Its piercing eyes sometimes appear to stare straight into the lens, while at other times its pupils dart to catch flashes of movement in the snow of Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia. A great gray owl was spotted foraging amid cold weather in north China. This is believed to be the world's largest owl species by length, and it has the largest facial disc of any raptor. Indigenous to the Northern Hemisphere, the owl is found in North America, parts of Europe and northern Asia. The great gray owl is under second-class national protection in China.