Avian Beauty Podcast #13

07/26/19 • 2 min

The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) is a successful hunter. Early naturalists called these owls "winged tigers" because of their ferocity. While rare, a great horned owl can occasionally catch and kill even a peregrine falcon! When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The owls use this deadly grip to sever the spine of large prey.

To aid them in their hunt they have large eyes and large pupils that open wide for excellent night vision, paired with excellent hearing.

Distributed throughout vast portions of North and South America, the great horned owl is famous for its hoot. This is the owl most children are first exposed to in story tales.

They hunt at night, drifting silently looking for insects, reptiles and other birds.

There are roughly 225 living owl species, and of those about 50 have ear tufts - including the great horned owl. Though the tufts on their heads resemble ears, and are indeed often called "ear tufts," they are really just tufts of feathers. An owl’s ears are located lower down on its head, on the margin of the facial disk. Great horned owls use these tufts of feathers when they are agitated by a potential intruder or when they want to carry out threat displays. Some researchers think the tufts are helpful in species recognition.

Without birds like the great horned owls, the food chain would be unbalanced. Also some animals would become over populated. Owls are important to farmers because they kill/eat rodents that kill the farmers crops.

Next week, I'll talk more about owls and how they are referenced in both ancient and modern culture.

I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Avian Beauty. Thanks for listening.
Be sure to visit avianbeauty.com for more bird inspiration and information and please consider subscribing (for free) to our blog and podcast. I’m Scott Bourne. Happy birding.

To aid them in their hunt they have large eyes and large pupils that open wide for excellent night vision, paired with excellent hearing.

Distributed throughout vast portions of North and South America, the great horned owl is famous for its hoot. This is the owl most children are first exposed to in story tales.

They hunt at night, drifting silently looking for insects, reptiles and other birds.

Next week, I'll talk more about owls and how they are referenced in both ancient and modern culture.

Previous Episode

Avian Beauty Podcast #12

Imagine that you're a mourning dove - happily flying around when all of a sudden, you see a terrifying peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) flying straight at you.

Peregrine falcons are very powerful, fast-flying hunters who's favorite meal would be another bird. The Peregrine eats mourning doves, pigeons, shorebirds, waterfowl, ptarmigan, grouse, and smaller songbirds. The most common prey item is pigeons. Peregrine falcons will also eat small reptiles and mammals.

But don't hate them because of their diet. In fact, like most things in nature, they're part of a grander plan.

With a hat-tip to Jason Ward, these sky Lamborghinis are the fastest animal on the planet, capable of reaching speeds of more than 200 miles per hour in a dive. They are found worldwide and are one of the most widespread terrestrial vertebrate species in the world.

Because of their fantastic agility and capability for high speeds, peregrine falcons have been the favorite choice of falconers. Falconers train them to hunt other birds.

They were virtually eradicated from eastern North America by pesticide poisoning in the middle 20th century. After significant recovery efforts, Peregrine Falcons have made an incredible rebound and are now regularly seen in many large cities and coastal areas.

While Peregrine falcons are high up on the food chain, they aren't completely free from predators. Next week, I'm going to talk about one of the birds that can introduce turn about is fair play to the Peregrine. Want to find out which bird eats the falcon tune in and please tell your friends.

Next Episode

Avian Beauty Podcast #14

Based on response I get to this podcast and to my bird photography, it's safe to say that people love raptors and particularly owls. (One exception is on the African Continent where most people think they are evil - but that's another podcast.)

For all of man's time on this earth, owls have been used as symbols of knowledge, wisdom, power and even as idols in some religions. Whether it's ancient or modern culture, owls seem to capture our hearts and our minds.

Owls are referenced in many spiritual texts, including the Bible.

I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. Job 30:29

Many North American Indian tribes thought owls were sacred. Yakima Indians used them on totems.

Owls have always been part of the root metaphors of how humans relate to the land. One of the earliest human drawings dating back to the early Paleolithic period was of a family of Snowy Owls (Nyctea scandiaca) painted on a cave wall in France.

They pop up in petroglyphs, paintings and now in books and movies.

U.S. Geological Survey databases reveal 576 places in the United States that in some way are named "owl," such as Owlshead Canyon, Owl Mine, Owl Creek, and Owl Hollow.

Owls play a big part in our popular culture.

Whether it's Wini the Pooh or The Owl And The Pussycat, owls have been featured in nursery rhymes. In movies, owls were prominent figures in Twin Peaks and of course Harry Potter, where Hedwig serves as an important symbol of Harry's childhood and owls are used to deliver the mail. Woodsy Owl, the U.S. Forest Service mascot, has encouraged children to protect the environment for almost four decades. His motto was “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!” Then there is Hooters the restaurant chain and I think I'll stop there.

Owls are a big part of our lives and are possibly the avian world's best known ambassadors.

Next week, I'll talk more about raptors - this time bald eagles, and how they fit into our popular culture.

I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Avian Beauty. Thanks for listening.

Be sure to visit avianbeauty.com for more bird inspiration and information and please consider subscribing (for free) to our blog and podcast. I’m Scott Bourne. Happy birding.