Northern Long-eared Owl

The Northern Long-eared Owl is the North American subspecies of the widespread Long-eared Owl, found across much of the continent's forested and semi-open regions. It favors dense conifer or mixed woodland patches for roosting, often adjacent to open fields and grassland used for hunting.

It is well known for forming communal winter roosts, where multiple individuals gather in the same dense stand of trees, an important trait for anyone finding several similar feathers in one location.

Its finely mottled, bark-like plumage combined with long, closely-set ear tufts distinguishes it from the plainer Marsh Owl and the bolder-streaked Striped Owl found in other parts of the Americas.

Shape and Size

Flight feathers are moderate to fairly long, roughly 19-23 cm on primaries, with soft fringed edges for silent flight. Ear-tuft feathers are long and held close together.

Color and Pattern

• Mottled buff, brown, and grey ground color with fine vermiculation, closely resembling bark
• Underparts pale buff with fine dark streaking, less bold than in the Striped Owl
• Facial disc is rufous-buff with a paler rim

Shaft and Vane

Shafts pale brown; vanes soft and finely mottled.

Distinguishing from Similar Species

The fine, intricate mottling (rather than bold streaking) combined with long, closely-set ear tufts helps separate this subspecies' feathers from the more boldly marked Striped Owl and the plainer Marsh Owl found elsewhere in the Americas.

Adults show mottled buff, brown, and grey plumage with fine vermiculation, a rufous-buff facial disc with a paler rim, long ear tufts held close together, and orange eyes.

Sexes look similar, with females slightly larger and often somewhat darker. Juveniles are downier and less finely patterned, developing full adult plumage within their first year. Adults undergo a single annual molt after breeding.

This subspecies is found across much of North America, favoring dense conifer or mixed woodland patches adjacent to open fields, grassland, and agricultural land used for hunting.

Northern populations are migratory, moving south in winter and often forming communal roosts, while some southern populations are largely resident.

The Northern Long-eared Owl is nocturnal, roosting by day in dense conifer stands, sometimes communally with several other individuals during winter. It hunts small mammals over adjacent open fields and grassland.

It nests in old stick nests of other birds within trees rather than building its own. Its call is a low, repeated hoot. A finely mottled buff and brown feather with a long, narrow ear-tuft plume found near dense conifers bordering open fields in North America is consistent with this species.