Owls of Ohio - Ohio Department of Natural Resources

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here. The combination of large ear tufts and massive size should make greathorned owls easy to identify. Females are larger and more massive, averagingabout ¾ of a pound heavier than males.O h i o S tat u s great horned owlGreat horned owls are common statewide, and occur in every county. Becausethey can accept a variety of different habitats, they are found in areas where otherowls seldom are present. They are scarcest in the large, mature forested regions ofsoutheastern Ohio, as unbroken woodlands are one of the few habitats that greathorned owls are rarely found in.Amazingly, this magnificent species became quite rare – at least locally – inOhio by the early 1900s. Reviled as a predator thought to regularly kill moredesirable animals, great horned owls were frequently shot and no laws were inplace to protect them. Their populations plummeted and they became rare if notextirpated in many areas. By the early 1940s, species such as this were finallyunder legal protection, and their numbers rebounded.Hab itat great horned owlThe best great horned owl habitat is in areas where the landscape is a mosaic ofscattered woodlots, open fields and meadows, marshes, and other open to semiopenhabitats. They generally shun large, older-growth forests. Peak populationsare found in places with large marshes interspersed with small patches of woodsand open fields, such as are commonly found along western Lake Erie. They arerather easily found in heavily agricultural areas, and often occur in suburbansites. On occasion, great horned owls even occupy very urban sites within cities,and will feed on Norway rats at dumps.Hab its great horned owlAlmost strictly nocturnal, great horned owls become active after dusk, bothin terms of hunting and calling. Only rarely are they seen during the day,unless discovered at a roost site. These fierce predators typically hunt froma perch, scanning the area for prey and when a potential meal is spotted,dropping from their lookout and rapidly pouncing on the victim.Photo by: © Gary Meszaros
Normally solitary except during the nesting season, great horned owlsoften roost in large trees, particularly conifers, and if flushed depart withstrong, deep wingbeats in a direct and powerful flight.Young great horned owls. Thesebirds are about five weeks old.C O M M O N O W L S O F O H I O 27D i e t great horned owlAs one of the largest and most powerful owls anywhere, great hornedowls can capture substantial prey. In many areas, rabbits are themost common food item, but this species is thought to consume thegreatest diversity of vertebrates of any North American raptor, and awide array of animals are regularly captured by these opportunistichunters. After rabbits, larger rodents such as Norway rats, muskrats,and woodchucks are probably the most common food items. Greathorned owls also regularly take mice, voles, birds of many species upto the size of ducks and the ring-necked pheasant, various reptiles,and even large insects. This is one of a few predators that routinelycaptures skunks.Pellets are fully cast and expelled about 16 hours after the owlconsumes a meal, and as befits the size of the bird, are generally thelargest of our owls (see photograph).N e s ting great horned owlAbout half of Ohio’s great horned owls commandeer large stick nestsbuilt by other birds, such as red-tailed hawks, American crows, andgreat blue herons. Most of the other nests are located within broken-offtree snags or large relatively open cavities within trees. The presence ofnesting great horned owls can often be discovered by carefully watchingsuitable nests for the telltale “ears” projecting over the top. Great blueheron rookeries are always good places to detect breeding owls, as theyoften take over one of the heron nests. As befits their place at or nearthe top of the bird world’s food chain, great horned owls have even beenknown to drive bald eagles from their nest and assume it as their own.Nesting is very early; this species normally commences courtshipand breeding before any other species of bird in Ohio. Males will beginPhoto by: ©Gary Meszaros
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Page 7 and 8: M o d i fi ed Fe ath er s owl morph
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Page 11 and 12: Ab o u t this Bookle t and CD owls
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Page 15 and 16: y people placing nest boxes in barn
Page 17 and 18: BTRACKS7-12arred owlStrix varia (St
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Page 21 and 22: Eastern screech-owlMegascops asio (
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Page 25: Great horned owlBubo virginianus (B
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Page 31 and 32: O h i o S tat u s l o ng - e a re d
Page 33 and 34: N e s ting long - e a re d o w lLon
Page 35 and 36: Northern saw-whet owlAegolius acadi
Page 37 and 38: likely. When one is found, a very c
Page 39 and 40: Short-eared owlAsio flammeus (Ay-se
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Page 49 and 50: Like the Northern hawk owl and grea
Page 51 and 52: This is one of North America’s mo
Page 53 and 54: This is the smallest owl in the wor
Page 55 and 56: This small owl has a broad but spot
Page 57 and 58: This species has become a symbol of
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Page 61 and 62: Publication FundingFunding for this
Page 63 and 64: A ppa l achi a n Fron tAu du bon So

Owls of Ohio - Ohio Department of Natural Resources

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