Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
Length: 22”
Wingspan: 44”
Weight: 3.1 lb
Appears in Michigan: year-round
Voice: Song is a deep rhythmic hooting, hoo hoodoo hooo hoo; female’s voice is higher pitched than male’s. Juvenile’s begging call is variable, usually a high, wheezy, scratchy reeeek or sheew or cheeoip.
The largest owl in Michigan is rarely seen or even heard – The “hoo hoo hoodoo hoo” song of the Great Horned Owl has great carrying power but few people are out late enough to enjoy it. This is the best time of year to hear them, though – Mating behavior began in January and some pairs already have eggs. If you’re outside at night near large woodlots, keep an ear open for pairs calling back and forth.
Like most birds of prey, females of both species are bigger than males. This owl is named for its large “ear” tufts, described by some as similar to cat ears – Its real ears, hidden by feathers, are located much closer to its cheeks. Juveniles don’t have ear tufts until they molt into their adult plumage. Great Horned Owls show a great deal of color variation throughout their range. In Michigan they are tawny brown overall with grey mottling on their backs and dark brown barring on their fronts. Their faces are brown to tawny-orange, their eyes are yellow, their beaks are black, and their feet are orange-yellow. Females are browner and more heavily marked than males.
Habitat and Range
These widespread owls can be found throughout North America up to the Arctic Circle. They prefer large woodlots and remote forested areas but also make their homes in the Great Plains and the desert Southwest. While northern birds may irruptively migrate when food supplies are scarce, most Great Horned Owls “stay at home” for the winter.
Great Horned Owls, like most owls, do not build their own nests; instead, they take over an old nest of another large bird (Red-tailed Hawk nests are frequently used), an old squirrel nest, a large cavity in a tree, or even on ledges or in jumbled rocks. (Nests on the ground are rare.) Two nearly spherical white eggs are laid between the end of January and the middle of April. Incubation takes a month and it’s another month before the young birds leave the nest.
Rabbit-sized mammals are the preferred food, but Great Horned Owls have been documented taking a wide variety of prey: swans, skunks, porcupines, crayfish, frogs, fish, mice, weasels, snakes, hawks, bats, and other owls. Rural homeowners can lose their free-ranging house cats to this owl. Hunting Great Horned Owls can be spotted at dusk, waiting on prominent perches until they hear something.