Great Horned Owl
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Great Horned Owl
The Great Horned Owl is part of the True Owl Family, and is named Bubo Virginianus. They are usually larger owls, around 25 inches long, with a variety of colors. They can be brown, white, gray, or a mixture of all these colors. They can even have red eyes! The most striking feature about the Great Horned Owl is the feather tufts that are coming off their ears, and that give them the distinctive fierce look.
Teddy bears that they are, they are not as fierce as some of the smaller owls. They often will not fight for habitat like the other smaller breeds, and have a more laid back attitude, but do not let this fool you!
They like all the owls live in hardwood forests, but, they can live in the deserts, open areas as well. They have adapted well to cactus, and rock cropped areas. They just need a flat semi-enclosed area to raise their similarly laid back owlets.
Teddy bears that they are, they are not as fierce as some of the smaller owls. They often will not fight for habitat like the other smaller breeds, and have a more laid back attitude, but do not let this fool you!
They like all the owls live in hardwood forests, but, they can live in the deserts, open areas as well. They have adapted well to cactus, and rock cropped areas. They just need a flat semi-enclosed area to raise their similarly laid back owlets.
Alaska to the South of America
We should have named this our National Bird!
Considering how plentiful and easy going the Great Horned Owl is, and how widely present they are in every state except the Hawaiian Islands, we could have named them our bird of honor. They are the largest of the feather eared owls, and are bigger than even the rare Great Gray Owls of North America.They can catch rabbits, grouse, and even a common house cat. If you have cats that run around your farm or rural areas, and they have quickly disappeared, chances are this owl is to blame. They will even eat lizards and reptiles in the desert, and have been known to capture rattle snakes if they are small enough. They are impressive birds because of their size, but are not easily ruffled.
Some Wonderful Items
Your Giant Owl
Most Likely this is the Owl You will See!
They will make a nest on a cliff or a cave, as much as a nook of a flat surface in a tree. If you have rabbits and wild ferrel cats, you may want to place an Owl Nest Box in your area, and hope a Great Horned Owl comes in to roost. They are rodent control as well!
Great Horned Owl is a Giant Beauty!
Great Resources
Known as the Hooting Owl
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Hear the Great Horned Owl
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Horned Owl | John Neville | Bird Songs of the North American Prairie | |
| Great Horned Owl | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Bird Songs of California, Vol. 1 | |
| Great Horned Owl | John Neville & Mel Coulson | Beginners Guide to B.C. Bird Song | |
| Great Horned Owl Territorial Hooting Duet and Copulation Calls | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Territorial Hooting Duet | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Territorial Hooting and Squawks By Pair | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Chitter Call | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Female Squawk | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Wac-Wac Call | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Female Chitter Call and Squawk | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Bark-like Call | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) | |
| Great Horned Owl Fledgling Begging Call | Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Macaulay Library | Voices of North American Owls (Vol. 1) |
The Great Horned Owl
How Much do you know?
The Only Large Owl In North America with Ear Tufts
Great Way to Identify this Owl is with the Size and the Tufts!
I like it when you can have an easy way to identify a bird, as they can be very tricky to identify sometimes. But, with the Great Horned Owl, if it is up to 25 inches big, and has a nice set of ear tufts, you have a Great Horned Owl! They are so common too, that it is pretty much assured that you will eventually see one in the wild. So, get out there with your binoculars, and find a great wild specimen of your own.
It will be thrilling!
Here is a Great Horned Owl in a stolen nest, they like to steal big eagles, hawks, or other owl nests. You can build a nice owl nest box for them, and they will love you for it. You will be rewarded with an owl web cam channel of your own, and the best mouse catcher in the entire world!
Have you seen a Great Horned Owl?
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quester
May 12, 2012 @ 4:04 pm | delete
- love this owl - just awesome thanks for the video information as well. Both my husband and I enjoyed it
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Phillyfreeze69
Apr 16, 2012 @ 8:55 am | delete
- I have seen Jack Hanna feature a Great Horned Owl on his nationally televised animal show. What i found most impressive about this magnificent bird was their large talons...I can imagine small prey being ensnared in those powerful talons.
Very interesting, informative and useful information, enjoyed viewing the splendid photos.
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AdaSue
Jan 19, 2012 @ 4:50 am | delete
- I have seen several Great Horned Owls- I have to say the picture of the owl at the top of your page with the red or orange eyes is most likely a Eurasian Eagle Owl, not a Great Horned Owl.
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Tipi
Jan 28, 2011 @ 4:03 pm | delete
- I grew up at Kabetogama with many owls to be seen. You mention that they are know to take cats, they will also take small dogs as well. One of my cousins used to raise chihuahuas and lost her Bluebell to an owl one night.
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by livingfrontiers
Learning more about Owls will be a great way to learn about your environment. There is so much to these magical birds! Learn how to build an Owl Nest... more »
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Here is a great way to connect with nature
Folkmanis Great Horned Owl 18in Hand Puppet
Amazon Price: $34.56 (as of 06/01/2012)
