Great Horned Owl (Hoot Owl, Tiger Owl)

The Great Horned Owl is a powerful, heavily built apex predator of the night, easily recognized by its prominent ear tufts, striking yellow eyes, and deep, resonant hooting calls. Its plumage is a masterpiece of camouflage, allowing it to blend seamlessly into tree bark.

Mottled brown, gray, and buff with distinct dark transverse barring and vermiculations characteristic of cryptic owl plumage

Plumulaceous and semiplumulaceous structure with very loose, soft barbs lacking firm hooklets, typical of the velvety silent-flight feathers of owls; significantly frayed and damaged condition

Soft, velvety, and matte texture with no gloss; designed for sound-dampening silent flight rather than waterproofing

Soft velvety texture, lack of rigid hooklets on barbs, mottled brown and gray barred pattern, and characteristic 8-inch length for a body contour feather

Incredibly adaptable, found in deciduous and evergreen forests, deserts, swamps, tundra, urban areas, and agricultural fields

Widespread across the Americas, ranging from the subarctic regions of North America down through Central America to South America

Apex nocturnal predator controlling populations of rodents, rabbits, skunks, and other small mammals, acting as a crucial top-down regulator in food webs

Barred Owl (Strix varia) and Long-eared Owl (Asio otus); distinguished by specific bar width, mottling patterns, and exact structural size

Great Horned Owls possess asymmetrical ear placements for pinpoint sound localization in total darkness and can exert a crushing grip force of over 300 psi

Poor condition, showing heavy fraying along the edges, broken barbs, structural separation of the vanes, and general wear and tear

8 inches