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

This feather belongs to the Great Horned Owl, a powerful apex predator known for its iconic 'ear' tufts and deep hooting. The owl itself is large and bulky with a wingspan of up to 4.8 feet. Its plumage is a masterwork of camouflage, mimicking tree bark.

Mottled brown and tawny coloration with heavy dark brown transverse banding. The base color is a cream-to-tan buff, overlaid with irregular, zig-zagging dark eumelanin bars.

Densely pennaceous throughout most of the vane but transitioning to plumulaceous (downy) at the base. Includes specialized velvet-like pile (fimbriae) on the surface to dampen sound.

Extremely soft and velvety to the touch. It has a matte finish without iridescence, featuring a 'muffled' surface that reduces air turbulence and noise.

Soft, velvety texture; dark transverse banding; rounded tip; fringe-like leading edge for silent flight; buffy-orange undertones.

Highly adaptable; found in deciduous and evergreen forests, swamps, deserts, subarctic tundra, and urban parklands/suburbs.

Year-round resident throughout North and South America, ranging from the tree line in the Arctic to the southern tip of South America.

Apex nocturnal predator. They control populations of rodents, skunks, and even other birds of prey. They do not build their own nests, instead using old nests of hawks and crows.

Long-eared Owl feathers are similar but much smaller and more slender. Barred Owl feathers lack the 'messy' mottling and have more distinct, clean brown-and-white bars.

Great Horned Owls can apply 200 to 500 pounds per square inch of pressure with their talons. They are one of the few animals that regularly prey on skunks because they have a poor sense of smell.

Good condition. The barbs are mostly intact, though there is some minor fraying at the tip and separation in the inner vane. The calamus is clean, suggesting a natural molt.