Eric Smalley, age 8, of Visalia, Calif., for his question:

WHERE DOES THE SNOWY OWL LIVE?

This big beauteous bird is at home in the chilly lands around the North Pole. His thick, soft plumage is mostly white, to match his snowy background. However, sometimes his feathers are speckled. Soft furry feathers cover most of his hooked beak, and he wears fluffy white booties that often cover his claws. But he does not have those feathery tufts that look like pussy cat ears.

The snowy owl lives in the tundra region of North America, as far south as Hudson's Bay. His relatives live in Greenland, Iceland and around the world in Siberia. He *cannot perch on a bough or hide in a tree trunk, for there are no trees in his tundra home. The female nests on the ground. Her big, round, golden eyes watch for fat little lemmings, scurrying through the snow, which provide her favorite food.