Bubo virginianus

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

The Great horned owl occupies a wider variety of habitats and has a distribution greater than any other owl. It is found in the northern boreal forests , the rainforest of Central America and the Amazon Basin , and coastal mangrove forests and desert regions of both North and South America.

Vegetation: montaine evergreen forests, tropical lowland evergreen forest, tropical deciduous forests, gallery forests, tropical lowland evergreen forest, pine-oak forests, arid lowland scrubs, arid montane scrubs • Maximum Elevation: 4,400 meters • Foraging Strata: Canopy • Center of Abundance: Lower subtropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; subtropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 4,653 meters (0 to 15,266 feet).Mean = 470.200 meters (1,542.651 feet), Standard Deviation = 633.360 based on 19,985 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.5Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 1.6Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland 1.9Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane 3.5Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 3.7Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Biology

Diet

It hunts mostly during the night, perching on a lower tree limb (or other perch) with a good view . When it sees a food item, it swoops down to capture it. Its diet includes small mammals (especially rabbits and rodents), birds, small vertebrates , amphibians , and occasionally some fish and insects.

A variety of animals are included in the owl's diet such as shrews, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, hawks, fish and frogs . Prey is taken to a regular feeding perch or the nest to be eaten, usually in whole or large pieces . Twelve to eighteen hours later a pellet is regurgitated. Along with providing the bird with a means of getting rid of the undigestible parts of its prey, the regurgitation of the pellet scrapes off bacteria growing in the owl's throat .

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in mid-December, peaks in mid-January to March, and extends until late April. The Great Horned Owl nests in a variety of wooded habitats , on top of nests abandoned by animals such as hawks, crows, or squirrels. The female lays 1-6 (usually 2-3) eggs that she incubates for 26-35 days. The male feeds the female while she is on the eggs. The young are semi-altricial, and fledge about 35 days after hatching . Both adults care for the young while they remain in the nest.

Great horned owls do not build their own nest. They use an abandoned nest of a red-tailed hawk, crow, bald eagle, or heron located at a height of 15-79 feet. A nest is rarely used more than once and any damage done to the nest is not repaired.

They raise one brood of young per year. Two to five eggs are laid on successive days with incubation beginning with the laying of the first egg. The eggs are incubated 34-36 days.

The great horned owl reaches maturity at two years. While it is difficult to determine the longevity of this bird in the wild, in captivity they often live past twenty years.

• Clutch Size: 1-4
• Length of Incubation: 26-35 days
• Days to Fledge: 35
• Number of Broods: 1

Migration

Nonmigratory

Behavior

Great horned owls are typical nocturnal hunters, though occasionally they are seen in daylight. When owls are not hunting, they are anything but silent. They have blood curdling screams, hoots, whistles, coughs and screeches. Their night sounds are sometimes territorial warnings to other males or, more often, mating calls .

The call of this owl is a long series of hooo's.

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Bubo virginianus (Gmelin) 1788
2. Bubo virginianus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 28-Sep-2005.

Similar Species

Long-Eared Owl, Great Gray Owl

Members of the genus Bubo

There are approximately 105 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

B. africanus (Spotted Eagle-Owl) · B. africanus africanus · B. africanus cinerascens · B. africanus kollmannspergeri · B. africanus milesi · B. africanus tanae · B. ascalaphus (Pharaoh Eagle-Owl) · B. ascalaphus barbarus · B. ascalaphus desertorum · B. ascalaphus trothae · B. bengalensis · B. blakistoni (Blakiston's Fish-Owl) · B. blakistoni blakistoni · B. blakistoni doerriesi · B. blakistoni piscivorus · B. bubo (Eurasian Eagle-Owl) · B. bubo ascalaphus · B. bubo bengalensis · B. bubo borissowi · B. bubo bubo · B. bubo dauricus · B. bubo hemachalanus · B. bubo hispanus · B. bubo hungaricus · B. bubo inexpectatus · B. bubo interpositus · B. bubo jakutensis · B. bubo jarlandi · B. bubo kiautschensis · B. bubo nikolskii · B. bubo norwegicus · B. bubo omissus · B. bubo ruthenus · B. bubo setschuanus · B. bubo sibiricus · B. bubo ssp · B. bubo swinhoei · B. bubo tarimensis · B. bubo tenuipes · B. bubo tibetanus · B. bubo turcomanus · B. bubo ussuriensis · B. bubo yenisseensis · B. bubo zaissanensis · B. capensis (Cape Eagle-Owl) · B. capensis capensis · B. capensis dillonii · B. capensis mackinderi · B. cinerascens · B. coromandus (Dusky Eagle-Owl) · B. coromandus coromandus · B. coromandus klossii · B. hemachalana · B. insularis · B. kiautschensis · B. lacteus (Milky Eagle Owl) · B. leptosteus · B. leucostictus (Akun Eagle-Owl) · B. longaevus · B. mackinderi · B. magellanicus · B. maximus · B. nepalensis · B. nipalensis (Forest Eagle-Owl) · B. nipalensis blighi · B. nipalensis nipalensis · B. pallidus · B. philippensis (Philippine Eagle-Owl) · B. philippensis mindanensis · B. philippensis philippensis · B. poensis (Fraser's Eagle-Owl) · B. poensis poensis · B. scandiaca · B. scandiacus (Snowy Owl) · B. shelleyi (Shelley's Eagle-Owl) · B. sinclairi · B. sumatrana · B. sumatranus (Barred Eagle-Owl) · B. sumatranus strepitans · B. sumatranus sumatranus · B. sumatranus tenuifasciatus · B. turcomanus · B. virginianus (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus algistus (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus deserti · B. virginianus elachistus (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus heterocnemis (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus lagophonus (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus magellanicus · B. virginianus mayensis (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus mesembrinus · B. virginianus nacurutu (American Horned Owl) · B. virginianus nigrescens · B. virginianus occidentalis (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus pacificus (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus pallescens (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus saturatus (Great Horned Owl) · B. virginianus scalariventris · B. virginianus subarcticus · B. virginianus virginianus (Great Horned Owl)

Bibliography

• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 26, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 15 providers.
• Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 26, 2007:

• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Ontario Nest Records
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal British Columbia Museum

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3852554
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-177894
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13812859
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 177884
• IUCN ID: 48525
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNSB05010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 257

Footnotes

©2004-2009 the BayScience Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.