Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
Aves
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- 13-20 yrs
- Size
- Large
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Pair
- Biome
- Temperate forest
- Range
- Americas
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
The Great Horned Owl is one of North America's most powerful raptors, capable of taking prey as large as ospreys and great blue herons. Its distinctive "horns" are feather tufts used for camouflage and communication, not ears.
Life cycle
- 1.eggOne or two eggs are incubated on a high stick nest or cliff ledge, guarded closely by the pair.
- 2.hatchlingA downy hatchling is fed torn meat by its parents and grows quickly in a high nest.
- 3.juvenileA feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to soar and to make its first kills.
- 4.adultFully grown, hunting on its own with adult plumage.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Bubo
- Species
- Bubo virginianus