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Long-eared Owl

Long-eared Owl

Asio otus

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The Long-eared Owl is a slender, medium-sized owl with striking ear tufts, widely distributed across Europe, Asia and North America. It roosts and nests in dense trees but hunts over nearby open ground. It feeds mostly on voles, and its numbers rise and fall with prey cycles. Northern birds are migratory or nomadic, and outside the breeding season it often gathers in communal roosts.

Did you know?

  • Long-eared Owls often gather in shared winter roosts, sometimes dozens in the same trees.
  • The male's low hoots can carry up to about a kilometre.

Voice

Song
Call
Alarm call

About the species

Identification

The upright ear tufts, which it can flatten against the head, are the clearest feature; the eyes are orange-red. It is told from Short-eared Owl by eye colour, streaked belly in flight, lack of a white trailing edge on the wing and finely barred tail.

Family

Strigidae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

brown, orange, black, grey, white

About the habitat

Conifer-dominated forest edges, small woodlots and wooded islands near fields, shores and other open hunting areas.

Diet

Almost entirely small rodents, especially voles and mice; birds and insects form a small part of the diet, more so when rodents are scarce.

Behaviour

Mostly nocturnal, hunting along field edges and clearings and roosting well hidden in dense conifers. It does not build a nest but reuses old nests of crows, magpies and other birds. The female incubates while the male brings food; the young climb about the nest tree before they can fly and beg with loud, squeaky calls at night. The male's song is a low, single hoot repeated every 2–3 seconds.

Sources

Photo: Francesco Veronesi from Italy, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Long-eared Owl - Kisjuszallas - Hungary S4E0920 (15671750198).jpg

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC1107816, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/1107816

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC707093, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/707093

Sound: Alvaro Ortiz Troncoso, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Accipiter_gentilis_-_Northern_Goshawk_XC396773.mp3

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions + Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-eared_owl

See also