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Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Aves > Order: Strigiformes > Family: Strigidae > Genus: Bubo > Species: Bubo scandiacus

Snowy Owl - Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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Quick facts

Threat status Europe	Least Concern (IUCN)
EU Population status	Threatened
Protected by	EU Birds Directive and 7 other international agreements
Natura 2000 sites	12 are designated for this species
Natura 2000 species code	A736

Distribution

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Threat and EU population status

IUCN Red List status of threatened species

The IUCN Red List threat status assesses the risk of extinction.

World

Least Concern

Europe

Least Concern

Critically Endangered

EU population status

The status of the population at the EU level was evaluated at the species level; this was based on the reports delivered by Member States under Article 12 of the Birds Directive (see fact sheet below). The EU status assessment can cover several subspecies/subspecific population units. For more information, please consult the species fact sheet and link below.

IUCN Red List Category

Not Evaluated	Near Threatened	Regionally Extinct
Not Applicable	Vulnerable	Extinct in the Wild
Data Deficient	Endangered	Extinct
Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Sources:

Population status categories for bird species under the Birds Directive

Secure

Near Threatened, declining or depleted

Threatened (i.e. vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, regionally extinct)

Unknown or not evaluated

Natura 2000 sites

Protected in the following Natura 2000 sites

Sitecode	Country	Site name	Action
FI0200152	Finland	Seksmiilarin saaristo	Map
FI0800057	Finland	Södra Stadsfjärden-Söderfjärden-Öjen	Map
PLC200004	Poland	Puszcza Białowieska	Map
SE0720084	Sweden	Vålådalen	Map
SE0720183	Sweden	Frostvikenfjällen	Map
SE0810057	Sweden	Gitsfjället	Map
SE0810059	Sweden	Marsfjället	Map
SE0810080	Sweden	Vindelfjällen	Map
SE0810394	Sweden	Vardo-, Laster- och Fjällfjällen	Map
SE0810475	Sweden	Umeälvens delta och slätter	Map
SE0820201	Sweden	Padjelanta	Map
SE0820216	Sweden	Sjaunja	Map

Protected sites

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Legal status

Mentioned in the following international legal instruments and agreements

Legal text	Annex	Conditions	More information
Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 april 1979 on the conservation of wild birds - consolidated version 01/05/2004 (EC Birds Directive)	Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 april 1979 on the conservation of wild birds - consolidated version 01/05/2004 - Annex I (Nyctea scandiaca)
Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 30 November 2009, on the conservation of wild birds (EU Birds Directive)	Annex I: Species that shall be the subject of special conservation measures concerning their habitat in order to ensure their survival and reproduction in their area of distribution. Member States shall classify territories as special protection areas for the conservation of these species. (Nyctea scandiaca)		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern Convention)	Annex II: strictly protected fauna species (Nyctea scandiaca)		http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cul.../bern/default_en.asp
	Revised Annex I of Resolution 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention listing the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures (year of revision 2011) (Nyctea scandiaca)		https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc....ckColorLogged=FDC864 Resolution No. 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention lists the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures [and the designation of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) forming for the Emerald network]
Memorandum of understanding on the conservation of migratory birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia - under Bonn Convention (MoU Raptors)	Annex I: migratory populations of Falconiformes and Strigiformes species occurring in Africa and Eurasia to which this MoU applies (Nyctea scandiaca)		http://www.cms.int/raptors/
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)	Annex II: (a) all species which, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival; and (b) other species which must be subject to regulation in order that trade in specimens of certain species referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph may be brought under effective control.	Whole Order STRIGIFORMES is concerned by Appendix II (Except the species included in Appendix I).	http://www.cites.org/eng
	Annex II: (a) all species which, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival; and (b) other species which must be subject to regulation in order that trade in specimens of certain species referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph may be brought under effective control.
Commission regulation (EU) No 1320/2014, of 1 December 2014, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (EU regulation of trade of fauna and flora)	Annex A includes: All CITES Appendix I species, except where EU Member States have entered a reservation; Some CITES Appendix II and III species, for which the EU has adopted stricter domestic measures; Some non-CITES species		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...s/legislation_en.htm

Common names and synonyms

Common Name	Language	Reference
Bufo-branco	Portuguese	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Búho Nival	Spanish	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Fjälluggla	Swedish	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Gufo delle nevi	Italian	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Harfang des neiges	French	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Hóbagoly	Hungarian	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Schnee-Eule	German	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Sneeuwuil	Dutch	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Sneugle	Danish	EC-DGXI.d2, ETC/NC
Snowy Owl	English	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.
Snøugle	Norwegian	Direktoratet for Naturforvaltning
Tunturipöllö	Finnish	Hagemeijer, W.J.M. & Blair, M.J.

Synonym	Author
Nyctea scandiaca	(Linnaeus, 1758)
All species of Strigiformes

Other resources

Fauna Europaea	Fauna Europaea
GBIF	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
ITIS search	Interagency Taxonomic Information System
NCBI search	National Center for Biotechnology Information
PESI (Accepted)	Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure
Wikipedia	Wikipedia

External data

No external data sets available for this species

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