or seeing it with your own eyes foreshadowed the imminent death of loved ones. In view of the predominantly nocturnal lifestyle, the bird was endowed with demonic and witchcraft abilities. In addition, the mysterious creature was considered the keeper of treasures and various underground riches, as well as the accuser of debauchery.
No less terrifying abilities were attributed to the owl in China. So, the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom believed that the chicks of nocturnal predators acquire the ability to fly only after they scratch or peck their eyes to their parents. That is why owls in China symbolized cruelty, fear, horror, evil and ingratitude.
The mind, as well as the ability to bring unhappiness, was appropriated by the people to the owl. The first were the English, who called her the old wise bird. Probably the extraordinary mental abilities of the bird were counted because of its eyes, thoughtful and huge, like two bottomless dishes. In fact, these creatures are not particularly distinguished by an outstanding mind, although they cannot be called stupid either.
Whatever people come up with, owls are primarily the most charming creatures on the planet. The polar owl is of particular beauty and article. Stunning coloring, charming big eyes and truly royal become more likely to correlate it with the divine creation, rather than with the creation of dark forces.
This is a fairly large bird - body weight can reach three kilograms, and sometimes the wingspan exceeds one and a half meters. Young individuals have colorful plumage, older representatives of the eagle owl genus acquire uniform snow-white color.
A polar owl lives in the tundra and is rather a settled bird, although depending on local conditions (abundance of food, thickness of snow cover) it can migrate to more suitable places for living.
Interestingly, these birds do not really like to fly and sit on high tree branches. They prefer imposingly strolling through the snowy fields and looking for their prey from the hills and various land elevations.
A polar owl nests also on the ground, most often it selects dry relief slopes. The bird lays eggs at a certain interval, which sometimes reaches seven days. As a result of this, nests of different ages live in the nest - from those who have already fledged to those who have not yet hatched. Such an unusual way of laying eggs has significant advantages: more young adults are able to warm their newly born sisters and brothers. Thus, the polar owl spends less time on hatching, I use it for more reasonable purposes - to get food. I must say, this approach to raising offspring is even more than rational.
The food for the northern feathered predator is mainly lemmings. If the number of these rodents is low, then owls are able to open the hunt for partridges and even Arctic foxes. Unlike its southern counterparts, a polar owl can hunt both in the dark and in the daytime. Which, in general, is not surprising, because a polar day in the tundra lasts about 6 months as well as night.
The snow-white northern predator has sharp eyesight and hearing. She can notice prey in dense twilight for several tens of meters. And despite his awkwardness when walking, the owl attacks extremely rapidly, leaving the victim no chance of salvation.