Great Horned Owl Flashcards
What is the largest owl in North America?
The great gray owl
What is interesting about northern great horned owls?
They are larger and paler.
What do great horned owls in more humid climates look like?
They are smaller and darker.
How much do great horned owls weigh?
Up to 4.5 pounds
What is the wingspan of the great horned owl?
3 to 5 feet
Are male or female great horned owls larger?
Females.
True or false? Great horned owls are picky nesters.
False. They will nest in almost everything including trees, nests of other birds, and ground depressions.
Does the male great horned owl participate in incubation?
Yes.
What is the incubation period of the great horned owl? (months)
1 month
How many chicks does the great horned owl have?
1 to 5
How long do great horned owls live in the wild?
Up to 20 years.
How long do great horned owls live in captivity?
Over 35 years.
What is the one habitat you will not find a great horned owl in?
Tropical rain forest.
What is the range of the great horned owl?
Throughout North and South America.
What do great horned owls eat?
Birds and mammals, including other owls.
Is the great horned owl nocturnal?
Yes.
How many degrees are owls able to rotate their heads?
270
How do the prominent ear tufts help a great horned owl?
They are not fully understood, but they are thought to be used to determine dominance and territorial status. They also aid in camouflage and hearing.
What is the conservation status of the great horned owl?
Least concern.
Are owls generally considered to be smart animals?
No.
True or false? The great horned owl is one of the most irritable birds of prey.
True.
True or false? The great horned owl occupies many territories over its lifetime.
False. It mostly relies on one.
Why can owls fly silently?
They have serrated feathers on their remiges and the feathers are overall very stiff.
How long does it take for an owl to regurgitate a pellet?
6 - 10 hours.
How long is the pellet of a great horned owl?
4 inches
How do great horned owls kill their prey?
They crush it with their talons.
True or false? Great horned owls have been observed scavenging from a deer carcass.
True.
With what raptor does the great horned owl share a nocturnal-diurnal counterpart relationship with?
The red-tailed hawk.
Are great horned owls monogamous?
Yes.
What raptor did the great horned owl hamper the recovery of?
The peregrine falcon.
How many different species on the U.S. threatened species list do great horned owls hunt?
Fifty.
What did native Americans admire great horned owls for?
Their strength, courage, and beauty.
What did the Pima Indians believe great horned owls were?
They believed they were the spirits of dead warriors.
What did some Native American tribes believe the call of the great horned owl did?
They believed it brought love.
What did Zuni warriors do with owl feathers?
They would hold them in their mouths while hunting, hoping to channel some of the owl’s silence.
What is the provincial bird of Alberta?
The great horned owl.
Why were great horned owls sometimes considered a pest in the past?
They killed a lot of popular game birds.
How many great horned owls are there in the Americas?
5 million
How large are the eyes of a great horned owl?
About the size of a human’s.
HOW BIG WOULD A HUMAN’S EYES BE IF THEY WERE THE SIZE OF A GREAT HORNED OWL’S?
THE SIZE OF GRAPEFRUITS.
How many neck vertebrae do owls have?
Fourteen.
