Great Horned Owl

The Great Horned Owl is a large, powerful nocturnal predator found across nearly the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic tree line to South America. It is one of the most adaptable owls, living in forests, deserts, wetlands, and even city parks.

Its prominent feather ear tufts (not true ears) and deep, resonant hooting call make it one of the more recognizable owls, though it is most often heard rather than seen due to its nocturnal habits.

Its feathers are a study in cryptic camouflage - fine mottling and vermiculations that break up its outline against tree bark, combined with soft, fringed edges that allow near-silent flight.

Recognizing the feathers

• Flight feathers are large and broad, with soft, comb-like fringed leading edges and velvety trailing edges that muffle airflow noise - a hallmark of owl feathers generally, but notably large in this species.
• Body feathers show fine, dense mottling of brown, grey, and black (vermiculations) rather than bold spots or bars, giving a marbled bark-like look.
• Facial disc feathers are stiff and reddish-brown to buffy, forming a distinct heart-to-round shaped disc.
• Ear-tuft feathers are elongated, dark-tipped plumes on the crown, unique among most confusable species in this size class.

Similar species

• Larger overall size and coarser, darker mottling separate this species' feathers from Screech-Owls; the presence of prominent ear-tuft feathers separates it from Barred, Spotted, and Great Grey Owls, which lack ear tufts entirely.

Plumage

Adults are richly mottled in brown, grey, buff, and black, with a distinctive white throat patch and a rufous-to-buffy facial disc rimmed in black. Plumage tone varies geographically from pale desert forms to darker, richer forms in humid regions.

Sexes look alike, though females are notably larger. Juveniles show a downier, paler, more uniformly barred plumage before acquiring adult feathering.

Molt occurs gradually over late spring through fall, with flight feathers replaced in sequence to maintain flight capability throughout the process.

Habitat & range

One of the most widely distributed owls in the Western Hemisphere, found from the subarctic boreal forest of Canada and Alaska south through the United States, Mexico, Central America, and much of South America.

It is largely non-migratory, with resident populations occupying the same general territory year-round, though some individuals shift locally with prey availability.

Behavior & field notes

A powerful nocturnal hunter taking a very wide range of prey from small mammals to other birds, using acute hearing and silent flight to strike by surprise.

Its deep, rhythmic hooting (often rendered "who's awake, me too") is given especially at dusk and during the breeding season, and often begins nesting activity earlier in the year than most other birds, frequently reusing old hawk or crow nests.

A large, softly fringed flight feather or a finely mottled body feather with a rufous tinge, found beneath a large tree or under a nest platform, is a strong indicator of this widespread species.