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Long-eared Owl

Asio otusOrder: STRIGIFORMESFamily: True Owls (Strigidae)
Long-eared Owl Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Hooked
  • Eye Color: Bright yellow to golden yellow.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Crested or plumed, Streaked, Special (unique patterns or features)
  • Crown Color: Brown speckled with rust-brown and white.
  • Forehead Color: Brown speckled with rust-brown and white with white eyebrows. Rust-brown facial disk.
  • Nape Color: Brown speckled with rust-brown and white.
  • Throat Color: White with brown-tipped feathers and rust-brown mottled central spot.
  • Cere color: Gray
Long-eared Owl Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 33-41 cm (13-16 in)
  • Weight: 244 g (8.6 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Buff
  • Underparts: Buff with brown streaking and barring and buff upper breast with heavy dark streaking and barring.
  • Upperparts: Gray-brown with white and buff mottling.
  • Back Pattern: Mottled
  • Belly Pattern: Striped or streaked, Mottled
  • Breast Pattern: Striped or streaked, Mottled

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Silent wing beats., Bouyant flight.
  • Wingspan Range: 91-107 cm (36-42 in)
  • Wing Shape: Long-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Notched Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Brown overall with faint spotting.
  • Upper Tail: Gray-brown with white and buff mottling.
  • Under Tail: Buff to rust-brown with streaking and barring.
  • Leg Color: Feathered in buff.
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Family True Owl (Strigidae)_blue
Species Asio otus
Length13 - 16 Inches
Wingspan39 Inches

Long-eared Owl

Long-eared Owl: Medium-sized owl with gray-brown body with pale bars and heavy streaks on underparts. The facial disc is rufous with white a patch below the bill. The ear tufts are close together, long, black and rufous, and are not visible in flight. Bouyant, mothlike flight with silent wing beats.

● Song: "hoo-hoo-hoo", "whek-WHEK-shek"

● Foraging & Feeding: Long-eared Owl: Eats mice, moles, ground squirrels, small birds, small snakes, and insects. An active hunter suspected of capturing most of its prey by sound due to its ability to locate mice in complete darkness; most prey is captured on the ground or in low vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: Long-eared Owl: Two to ten white eggs are laid in an abandoned stick or cavity nest; occasionally builds its own nest. Female incubates eggs for 26 to 28 days.

● Similar species: Long-eared Owl: Great-Horned Owl is much larger, stouter, and has wider-spaced ear tufts. Short-Eared Owl lacks rufous in facial disc and has shorter ear tufts.

Flight Pattern

Silent wing beats., Bouyant flight.
Long-eared Owl Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Long-eared Owl: Occurs throughout the northern hemisphere. Preferred habitats include dense vegetation close to grasslands or shrublands, as well as open forests.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationUncommon to locally common
MigrationNorthern birds migrate
Weight8.6 Ounces