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Long-eared Owl

Asio otusOrder: STRIGIFORMESFamily: True Owls (Strigidae)

Long-eared Owl Portrait
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General

Long-eared Owl: Medium-sized owl with gray-brown body with pale bars and heavy streaks on underparts. Facial disc is rufous with white patch below bill. Ear tufts are close together, long, black and rufous, and are not visible in flight. Female is darker. Superficially resembles Great Horned Owl, but is much smaller.

Range and Habitat

Long-eared Owl: Occurs throughout the northern hemisphere. Preferred habitats include dense vegetation close to grasslands or shrublands, as well as open forests.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"hoo-hoo-hoo", "whek-WHEK-shek"

Interesting Facts

 Like some other owls, the Long-eared Owl has asymmetrical ear openings: the left ear opening is higher than the right. This positioning helps the bird to locate prey by sound.

 The hoot of the male can sometimes be heard up to 0.7 miles away.

 An unusual characteristic of this species is its communal nesting in thickets during the winter months.

 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 Long-eared 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 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