Long-eared owl

Long-eared owl
At a Falconry Centre in England
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Asio
Species: A. otus
Binomial name
Asio otus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Range of A. otus      Breeding range     Year-round range     Wintering range
Synonyms
  • Asio wilsonianus
  • Strix otus

The long-eared owl (Asio otus, previously Strix otus) is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping of owls are the barn owls, family Tytonidae.

Description

The long-eared owl is a medium-sized owl, 31–40 cm (12–16 in) in length with an 86–100 cm (34–39 in) wingspan and a body mass of 178–435 g (6.3–15.3 oz).[2][3] It has erect blackish ear-tufts, which are positioned in the center of the head. The ear-tufts are used to make the owl appear larger to other owls while perched. The female is larger in size and darker in coloration than the male. The long-eared owl's brownish feathers are vertically streaked. Tarsus and toes are entirely feathered. Eye disks are also characteristic in this species. However, the eye disks of A. otus are darker in color or rusty-orange. This nocturnal species is perhaps most easily seen perched in a tree in its daytime roost, sometimes in small groups during the winter months. There are about six thousand long eared owls in The United States,and fifty thousand in the whole world.

Long-eared owl at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (Wyoming)

Separation from short-eared owl

Over much of its range, long-eared owls occur with the similar-looking short-eared owl. At rest, the ear-tufts of the long-eared owl serve to easily distinguish the two (although long-eared owls can sometimes hold their ear-tufts flat). The iris-colour differs: yellow in short-eared, and orange in long-eared, and the black surrounding the eyes is vertical on long-eared, and horizontal on short-eared. Overall, the short-eared owl tends to be a paler, sandier bird than the long-eared. There are a number of other ways in which the two species differ which are best seen when they are flying:

Close-up of the head.

Behavior

Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

The long-eared owl's breeding season is from February to July. This bird is partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of its temperate range. Its habitat is forest close to open country. Overall, these owls are secretive, and are rarely seen.

It nests in trees, often coniferous, using the old stick nests of other birds such as crows, ravens and magpies and various hawks. The average clutch size is 4–6 eggs, and the incubation time averages from 25–30 days. It will readily use artificial nesting baskets. An unusual characteristic of this species is its communal roosting in thickets during the winter months. The young have a characteristic call, likened to a rusty hinge.

The long-eared owl hunts over open country by night. It is very long winged, like the similar short-eared owl, and glides slowly on stiff wings when hunting. Its food is mainly rodents, small mammals, and birds. In Europe it faces competition from the tawny owl and is most numerous in localities where the tawny is absent, notably in Ireland, where it is the dominant owl.

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized:[5][6]

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Asio otus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
  3. "Long-eared Owl". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
  4. Harris, Alan, Laurel Tucker and Keith Vinicombe (1989) The MacMillan Field Guide to Bird Identification pages 147-149 (reference covers whole paragraph)
  5. "Long-eared Owl". owlpages.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  6. "Long-eared Owl". ARKive. Wildscreen. Retrieved 2013-04-23.

Bibliography

Migration

In Art

John James Audubon illustrates the "Long-eared Owl - Strix otus" as Plate 383 in Birds of America, published London, 1827-38. The print was engraved by Robert Havell in 1837. The original watercolor was purchased from Audubon's destitute widow by The New York History Society where it remains to this day.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asio otus.
Wikispecies has information related to: Asio otus
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