Long-eared Owl

Asio otus

Order STRIGIFORMES - Family STRIGIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A bird of temperate forests, the Long-eared Owl roosts and nests in trees by day and hunts in open areas by night. Though widespread and relatively common in its range, it is rarely seen.

Cool Facts

• It has been shown under controlled conditions that the Long-eared Owl can catch mice in complete darkness.

• Like some other owls, the Long-eared Owl has asymmetrical ear openings: the left ear opening is higher than the right. This positioning helps the bird to locate prey by sound.

• The hoot of the male Long-eared Owl can sometimes be heard up to 1 kilometer (0.7 mi) away.

Description

• Size: 35-40 cm (14-16 in)
• Wingspan: 90-100 cm (35-39 in)
• Weight: 220-435 g (7.77-15.36 ounces)

• Medium-sized owl.
• Mostly brown and cryptically marked.
• Conspicuous "ear" tufts.
• Orange facial disk.
• White feathers form an X between eyes.

• Dark streaking and barring on chest and belly.
• Wings long and rounded.
• Dark patch at wrist on underside of wings.
• Eyes yellow.
• Fully feathered legs and feet.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, male usually paler and smaller than female.

Immature

Similar to adult.

Similar Species

• Great Horned Owl is similarly marked but is larger and more robust, with more widely spaced ear tufts.
• Short-eared Owl is paler, with less prominent ear tufts, and no barring on the belly, but is very similar in flight.

Sound

Song of male is an even hoot, repeated every two to four seconds. Alarm calls vary; most common alarm call resembles barking.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from western Canada to the Maritime Provinces, southward to Baja California, southern Arizona and New Mexico, and the Great Lakes region. Also breeds widely across Eurasia from the United Kingdom to Manchuria and Japan.

Winter Range

Migrates out of northernmost portions of North American breeding range. Winters elsewhere in breeding range, and occasionally elsewhere in United States, southward to Mexico and Middle Atlantic states. Old World populations migrate southward to Pakistan, Persian Gulf and Egypt.

Habitat

Dense vegetation adjacent to open grassland or shrubland, and open forests.

Food

Small mammals; sometimes birds.

Behavior

Foraging

Hunts almost exclusively at night. Flies low over open ground, locating prey by ear. Kills prey with a bite to the back of the skull; often swallows prey whole.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Uses stick nests built by other bird species, including Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, and hawks. In rare cases, nests in cavities.

Egg Description

White.

Clutch Size

2-10 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless, eyes closed, covered in white down.

Conservation Status

Listed as Endangered in Illinois, Threatened in Iowa, and as a species of special concern in several states. Habitat loss from land development is the probable cause of declines in California and New Jersey.

Other Names

Hibou moyen-duc (French)
Buho chico (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Marks, J. S., D. L. Evans, and D. W. Holt. 1994. Long-eared Owl (Asio otus). In The Birds of North America, No. 133 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.