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Bird name:

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Order

STRIGIFORMES

Family

True Owls (Strigidae)

Code 4

GHOW

Code 6

BUBVIR

ITIS

177884

Breeding Location:

Open landscapes, Forest, Streams, upland

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common, Widespread

Egg Color:

Dull white

Number of Eggs:

1 - 5

Incubation Days:

28 - 35

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Abandoned nest of large bird in cavities, buildings, ledges.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Great Horned Owl: Large owl with dark brown, gray-brown mottled upperparts and dark barred underparts. Head has distinct ear tufts and rufous facial disk. Throat and upper breast are white and may have heavy dark spots. Sexes are similar. Northern birds are paler and grayer.

Range and Habitat

Great Horned Owl: Found throughout the forests of North, Central, and South America, from the Arctic to the Straits of Magellan. Preferred habitats include coniferous, mixed, and deciduous woodlands, areas along cliffs and rocky canyons, and forest openings.

Breeding and Nesting

Great Horned Owl: One to five dull white eggs are laid in an abandoned nest made by hawks or crows. Eggs are incubated for 28 to 35 days, mostly by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Great Horned Owl: Hunts primarily at night, preying on rabbits, woodchucks, mice, rats, squirrels, skunks, ducks, quail, and occasionally geese or turkeys. Like many owls, it eats small prey whole and regurgitates indigestible parts such as hair, feathers, and bones in the form of pellets.

Vocalization

Great Horned Owl: Male gives a territorial call "hoo-hoo-hoooooo-hoo-hoo" that can be heard over several miles during a still night. Both sexes hoot, but males have a lower-pitched voice than females. Also gives a growling "krrooo-oo" or screaming note when attacking intruders. Other sounds include "whaaa whaaaaaa-a-a-aarrk" from disturbed birds, a catlike "MEEE-OWww", barks, hair-raising shrieks, coos, and beak snapping.

Similar Species

Great Horned Owl: Long-Eared Owl is smaller, slimmer, has a darker throat, and has tufts set closer to the middle of head.

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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.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America