The Long-eared Owl is an owl of the dense coniferous forests, as well as less dense forest or open, brushy spaces. Its primary prey is mice, small songbirds and large insects.
The Long-eared Owl is noted for its large ear tufts and for its "beauty". It is a medium sized owl, 13-16 inches long and having a 36-42 inch wingspan. It is gray on the upper side, and may have brown mixed with the gray. The upper side is strekaed and spotted heavily with black and white. The primaries and secondaries are streaked with brown. The facial disc is light brown, with dark eyebrows and a dark "mustache", which forms a dark X. The ear tufts are black, lined with gray. The undersides are light brown or off-white, streaked with black.
Nests are located in evergreens 12-50 feet in the air. The nests themselves are stick nests abandoned by other birds; the Long-ear does not line the nest. 3-8 white eggs are laid and incubated by both sexes for 28 days. The nestlings fly in 23-24 days.
The Long-ear is found from central Canada to central and southern America and Baja California. It winters in northern Mexico, the Gulf Coast and Florida.