The Great Grey Owl

The Great Grey Owl

Flaying Animal | The Great Grey Owl | This is the largest bird of the owl, but very light weight, similar to the Wedge-Tailed Eagle Australia. Great horned owls are adaptable birds and live from the Arctic to South America. They are at home in suburbia as well as in woods and farmlands. Northern populations migrate in winter, but most live permanently in more temperate climes.

Adults have a big, rounded head with a gray face and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark streaks; the upper parts are gray with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor.

The Great Grey Owl

Breeding
They breed in North America from as far east as Quebec to the Pacific coast and Alaska, and from Finland and Estonia across northern Asia. They are permanent residents, but may move south and southeast when food is scarce. A small population, estimated at less than 100 birds, occurs in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. This population is the southernmost population of the species' range and is listed Endangered under California's Endangered Species Act.

Habitat
The harvest of timber from the Great Grey Owl's habitat is, perhaps, the greatest threat to this species. Intensified timber management typically reduces live and dead large-diameter trees used for nesting, leaning trees used by juveniles for roosting before they can fly, and dense canopy closures in stands used by juveniles for cover and protection. If perches are not left in clearcuts, Great Grey Owls cannot readily hunt in them. Although human-made structures (made specifically for use by this species) have been utilized by these owls, the species is far more common in areas protected from logging.[citation needed] Livestock grazing in meadows also adversely affects Great Grey Owls, by reducing habitat for preferred prey species.

The Great Grey Owl

Size

Length 61-84cm (24-33") average 72cm (28") for females, 69cm (27") for males
Wingspan up to 152cm (60") average 142cm (56") for female, 140cm (55") for males
Weight 790-1454g (28-51oz) average 1,390g (49oz) for females, 1,290g (45.5oz) for males.

The Great Grey Owl

Habits

Great Gray Owls fly with soft, slow wingbeats and generally do not often move more than short distances between perches and seldom glides. They fly close to the ground, usually less than 6 metres (20 feet) up, except when flying to a nest. May be very aggressive near the nest. The Great Gray Owl thermoregulates by roosting in dense cover. When hot, a Great Gray Owl will pant and droop its wings to expose an unfeathered area under the wing.

The Great Grey Owl