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

A magnificent large owl with prominent ear tufts and yellow eyes. The feather reflects the bird's stealthy nature, featuring a soft surface that dampens sound. The Great Horned Owl is a powerful predator with a wingspan of up to 5 feet.

Mottled brown, tan, and creamy white; features 5-6 broad dark brown transverse bands against a buffy-ochre background; the ventral side is paler than the dorsal side

Pennaceous upper section with specialized velvet-like pile (flutulaceous surface) and plumulaceous downy base; features a 'comb-like' leading edge (fimbriae) for silent flight

Extremely soft and velvety to the touch (the 'muffle' effect); matte finish with no iridescence; leading edge feels slightly serrated

Broad dark banding, velvety surface texture (hirsute), and the 'fringed' trailing edge typical of nocturnal predators

Highly adaptable: found in deciduous and evergreen forests, swamps, deserts, subalpine fields, and urban parks/orchards

Year-round resident across most of North America (from the subarctic to Mexico), Central America, and South America

Apex nocturnal predator; controls populations of rodents, rabbits, and other birds; long-lived and sensitive to environmental toxins

Long-eared Owl (smaller, different banding frequency) and Barred Owl (shorter bands, more grayish-brown rather than ochre/buff)

Great Horned Owls can exert over 300 pounds per square inch of pressure with their talons and are one of the few predators that regularly hunt skunks

Fair to Good; shows significant mechanical wear on the barbs and some separation of the vane (splits), likely a naturally molted feather from an older bird