Traffic Camera Records Stunning Images Of Snowy Owl In Flight

The beautiful bird was filmed majestically soaring above a freeway in Montreal.

A traffic camera in Canada has captured a snowy owl majestically soaring through the sky.

Crystal clear images showed the beautiful bird flying above Autoroute 40 in the West Island of Montreal on Sunday morning.

Once Quebec's transport minister, Robert Poeti, posted the photographs and linked to the video online, the owl went viral.

Barbara Frei, director of the McGill Bird Observatory, told CBC News that the young female owl was probably looking for somewhere to perch.

"I think they are attracted specifically to the highway because it has open, grassy fields nearby which is perfect for hunting their favorite prey, which is small rodents," Frei said. "They like to get a good lay of the land and the high lamp posts or other posts that they can perch on while hunting just suits them perfectly."

All of Quebec's traffic cameras are streamed live online, but the singular images are usually only updated every five to seven minutes.

Snowy owls breed in the Arctic tundra, according to National Geographic, and often migrate to Canada, the northern U.S., Europe and Asia during the winter. They live for an average of nine and a half years in the wild.

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