Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
The great horned owl is generally colored for camouflage. The underparts of the species are usually light with some brown horizontal barring; the upper parts and upper wings are generally a mottled brown usually bearing heavy, complex, darker markings. All subspecies are darkly barred to some extent along the sides. A variable-sized white patch is seen on the throat. The white throat may continue as a streak running down the middle of the breast even when the birds are not displaying, which in particularly pale individuals can widen at the belly into a large white area. Voice: The great horned owl's song is normally a low-pitched but loud ho-ho-hoo hoo hoo (or also transcribed as bu-bubu booh, who-hoo-ho-oo or who-ho-o-o, whoo-hoo-o-o, whoo) and can last for four or five syllables. The call is resonant and has warranted descriptions as varied as "solemn" and "terrifying". The female's call is higher and rises in pitch at the end of the call.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Snowy Owl
Bubo scandiacus
The snowy owl is mostly white. They are purer white than predatory mammals such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Often when seen in the field, these owls can resemble a pale rock or a lump of snow on the ground. They usually appear to lack ear tufts but very short (and probably vestigial) tufts can be erected in some situations, perhaps most frequently by the female when she is sitting on the nest. The ear tufts measure about 20 to 25 mm (0.79 to 0.98 in) and consist of about 10 small feathers. The snowy owl has bright yellow eyes. Voice: The snowy owl differ in their calls from other Bubo owls, with a much more barking quality to their version of a hooting song. Perhaps as many as 15 different calls by mature snowy owls have been documented. The main vocalization is a monotonous sequence that normally contains 2–6 (but occasionally more), rough notes similar to the rhythm of a barking dog: krooh krooh krooh krooh...
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Great Horned Owl and Snowy Owl.