Long-eared Owl
Long-eared Owl
Asio otus
Aves
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
10-15 yrs
Size
Medium
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Coniferous forest
Range
Northern Hemisphere
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Common

About

The long-eared owl is a medium-sized owl with a wide breeding range, found throughout Europe, the Palearctic, and North America. It has long ear tufts that it uses to better locate prey by hearing the movement of rodents, and it hunts mainly at night.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    One or two eggs are incubated on a high stick nest or cliff ledge, guarded closely by the pair.
  2. 2.
    hatchling
    A downy hatchling is fed torn meat by its parents and grows quickly in a high nest.
  3. 3.
    juvenile
    A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to soar and to make its first kills.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown, hunting on its own with adult plumage.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Strigiformes
Family
Strigidae
Genus
Asio
Species
Asio otus