Great Horned Owl (also known as Tiger Owl or Hoot Owl)

A large, powerful owl with prominent ear tufts and striking yellow eyes. The feather reflects the bird's cryptic camouflage, designed to blend into bark and shadows. This predatory bird has a wingspan of up to 5 feet and is known for its deep, resonant hooting.

Alternating broad bands of dark soot-brown or charcoal and lighter grayish-buff or tawny. The tip features a distinct dark band followed by a thin, lighter terminal edge.

Pennaceous throughout most of the vane with a soft, plumulaceous base. The barbs are highly specialized with velvet-like dorsal surfaces and slightly fimbriated (fringed) edges to dampen sound.

Velvety, soft, and matte. The surface is covered in a fine pile (fuzz) that reduces air turbulence; it lacks the glossy finish found in many diurnal raptors.

Distinctive broad dark banding, velvety 'silent flight' texture, and a rounded tip with a light terminal fringe.

Extremely versatile; found in deciduous and coniferous forests, deserts, suburban parks, agricultural areas, and rocky canyons.

Resident throughout North and South America, from the subarctic tree line in Alaska and Canada to the southern tip of South America.

Apex nocturnal predator; controls populations of rodents, rabbits, and other birds. They are an essential part of the forest food web.

Barred Owl feathers (starker, cleaner horizontal bars) and Great Gray Owl feathers (longer, more numerous narrow bands).

Great Horned Owls are one of the few predators that regularly hunt skunks, as they have a very poor sense of smell. Their 'ears' are actually just tufts of feathers and have nothing to do with hearing.

Good to Fair; the feather shows some mechanical wear and fraying at the tip and along the lower barbs. There is slight separation of the vanes near the calamus.