|
Great Horned Owl ( Hoot
Owl )
The Great Horned Owl,
Bubo virginianus, is a very large
owl.
Adults have large ear tufts, a
reddish face, a white patch on the throat and yellow eyes. The ear tufts are not
actually ears, but just tufts of feathers. The underparts are light with brown
barring; the upper parts are mottled brown. The legs and feet are covered in
feathers up to the talons. There are regional variations in colour; birds
farther north are paler.
Their breeding habitat is almost
anywhere across North America and parts of South America. They are often found
in urban and suburban settings and are a common backyard bird. They often take
over a nest used by some other large
bird, sometimes adding feathers to line the nest but usually not much more.
In the desert, they often take over abandoned Red-tailed Hawk nests in the arms
of Saguaro cacti.
Great Horned Owls are one of the
earliest breeding owls of North America. They breed in late January or early
February and are often heard calling to each other in the fall. They will have
chosen a mate by December and are often heard dueting before this time. They are
permanent residents, but may wander after the nesting season.
These birds wait on a high perch
at night and swoop down on prey. They mainly eat
mammals, such as
rats,
mice,
rabbits and
skunks, and birds, as well as smaller owls. In northern regions, they may
let uneaten food freeze and then thaw it out later using their own body heat.
They have excellent hearing and exceptional vision in low light conditions.
Unlike human hearing, Owls have a
sort of depth perception to their hearing, above and beyond "louder is closer".
This is possible because owl ears are not placed in the same position on either
side of their head: the right ear is typically set higher in the skull and at a
slightly different angle. By tilting or turning their head until the sound is
the same in each ear the owl can pinpoint both the direction and precise
distance to the source of a sound.
Their call is a low pitched but
loud "ho-ho-hoo hoo hoo" Sometimes it is only four syllables instead of five.
The female's call is higher and rises in pitch at the end of the call. Young
owls make hissing sounds that are often confused with the calls of Common Barn
Owls.
The Great Horned Owl is
the
provincial bird of
Alberta.
| 
This
web site is best viewed when your monitor is set at 1024 X 768