Great Horned Owls
Bubo virginianus
The chilling hoot of an owl in the presence of the full moon
creates an ominous atmosphere even on television. In reality, hearing the call
of a great horned owl can be just as awe-inspiring and tremendously exciting.
These great birds are one of the most common owls in North
America, and can be found from the artic tundra of Northern Canada to the
Tropical Rainforests of South America.
They are diverse not only in where they live, but also what
they eat. A Great Horned Owl can not only take down prey that is larger than
itself, but also eats smaller prey like scorpions, mice, fish, and frogs. It’s
one of the few animals that will take on skunks and porcupines as food. They
have also been known to take cats and small dogs as food, so keep your pets in
at night!
IDENTIFICATION:
How do you know what you’ve seen is a great horned owl?
These large owls will have two tufts on their head. These tufts are not ears,
but it is believed that their purpose is to break up their figure and help them
blend into the trees more.
The wings are broad and rounded, and in flight the rounded
head and short bill give the bird a blunt-headed silhouette.
Their color is a mottled grayish-brown, with reddish-brown
faces and a white patch on the throat. They have large yellow eyes.
You may see them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree
limbs at the edges of an open space where they can easily look for prey.
Owls that look similar to the great horned owl are the Long Eared
Owl, which also has tufts, but it is a smaller, less bulky bird with no white
patch on the throat. Its tufts are also longer, and with a darker mottled
breast.
GREAT HORNED OWL HOOT
Great Horned Owls have a classic sounding “Whoo Whoo Whoo”
sound, and this can be heard from miles away. When calling for its mate, the
owl will make a “who hoo who hoo” sound, while if it is aggravated it will make
a “clack” noise with its beak.
GREAT HORNED OWL FUN FACTS:
- A Great Horned Owl can eat a large number of different prey items, from mice to other birds of prey like Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, and other owls.
- A Great Horned Owl’s talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. They use this impressive strength to kill their prey with, as it’s strong enough to sever the spine.
- The female is larger than the male, and the male has a deeper voice. When you hear a pair calling back and forth if you listen closely you can tell which one is the male and which is the female.
- Like most owls, they are nocturnal and their large eyes do not move in their sockets. The owl can swivel their head 180 degrees to look in any direction.
- Owls have offset ears, with one ear directed down and the other up. This helps them identify which direction a sound is coming from very accurately. They also have facial disk feathers that direct sound to their ears.
- Great Horned Owls usually hunt at night, but can occasionally be seen hunting in the daytime for a snack.
- If owls were as big as humans, its eyes would be as large as an orange.
- Great Horned Owls are also called “Tigers of the Sky” due to their ferocity and ability to capture prey bigger than itself.
- The tufts on a Great Horned Owl’s head are called “plumicorns”
- The average lifespan of a Great Horned Owl in the wild is five to 15 years, while the oldest known Great Horned Owl lived to be 28 years old.
- Great Horned Owls have no natural predators as adults, but face the greatest danger in their first year of life where many things may try to prey on them.
OWL PELLETS
If you see a Great Horned Owl sitting on a tree branch,
sometimes you can find an owl pellet nearby. These pellets are the fur and bone
remains of an owls dinner, and if you have the stomach to dissect one you can
figure out what the owl has been eating!
Since owls often eat small animals like mice, being able to
swallow your food owl and spit the bones out later is a great time saver.
MATING
Great Horned Owls are monogamous (one male, one female) and
both male and female help to incubate the eggs. The female lays one to five
eggs, and the male hunts for food.
Great Horned Owls mate for life.
They start nesting in January, raising their families in the
thick of winter. The eggs hatch within a month. Six weeks after hatching the
owlets will leave the nest and walk around, and in another three weeks after
that they will have learned how to fly. The parents will still feed and take
care of their young until as late as October, when the young owls leave to find
their own territory.
Great Horned Owls will fiercely protect their nests, even
from humans who wander too close to their nests. They are not afraid to attack.
Great Horned Owls don’t usually make their own nests, but
take over existing nests that are not in use. They usually take over hawk
nests, and may add additional bark, leaves and feathers. They may even line the
nest with fur from their prey. Nests are seldom reused.
Sometimes they will also nests in tree cavities, cliff
ledges or human made platforms.
SOURCES:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
International Owl Center
National Geographic
The Nature Conservatory
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