| Great Horned Owl | |
|---|---|
| |
| Great Horned Owl (Ontario, Canada) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Inopinaves |
| Clade: | Afroaves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Subfamily: | Striginae |
| Tribe: | Bubonini |
| Genus: | Bubo |
| Species: | B. virginianus |
| Binomial name | |
| Bubo virginianus Gmelin, 1788 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Strix virginiana Gmelin, 1788 | |
The Great Horned Owl, (Bubo virginianus; BEW-boh ver-jin-ih-AY-nus[2]), also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. It is closely related to the Lesser Horned Owl, which may be a separate species.[3]
Other names[]
Big hoot owl, cat owl, chicken owl, eagle owl, hoot owl, horned owl, king owl, Virginia horned owl.[2]
Description[]
They measure 45–64 cm (18–25 in) in length, they weigh 900–2,503 g (1.984–5.518 lb) and their wingspan is 91–152 cm (36–60 in). Females are 10-20% larger than males,[4] they can weigh on average, 700 g (25 oz) more than the male.[5]
The Great Horned Owl is a large owl with iconic yellow-orange eyes and two prominent feather tufts on the tops of their heads.[6] These tufts gave the owl it's best-known name. The plumage of the owl can vary from a reddish brown to a grey or black and white;[6] in Canada, can range from very dark in the Maritimes to almost as pale as the Snowy Owl.[7] The underside is a light grey with dark bars and a white band of feathers on the throat.[6] They have large feet that are feathered to the ends of the toes.[6] The immature birds tend to resemble the adults.[6]
In flight, as large as our American hawks; looks neckless and large-headed.[7]
Similar species[]
OWL Swimming in Lake Michigan 2014
A Great Horned Owl swimming in Lake Michigan.
Great Horned is larger than Long-eared Owl, Great Horned's ear tufts are more spread apart.[6][8][9][10]
Snowy Owl is similar in size, but only the subarctic race of the Great Horned could be confused with the female Snowy.[5]
The Lesser Horned Owl is smaller, and its range hardly overlaps in range; it is paler, with a smaller bill and weaker talons; below, it is more finely barred dark and light. It also has a different vocalization.[5]
In northern parts of its American range, its distinctive calls may be confused with the Great Grey Owl. However, it lacks ear tufts and a has a large, rounded head, small yellow eyes and grey plumage with dark markings.[5]
Behaviour[]
Nocturnal. In Colombia, it roosts and nests in tall palms at Carimagua, ne Meta (S. Furniss).[11]
On December 4, 2014, a man named Steve Spitzer took video and photos of an owl swimming in Lake Michigan, Chicago. It was attempted to escape Peregrines that were harassing it.[12]
Diet[]
It takes any prey from insect size to hares, geese and turkeys.[13] In Colombia, it preys upon a variety of medium-sized mammals, such as coatis and rabbits, and two species of snipe in the Andes (Lehmann, 1946).[14][11]
Here are some examples of its prey:
| Prey Items | Kittredge, Wilson and Caire study[15] |
Other references |
|---|---|---|
| Calosoma sp. - searcher beetles* | [16] | |
| Carabidae - ground beetles* | [16] | |
| Beetles (Coleoptera)* | [17] | |
| Trogidae - skin or hide beetles* | [16] | |
| Crayfish* | x | [18] |
| Insects* | x | |
| Fish* | [18] | |
| Frogs* | [19] | |
| Lizards* | [20] | |
| Phrynosoma cornutum - Texas Horned Lizard | x | |
| Snakes* | x | [19] |
| Agelaius phoeniceus - Red-winged Blackbird | x | [17] |
| Spatula (formerly Anas) discors[21] - Blue-winged Teal | [18] | |
| Anatidae - ducks, geese and swans* | [16] | |
| Bird* | x | [16][17] |
| Bubo virginianus - Great Horned Owl | x | |
| Buteo lineatus - Red-shouldered Hawk | [22] | |
| Buteo platypterus - Broad-winged Hawk | [18] | |
| Cardinalis cardinalis - Northern Cardinal | x | |
| Gallus gallus domesticus - Chickens | [19] | |
| Columba livia - Rock Pigeon | x | |
| Corvus brachyrhynchos - American Crow | x | |
| Egretta caerulea - Little Blue Heron | x | |
| Passerellidae (formerly Emberizidae)*[23] - American sparrow | [17] | |
| Fringillidae - finch | [16] | |
| Fulica americana - American Coot | x | [18] |
| Geococcyx californianus - Greater Roadrunner | x | |
| Icteridae - icterids* | x | [16] |
| Quiscalus quiscula - Common Grackle | x | |
| Rallus limicola - Virginia Rail | x | |
| Sturnella - meadowlark* | x | [16] |
| Sturnus vulgarius - European Starling | x | |
| Tringa melanoleuca - Greater Yellowlegs | [18] | |
| Turdus migratorius - American Robin | x | |
| Tyto alba - Western Barn Owl | x | |
| Baiomys taylori - Pygmy Mouse | x | |
| Blarina brevicauda - Short-tailed Shrew | x | [16] |
| Chaetodipus hispidus - Hispid Pocket Mouse | x | [16] |
| Cratogeomys castanops - Mexican Pocket Gopher | x | |
| Cryptotis parva - Least Shrew | x | [16][24] |
| Didelphis virginiana - Virginia Opossum | x | |
| Dipodomys ordii - Ord's Kangaroo Rat | x | [17] |
| Eptesicus fuscus - Big Brown Bat | x | |
| Geomys - pocket gopher* | x | [17] |
| Lepus californicus - Black-tailed Jackrabbit | x | [16][17] |
| Mephitis mephitis - Striped Skunk | x | [17] |
| Microtus - vole* | [25] | |
| M. ochrogaster - Prairie Vole | x | [26] |
| M. pinetorum - Woodland Vole | x | |
| Mus musculus - House Mouse | x | [24] |
| Neotoma - woodrat* | [17] | |
| N. floridianan - Eastern Woodrat | x | |
| N. micropus - Southern Plains Woodrat | x | [24] |
| Ondatra zibethicus - Muskrat | x | |
| Onychomys leucogaster - Northern Grasshopper Mouse | x | [17] |
| Oryzomys palustris - Marsh Rice Rat | x | |
| Perognathus - pocket mouse* | x | [17] |
| Peromyscus - deer mouse* | x | [16][17][24] |
| Peromyscus leucopus - White-footed Mouse | [26] | |
| Rattus norvegicus - Brown Rat | x | |
| Rattus rattus - Black Rat | x | [24] |
| Reithrodontomys - harvest mouse* | [17][24] | |
| R. fulvescens - Fulvous Harvest Mouse | x | |
| R. montanus - Plains Harvest Mouse | x | [16][26] |
| Scalopus aquaticus - Eastern Mole | x | [16] |
| Sciurus niger - Eastern Fox Squirrel | x | |
| Sigmodon hispidus - Hispid Cotton Rat | x | [16][17][24][25][26] |
| Skunk* | [16][18] | |
| Spermophilus tridecemlineatus - Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel | x | |
| Sylvilagus - cottontail* | [24][25] | |
| S. audubonii - Desert Cottontail | x | |
| S. floridanus - Eastern Cottontail | x | [16][17][18] |
| Tadarida brasilensis - Mexican Free-tailed Bat | x | [27][28][29][30][20][31] |
- *=Species not identified
Table based on: [15]
Calls[]
Call is a series of three to eight loud, deep hoots; second and third hoots often short and rapid,[10] repeated fully or in part at intervals of several seconds[5], has great carrying power.[2] Juvenile birds give off a raspy begging call.[10]
The young follow the adults when on the wing, utter blood-curdling screams (hunger cries).[2] Adults lean forward when hooting, vibrate their white throat feathers and lift their short tails, and respond to imitation of their cries.[2]
Reproduction[]
It usually uses the nests of Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, heron and crow, or occasionally an old leaf nest of a squirrel; 15–70 ft (4.6–21.3 m) up.[2] Also, in rocky caves of cliffs, in hollows of trees and even on the ground.[32][2]
Distribution/habitat[]
References[]
- ^ BirdLife International (BLI) (2008). Bubo virginianus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 15 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g Terres, John K. (1980). The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0394466519.
- ^ Holt, D.W., Berkley, R., Deppe, C., Enríquez Rocha, P., Petersen, J.L., Rangel Salazar, J.L., Segars, K.P. & Wood, K.L. (1999). Magellanic Horned Owl (Bubo magellanicus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2014). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/55007 on 11 October 2015).
- ^ Matthew Graul and Barbara Holzman, PhD. (editor) (12/16/2003). "Great Horned Owl". San Francisco State University. Retrieved 19-01-2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help) - ^ a b c d e Mikkola, Heimo (2012). Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide. Firefly Books Ltd. ISBN 9781770851368.
- ^ a b c d e f Stokes, Donald W. and Stokes, Lilian Q. (2010). Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9770316010504 Check
|isbn=value: invalid prefix (help). - ^ a b Peterson, Roger Tory (1980). A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 039526619X.
- ^ Peterson, Roger Tory (1961). A Field Guide to Western Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 039513692X.
- ^ Bellrose, Frank C. and The Audubon Society (1983). The Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding. National Geographic Society. ISBN 1426200722.
- ^ a b c Dunn, Jon L. and Alderfer, Jonathan (2011). National Geographic Guide to the Birds of North America. National Geographic Society. ISBN 1426200722.
- ^ a b Hilty, Steven L.; Brown, William L.; Tudor, Guy (1986). A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press. ISBN 069108372X.
- ^ Arciero, Ryan (4 December 2014). "Owl swimming Lake Michigan: Video of owl swimming with skill, butterfly stroke". The Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/article/owl-swimming-lake-michigan-video-of-owl-swimming-with-skill-butterfly-stroke. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ Harrison, Colin and Greensmith, Alan (1993). Birds of the World. Dorling Kindersley Inc. ISBN 1564582965.
- ^ Lehmann, V.F.C. (1946). Two new birds from the Andes of Colombia. Auk 63:218-223.
- ^ a b Kittredge, V.C., Wilson, P.W., and Caire, W. 2006. An updated checklist of the food items of the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus: Strigiformes: Strigidae) in Oklahoma. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science, 86:33-38.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Baumgartner AM, Baumgartner FM. 1944. Hawks and owls in Oklahoma 1939-1942: food habits and population changes. Wilson Bull 56(4):209-215.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Schemnitz SD, Ables E. 1962. [Notes on the food habits of the Great Horned Owl in western Oklahoma Notes on the food habits of the Great Horned Owl in western Oklahoma]. Condor 64:328-329.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sutton GM. 1967. Oklahoma Birds. Norman (OK): University of Oklahoma Press. 257 p
- ^ a b c Baumgartner AM, Baumgartner FM. 1992. [[Oklahoma Bird Life]]. Norman (OK): University Oklahoma Press. 532 p.
- ^ a b Chesser RK, Kennedy ML. 1976. Predation on the free-tailed bat by the Great Horned Owl. Bull Okla Ornith Soc 9:1-3.
- ^ John H. Boyd III (July 6, 2011). "PALEOGNATHS and ANSERIFORMES Ratites, Tinamous, and Waterfowl". TiF Checklist. Retrieved 19-01-2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ^ Byre VJ. 1995. Proximal nesting of Barred Owls, Great Horned Owls and Red-shouldered Hawks in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. Bull Okla Ornith Soc 28:22-24.
- ^ John H. Boyd III (September 12, 2011). "CORE PASSEROIDEA IV: Emberizidae and Passerellidae". TiF Checklist. Retrieved 19-01-2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Tyler JD, Jensen JF. 1981. Notes on foods of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) in Jackson County, Oklahoma. Proc Okla Acad Sci 61:28-30.
- ^ a b c Smith KS. 1996. A new microtine (Microtus) record for Kiowa County, Oklahoma. Proc Okla Acad Sci 76:97-98.
- ^ a b c d Smith KS. 1993. Owl pellets reveal Cryptotis parva, a new record for Caddo County, Oklahoma. Proc Okla Acad Sci 73:29-30.
- ^ Twente JW. 1954. Predation on bats by hawks and owls. Wilson Bull 66:135-136.
- ^ Taylor J. 1964. Noteworthy predation on the guano bat. J Mamm 45:300-301.
- ^ Perry AE, Rogers G. 1964. Predation by the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) on young Mexican freetailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis Mexicana) in Major County, Oklahoma. Southw Nat 9:205.
- ^ Looney MW. 1972. Predation on bats by hawks and owls. Bull Okla Ornith Soc 5:1-4.
- ^ Caire W, Ports M. 1981. An adaptive method of predation by Bubo virginianus (Strigiformes: Strigidae) on Mexican free-tailed bats (Chiroptera: Mollosidae). Southw Nat 26:69-70.
- ^ Truslow, F.K (1966). Ground-nesting great horned owl: A photographic study. Living Bird, 5th annual, pp. 177-86.
External links[]
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