These are the adorable baby snowy owls photographed for the first time since hatching just four weeks ago at an animal centre.
Five chicks were born at the Scottish Owl Centre last month, one of which was born on the hottest day of the year so far.
Keepers at the centre in Whitburn, West Lothian, have had to spray cold mist on the owls which are kept cool with air conditioning to mirror the arctic climate they are used to.
Three of the fluffy chicks were this week photographed with mum and dad for the first time, while the other two are still in the nest.
Lauren Walker, a keeper at the Scottish Owl Centre, says some of the owls will be sent away to other animal centres to become owl ambassadors.
She said: “The owls were born here at the centre and the mum and the dad stay here too.
“The baby ones will be hand-reared as they are going off to other centres.
“The mum and dad keep them for a while here before we send them to be owl ambassadors.
“There they can keep their species going.
“Full grown female owls are about 2.5kg. But a standard weight is 2kg.
“Females tend to be bigger than the males, this is because females have to defend the nest while the males are hunting.
“They eat a lot, we are giving them chicken, mice and rats.”
Snowy owls are native to Arctic regions in North America and Eurasia.
Males tend to be all white, while females have more flecks of black plumage.
The chicks have black feathers until they turn white.
