Great Horned Owl

 
Scientific name:  Bubo virginianus
Family Name:  Strigidae

Are they endangered? No, they are not endangered worldwide.  (IUCN Red List least concern) 

What are their past/present problems?  Their enemies are hunters and farmers that shoot them.
What do they look like?  They have yellow eyes, white chin and neck, and brownish gray bodies.  They have a whitish belly with brown ‘stripes’.  They can be recognized by their ear tufts.
How big are they?  Great Horned Owls are 18-25 inches long.  If their wings were spread out, they would be 3-5 feet wide.

How many eggs do they lay?  The females lay between 1 and 5 white eggs once a year that hatch around a month.

How long do the fledglings stay in the nest?  They like to nest in places that were left by larger birds, on buildings, holes in trees, and places that are from 20-60 feet off the ground.  The young birds (owlets) stay in the nest 5 to 6 weeks.

When do they hunt?  They hunt at night (nocturnal) but sometimes in the daytime, too.

What do they eat?  These owls like to eat mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and MICE!  They sometimes pick prey that is larger than they are. They swallow their prey whole if it is small like a MOUSE!
Where do they live?  They live in North America, Central America, and South America.

What kind of place do they like to live in?  These owls like to live in forests, deserts, cities, prairies, low mountain places, and around farms.
Interesting facts:

The Great Horned Owl’s song is deep hoots of whoo!

Of all the owls that have ear tufts, the Great Horned Owl is the biggest in North America.

These birds can sneak up on their prey because they don’t make noise when they fly.

There is a superstition that says when you see one of these birds, it means death.

Works Cited:

Alsop, Fred.  Birds of North America.  New York:  DK Publishing, 2001.

Bubo virginianus.  9 Jan. 2008.  <http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/48525/all>.

“Great Horned Hunter.”  Ranger Rick.  Mar 2002: p. 21.

“Great Horned owl.”  Encyclopedia of Animals.  2006 ed.

Great Horned Owl.   4 Oct. 2007.  <http://www.peregrinefund.org/Explore_Raptors/owls/grethorn.html>.

Schmoker, Bill.  “Re: Owl pictures (etc.).”    E-mail to Club Web.  2 Nov. 2007.