Range

Great horned owls are found across the Americas. Here they can be found in the following countries – Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bermuda, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Suriname, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Habitat

Due to their large range they can be found in a range of habitats. These include forest, savanna, shrubland, inland cliff, mountain peaks, swamps, marshes and deserts. In some parts of their range they live in urban areas alongside humans.

Reproduction

Breeding begins in February when pairs will court one another. Males will perform display flights and bring the female food to court her.

Nesting takes place in a tree hollow, they may make use of the abandoned nest of another bird or on a cliff edge.

They rarely add additional material to the nest, if they do it is typically some feathers. In to the nest the female will deposit 2-6 eggs. The number of eggs laid is influenced by the abundance of food at that time.

Both parents remain together to raise the eggs. The young spend the first 9-10 weeks of their life in the nest. They will remain with the parents till they are able to live on their own.

By two months old the great horned owl has enough feathers to puff itself up so it can look bigger and defend itself.

Sexual maturity is reached between one and three years old.

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Behavior

The feathers of a great horned owl have soft edges which make their flight silent. This allows them to sneak up on their prey items. These soft feathers also help to insulate them against the cold.

When hunting they will perch in a tree and listen for food. Their facial disk helps to amplify the noise of their prey and they can then glide down to find the prey item using their night vision.

Pairs communicate using a deep ‘whoo, whoo’ noise. Males vocalize year round but females typically only do this during breeding season.

Outside of the breeding season they are solitary.

The great horned owl is nocturnal with activity taking place between dawn and dusk.

While the eyes of the great horned owl do not turn they are able to rotate their head up to 180 degrees.

Predators and Threats

In most parts of their range the great horned owl represents the apex predator with no animals regularly hunting them.

Young are preyed upon by coyotes, foxes and birds such as raptors and crows. Northern raccoons may eat their eggs.

Humans affect their population through shooting, poisoning and collisions with human structures and vehicles.

Quick facts

Great horned owls are nicknamed the ‘tiger of the sky, tiger owl or cat owl.’

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