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Project Noah Nature School
Bubo virginianus
Great Horned Owls range in length from 18–27 inches and have a wingspan of 40–60.5 inches. Adults have large ear tufts, a reddish, brown or gray face and a white patch on the throat. The iris is yellow. Its "horns" are neither ears nor horns, simply tufts of feathers. The underparts are light with brown barring; the upper parts are mottled brown. The legs and feet are covered in feathers up to the talons. Their call is a low-pitched but loud ho-ho-hoo hoo hoo; sometimes it is only four syllables instead of five. The female's call is higher and rises in pitch at the end of the call.
Reelfoot Visitors Centrer
This Great horned owl is an education animal at the center. She was previously kept as a pet & is too imprinted on humans to survive in the wild.
Spotted on May 9, 2012
Submitted on May 11, 2012
7 Comments
Good girl!! ;-) Thinking about it, some of our birds are the same...but that might be because most of the staff and volunteers are women!!
She is actually quite timid & not at all keen on men!
Definitely. So many kids have never seen an owl!! She looks like she has the right temperament for being an educational bird...she looks very comfortable!
I agree Christy, the good thing though is at least she provides the opportunity to teaching people, especially kids about these wonderful birds.
Her color is beautiful!! She's very dark! At least now she's got a secure home...we have a couple birds imprinted like that, and it's always sad because they don't understand how to be birds!!
Thanks Carol! Yes, it's a shame people take these lovely birds from the wild to try & keep them as pets.
Gorgeous! Glad it was rescued.