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

A large, powerful owl with prominent ear tufts and a white throat patch. The feather reflects the owl's camouflaged plumage, designed to blend into bark and shadows. This species is the 'classic' owl of storybooks, known for its deep, rhythmic hooting.

Mottled grayish-brown and buff base with thick, dark chocolate-brown transverse bars. The underside is paler with less distinctive barring.

Pennaceous throughout most of the vane but with a specialized velvety, plumulaceous surface coating (velutinum) and a comb-like fringe (fimbriae) on the leading edge for silent flight.

Extremely soft and velvety to the touch. The surface has a matte appearance due to specialized barbules that dampen sound waves.

Presence of velvet-like 'muffling' on the surface, soft fringed leading edge (silent flight adaptation), and bold dark brown banding on a buff background.

Highly adaptable; found in deciduous and evergreen forests, swamps, deserts, subarctic tundra, city parks, and suburban areas.

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; controls populations of rodents, rabbits, and even other birds of prey. Highly sensitive to environmental toxins like rodenticides.

Barred Owl (smaller, more uniform banding), Long-eared Owl (smaller, different barring pattern), and Great Gray Owl (larger, thinner bands).

Great Horned Owls have a crushing power in their talons of up to 500 psi. They are one of the few predators that regularly hunt skunks, as they have a poor sense of smell.

Good to Fair; shows some separation of the barbs (zipper effect) and wear at the tip, likely a naturally molted feather from the summer season.