Great Horned Owl

Scientific Classification

KINGDOM: Animalia

PHYLUM: Chordata

CLASS: Aves

ORDER: Strigiformes

FAMILY: Strigidae

GENUS: Bubo

SPECIES: B. virginianu

Conservation Status

The great horned owl is the heaviest living owl in South and Central America and is the second heaviest in North America after the snowy owl. With males being somewhat smaller than the females, the average length is 22 inches, weight is three pounds, and the average wingspan is 22 inches!

However, their size can change drastically depending on their location. For example, in Ontario and Alaska the great horned owls are much larger than the populations in Texas and California.

All great horned owls are some combination of light brown coloring underneath and duskier brown on top with complex, darker markings for camouflaging purposes. Great horned owls from the subarctic are lighter in color and the ones in warmer climates are darker.

All of these owls have the common facial disk that is reddish, gray, or brown depending on the location. The so-called horns on their head are tufts of feathers that scientists believe contribute to the owls’ communications.

Great horned owls can be found in North and South America. These large owls are known as the world’s most adaptable bird species in regards to its habitat. Not only can the great horned owl live in deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests, it also lives in rain forests, prairies, deserts and more!

The primary hunting style for great horned owls is to perch or fly in high vantage points, then dive down to the ground to ambush their prey. Even though this owl has big, heavy wings, they can still reach speeds of more than 40 mph! Great horned owls are most actively hunting between 8:30 PM and 12:00 AM, and then again from 4:30 AM to sunrise.

Its primary diet are small-to-medium critters such as rabbits, mice, birds, reptiles, and more. Once ambushed, the great horned owl will usually kill the prey by crushing it with their feet and eating it whole.

In order to preserve food and not compete with large predators, great horned owls in the north will leave their uneaten food in the elements to freeze and then later thaw it using their body heat.

After eating prey whole, the great horned owl, like most owls, will regurgitate a pellet made of bones and other bits it can’t digest.

Courtship for the great horned owl starts from October to December but the stage at which eggs are laid varies regionally. Like all owls, great horned owls do not build their own nest and instead inhabit tree hollows, small caves, etc. Their clutch sizes range from one to five eggs with over three being uncommon. After about a month of the mothers incubating, the chicks are born covered in whitish-grey down. By late autumn, the first years will resemble adults but with a redder coloration and smaller tufts.