A real predator of the owl squad. The roots of the long-eared owl originate in ancient times. Since the beginning of the Cenozoic era, these species of owls have inhabited many of America’s forests. The peculiarity of the long-eared owl follows from the name.
Appearance
The ears stand out strongly on the round head in the form of feather tufts. The color of the bundles is brownish or reddish. The eyes are predominantly orange, less often yellow. The face of a long-eared owl is decorated with dark feathers near the beak and light ones near the chin. The body has a red plumage with brown patterns. They have a sharp beak and a long tail. In terms of its size, the bird is not the most overall, but also rather big. Her body length varies from 30 to 40 centimeters, and her weight can reach 2.5 kilograms. Anatomical differences between the sexes are weak.
Habitat
The long-eared owl is common in Eurasia, Scandinavia and Finland, and is found in Palestine and Iran. Many nests of these mysterious birds are located in the east of Tibet and in the Nanypanya mountains. Part of the population lives in California, southern Arizona, Virginia and Oklahoma. Love these representatives will settle on the islands. They can be found in the Canary, Azores, Japanese and British Isles.
Eared are also found in the Russian Federation. They prefer to inhabit deciduous forests of the Orenburg, Krasnoyarsk, Perm and Tula regions.
This type of owl is prone to a nomadic lifestyle. They migrate mainly during cold weather, as they are poorly adapted to the winter climate. Forests, parks, bushes are chosen as habitats.
Nutrition
The typical diet of a long-eared owl is determined by the region in which it lives. Owls are birds of prey, therefore, most of their diet consists of small mammals.
Typically, their food includes:
- Moles;
- Frogs;
- Voles, rats or mice;
- Shrews;
- The bats.
Many birds eat various insects and beetles. But most long-eared owls fill up to 80% of their diet with rodents. In addition, these birds of prey have been seen hunting rooks, pheasants and partridges. Nutrition by these representatives takes up no more than 10% of the total diet.
Hunting
Long-eared owls hunt in different ways. The type of hunting is determined by the biotype of the habitat and its noisiness. As a rule, most long-eared owls choose mixed forests as habitats. While hunting in the forest, a long-eared owl tracks its prey on tall branches of trees and waits for the victim to be distracted in order to quickly attack it. Dwelling in open areas, long-eared owls use search flights. The bird circles above the ground in search of potential prey. Some long-eared owls sit on the ground to watch their food.
Reproduction
The mating season for long-eared owls begins with the arrival of spring. At the beginning of March, the birds behave very noisily, emitting meek cries calling on the future partner to mating flight. When forming a pair, long-eared owls rents nests of magpies, crows or rooks. They can settle on the grass. In the selected nest, the female lays 3 to 9 eggs. Engaged in incubation and protection alone. At night, she is forced to leave her eggs in order to find herself prey for food.
Chicks of a long-eared owl
The cubs of a long-eared owl are born in 25-30 days. Little chicks are born completely helpless with a weight of 14-25 grams. The bodies of the owls are covered with white fluff. Vision is absent in the first days of life. Long-eared owls begin to get stronger on the fourth day. During this period, they have vision. Within a month, a small eared owl becomes like a formed bird. You can distinguish a baby owl only by the nature of the plumage. Finally, it is formed by two months of life. Owlets become sexually mature at the age of one year.
Features of behavior
The long-eared owl is activated at nightfall. Daytime is used for sleep and rest, avoiding contact with the outside world. Owls can form small groups during the extramarital season. During nesting, they prefer to separate from a neighbor at a distance of 100 meters. In search of prey, birds go out one by one. Long-eared owls are relatively calm, but during the mating season they can be aggressive. At potential danger, they begin to fluff up their feathers and hiss menacingly.
Listening to the voice of a long-eared owl
Great video about a long-eared owl
