Species: Bubo virginianus
Great Horned Owl
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Strigiformes
Family
Strigidae
Genus
Bubo
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Strigiformes - Strigidae - Bubo - .
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - true - false - Northern populations partially migratory; some individuals, especially young, found in winter up to a few hundred km south of banding site. Band recoveries indicate that most individuals remain within 80 km of banding site (Johnsgard 1988).
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Opportunistic feeder; eats mainly mammals (commonly mouse to rabbit size) and small to large birds (including hawks and waterfowl). Parents provide up to about 300 g of food per day per nestling.
Reproduction Comments
Clutch size averages 2-3. Incubation lasts 26-35 days, mostly by female (male supplies food). Young leave nest at 4-5 weeks, fly well at 9-10 weeks, dependent on parents for several weeks. Most yearling females do not nest. Lost clutch may be replaced. Longevity record in the wild is at least 28 years.
Ecology Comments
In Saskatchewan, productivity (number of young per nest and number of breeders) peaked with peak in snowshoe hare population (Houston 1987); declines in hare density resulted in increased owl dispersal and mortality (Houston and Francis 1995). Home range size varies seasonally and geographically. Breeding territories in southwest Yukon ranged from 230-883 hectares, averaging 483 hectares; home ranges of nonterritorial floaters overlapped the territorial pairs and averaged 725 hectares (Rohner 1997). Density varies in different areas, usually about 1 pair per 5-20 sq km.
Length
56
Weight
1769
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-27
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-27
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
H - 2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: western and central Alaska to southern Keewatin and Labrador, south to southern South America. NON-BREEDING: generally throughout breeding range; northernmost populations partially migratory, wintering south to southern Canada and northern U.S.
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)