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Project Noah Nature School
Bubo virginianus
This is a friends imprinted owl. From wiki The Great Horned Owl is the heaviest extant owl in Central and South America and is the second heaviest owl in North America, after the closely related but very different looking Snowy Owl (B. scandiacus). It ranges in length from 43–64 cm (17–25 in) and has a wingspan of 91–153 cm (36–60 in).[2][3] Females are invariably somewhat larger than males. An average adult is around 55 cm (22 in) long with a 124 cm (49 in) wingspan and weighing about 1.4 kg (3.1 lb).[4] Depending on subspecies, the Great Horned Owl can weigh from 0.6 to 2.6 kg (1.3 to 5.7 lb).[5] Among standard measurements, the tail measures 17.5–25 cm (6.9–9.8 in) long, the wing chord measures 31.3–40 cm (12.3–16 in), the tarsal length is 5.4–8 cm (2.1–3.1 in) and the bill is 3.3–5.2 cm (1.3–2.0 in).[6]
Spotted on Jun 26, 2013
Submitted on Jul 4, 2013
1 Comment
Hi Dom and welcome to Project Noah! You have photographed a beautiful Eagle Owl, not a Great Horned Owl. These raptors are not endemic to North America...but are found throughout most of the rest of the world. As this is not a native raptor, would you please remove this from the mission Raptors of North America? Also, is your friend a licensed handler? Is this a rehab/educational bird? These birds are illegal to own unless properly permitted and licensed. If this is a legal bird, you may want to mention, in the notes above, the facility where your friend works with the owl. There are a couple missions you may be interested in: Captive Animals: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/7973... and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/7973....
If you have more questions, please refer to the FAQ at the bottom of the page. Welcome again and I hope to see more of your spottings!