Great Horned Owl vs Snowy Owl

Bubo virginianus compared with Bubo scandiacus

Key Differences

• Great Horned Owl is Least Concern while Snowy Owl is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Great Horned Owl	Snowy Owl
Kingdom same	Animalia (동물)	Animalia (동물)
Phylum same	Chordata (척삭동물)	Chordata (척삭동물)
Class same	Aves (새)	Aves (새)
Order same	Strigiformes (올빼미목)	Strigiformes (올빼미목)
Family same	Strigidae (True Owls)	Strigidae (True Owls)
Genus same	Bubo (Eagle Owls)	Bubo (Eagle Owls)
Species	Bubo virginianus	Bubo scandiacus

Evolutionary Relationship

Great Horned Owl and Snowy Owl share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Bubo. (Eagle Owls)

Conservation Status

Great Horned Owl

LC — Least Concern

Snowy Owl

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Great Horned Owl	Snowy Owl
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Great Horned Owl

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Snowy Owl

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 4 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Ecuador). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Great Horned Owl

큰뿔올빼미(Bubo virginianus)는 IUCN 적색목록에서 최소관심종(LC)으로 분류됩니다. 서식 범위 전역에서 널리 분포하며 개체군이 안정적으로 유지되고 있어 즉각적인 보전 우려는 없습니다.

Snowy Owl

흰올빼미(Bubo scandiacus)는 IUCN 적색 목록에서 위급(CR) 종으로 분류된다. 심각한 개체수 감소와 서식지 손실로 인해 야생에서 멸종될 매우 높은 위험에 처해 있다.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States