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Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianusOrder: STRIGIFORMESFamily: True Owls (Strigidae)

Great Horned Owl Portrait
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General

Great Horned Owl: Large owl with dark brown, gray-brown mottled upperparts and dark barred underparts. Head has distinct ear tufts and rufous facial disk. Throat and upper breast are white and may have heavy dark spots. Sexes are similar. Northern birds are paler and grayer.

Range and Habitat

Great Horned Owl: Found throughout the forests of North, Central, and South America, from the Arctic to the Straits of Magellan. Preferred habitats include coniferous, mixed, and deciduous woodlands, areas along cliffs and rocky canyons, and forest openings.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"whoo! Whoo-whoo-Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!", "hoot-hoot-hoot-hoot"

Interesting Facts

 The Great Horned Owl will eat birds ranging in size from kinglets to Great Blue Herons and regularly eat other owls.

 The reintroduction of Peregrine Falcons has been hampered in some areas by owls killing both adult and nestling falcons.

 In frigid areas, where larger prey cannot be eaten quickly, they may let uneaten food freeze and then thaw it out later using their own body heat.

 A group of owls has many collective nouns, including a "bazaar", "glaring", "parliament", "stooping", and "wisdom" of owls.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Great Horned Owl
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family True Owl (Strigidae)_blue
Species Bubo virginianus
Length18 - 25 Inches
Wingspan48 Inches

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl: Large owl with dark brown, gray-brown mottled upperparts and dark barred underparts. Head has distinct ear tufts and rufous facial disk. Throat and upper breast are white and may have dark spots. Northern birds are paler and grayer. Strong, silent, direct, flap and glide flight.

● Song: "whoo! Whoo-whoo-Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!", "hoot-hoot-hoot-hoot"

● Foraging & Feeding: Great Horned Owl: Hunts primarily at night, preying on rabbits, woodchucks, mice, rats, squirrels, skunks, ducks, quail, and occasionally geese or turkeys. Like many owls, it eats small prey whole and regurgitates indigestible parts such as hair, feathers, and bones in the form of pellets.

● Breeding & nesting: Great Horned Owl: One to five dull white eggs are laid in an abandoned nest made by hawks or crows. Eggs are incubated for 28 to 35 days, mostly by the female.

● Similar species: Great Horned Owl: Long-Eared Owl is smaller, slimmer, has a darker throat, and has tufts set closer to the middle of head.

Flight Pattern

Direct flap and glide flight., Strong silent wing beats.
Great Horned Owl Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Great Horned Owl: Found throughout the forests of North, Central, and South America, from the Arctic to the Straits of Magellan. Preferred habitats include coniferous, mixed, and deciduous woodlands, areas along cliffs and rocky canyons, and forest openings.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common to common, Widespread
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight48 Ounces