The Great Horned Owl can be found over most of North and Central America and some of South America. It is a very large and powerful owl. Here you will find photos, recordings and a brief field notes section to help identify and enjoy this beautiful owl. A more in depth write up and range map can be found in its natural history page (the Biology link). To jump immediately to any of these sections use the Page Jump Links below.

  The Great Horned Owl is one of the most powerful of North American Owls (Denver Holt, founder of The Ninepipes Center for Wildlife Research and Education, assures me that the Snowy Owl is the most powerful... he has been attacked by both!). Both Snowy and Great Gray Owls are larger in size but only the Snowy is more massive (greater average weight). The adult Great Horned is also the only large owl with prominent ear tufts. The larger size, bulky shape and white chest help to differentiate it from the similarly colored Long-eared Owl. The sexes are alike although the females may have a slightly higher, shorter sequence of notes in their call. In contrast with the adults, the juvenile Great Horned may not show ear tufts and call with a "screech" reminiscent of a Barn Owl. Length is 22" (same size as a Red-tailed Hawk), the iris of the eyes is yellow and the bill is slate-black.