The Great Horned Owl is a large owl native to North and South America. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range, though it is not as widespread as the Barn Owl.
Generally, the largest owls are found closer to the Polar regions and the smallest owls are found closer to the Equator, while females are larger than males. Adults have large ear tufts, a reddish, brown or gray face and a white patch on the throat. The iris is yellow. The ear tufts are not actually ears, but simply tufts of feathers.
The Great Horned Owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2014 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
If you think our Birdorable birds are cute as adults, what about when they are babies? Below are some baby photos (shared via Flickr Creative Commons) of the Great Horned Owl. Great Horned Owls don't make their own nests. They will use old nests from squirrels, hawks,... Read more »
After Birdorable fan Ashira sent us her lovely warbler coloring pages, she forwarded this Great Horned Owl image to us. Doesn't it look great? If you’ve colored in any... Read more »
