In general, they have brown body plumage covered with darker brown spots and white throat feathers that contrast with the dark cross-barred underparts. The plumage of the great horned owl varies regionally, from pale to dark. Males and females are similar in appearance, except the female is larger. Great horned owls are big and bulky (3-4 pounds), standing 18-25" tall with a wingspan of 36-60" long. It wouldn't be easy to catch prey at night if you were crashing around in the dark!įemale great horned owl with two young owls This helps wind pass over the wings and keep the bird's flight noiseless. The front edge of the first primary or wing feather is toothed like a hand saw. This helps to deaden the sound of air rushing over the feathers while the bird is in flight. Owl feathers are soft, almost like polar fleece to the touch. By tilting or moving their head until the sound is of equal volume in each ear, the owl can pinpoint the direction and distance of the sound. This enables the owl to use triangulation to pinpoint the source of a sound, when the prey cannot be seen. Owls have soft feathers that surround the openings which they can spread to make a funnel for sound to enter the ear. The openings of the ears are slightly tilted in different directions - often the right ear is longer and set higher up on the skull. Their ears are located on the sides of the head, but are off-set, not symmetrical like human ears. Owls have and incredible sense of hearing as well, a trait that allows them to hunt at night. If a great horned owl was as large as a human, its eyes would be the size of oranges! A great horned owl's eyes are almost as big as a human's, and allow a great deal of light to pass through the pupil, allowing the owl to see in dark conditions. When owls are awake, they use their hearing and eyesight to alert them to danger or possible prey. Because their eyes are fixed in their sockets - they can't move their eyes up or down or side to side - the owl has to move its whole head to compensate. They can rotate their heads 270 degrees, thanks to extra vertebra in their necks. Its talons clutch the tree branch and keep it from falling off its perch!Ĭontrary to popular belief, owls cannot turn their heads completely around. If the owl is not bothered, it will slowly closes its eyes and fall asleep. Sometimes if you see an owl during the day, stop and watch. Great horned owls roost during the day in protected rocky caves or on tree limbs.
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