“Great Horned Owl, Fabled Wisdom and Power”

In the world of owls, the Great Horned Owl is the most fabled and common in North America. With a stark, yellow-eyed stare, long ear tufts, and a deep hooting voice, you may see their silhouette perched on a tree branch, rooftop, or silently flying overhead as they hunt at night. Males and females are thick-bodied, with broad, rounded wings and a mottled cinnamon-to-grey color. 

They find their home in deserts, wetlands, grasslands, forests, and urban areas. Whatever their habitat, it usually includes some open areas for hunting. Their diet is the most diverse of all raptors, ranging from mammals and birds larger than themselves to small reptiles and invertebrates. Once spotted, they aerially dive with their strong talons ready. They may also walk around bushes to hunt smaller prey. 

Nest sites include larger tree branches such as cottonwood, juniper, pine, or beech, and pairs often roost together at a nest site months before laying 1-4 eggs. Mated pairs are monogamous and defend their territories with vigorous hooting, especially in the winter before egg-laying and in the fall when their young leave the area. Great Horned Owls respond to intruders and other threats with bill-clapping, hisses, screams, and guttural noises, eventually spreading their wings and striking with their feet if the threat escalates. Though rare, they may kill other members of their own species. Crows, ravens, songbirds, and raptors often harass Great Horned Owls with loud, incessant calls by dive-bombing, chasing, and even pecking them. Unattended eggs and nestlings may fall prey to foxes, coyotes, raccoons, lynx, raptors, crows, and ravens. Both pair members may stay within the territory outside of the breeding season, but they roost separately.

Great Horned Owls were heavily hunted until the practice was abolished in the mid-twentieth century, but some illegal hunting continues. Because of their prowess as predators, Great Horned Owls can threaten other species of concern, such as Peregrine Falcons and Spotted Owls. Northern populations rise and fall in cycles along with prey populations. Owls are sometimes poisoned by pesticides and other toxic substances that have accumulated in their prey.

Sources: Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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