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

The Great Horned Owl is a powerful, heavily built apex predator of the night, easily recognized by its prominent ear tufts, piercing yellow eyes, and deep hooting call. It possesses exceptional night vision and acute hearing, allowing it to ambush a wide variety of prey ranging from mice to large mammals and even other raptors.

Intricate mottled brown and grayish-white barring, featuring bold dark brown horizontal bands across a pale background; excellent camouflage pattern

Plumulaceous and heavily modified pennaceous structure; barbs feature velvety fringe and lack standard rigid interlocking barbicels near the edges to ensure silent flight

Extremely soft, velvety, and matte in texture, lacking the stiff waterproofing oils of waterbirds, specialized for muffling sound during air movement

Distinctive bold brown-and-white barring, velvety soft texture on the outer vane edges for silent flight, and a flexible, pale rachis

Incredibly adaptable, found in deciduous and coniferous forests, deserts, wetlands, urban areas, tundra edges, and agricultural fields

Widespread throughout North America, Central America, and down into South America, making it one of the most widely distributed owls

Serves as a top nocturnal apex predator, helping to regulate rodent and small mammal populations while occasionally providing secondary nesting sites for other birds

Barred Owl (Strix varia) and Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus); distinguished by the specific bold, blocky barring patterns and softer velvety fringes unique to Bubo virginianus

Great Horned Owls are among the earliest nesting birds in North America, often laying eggs in the dead of winter (January or February) in old hawk or squirrel nests

Fair condition; showing some fraying and wear along the edges, with a small tuft of down adhering near the base