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Representatives of the species long-eared owl lead a secretive life. They go hunting only at night. They live in forests on the territory of America and Eurasia. The bird belongs to the order of owls, belongs to the family of ordinary owls.
Appearance
A characteristic feature of these birds is the presence of "ears". But these are not real ears, but simply sticking beams of feathers located on the head of a bird. In fact, their ears are two small holes that are located on the sides.
Their heads are round, characteristic of all owls. The face disk, which is formed by feathers, has a yellow color. Their eyes are orange, rather large. Their beak is black. It is small in size, therefore it is hardly noticeable on the large face of the bird, which is covered with thick plumage.
The body is slender, medium in size.The wings are long and powerful. Male and female do not differ from each other in appearance.
The plumage has a motley color, which is very similar in color to the bark of trees. Therefore, when a bird sits on a branch, it is almost invisible to other animals. On the back of an eared owl, the plumage has a dark color with bright small specks, on its belly there are light stripes.
The length of an adult bird leaves about 35-38 cm. The wingspan of them is slightly less than a meter. The bird weighs only 260-300 g, but because of the thick plumage looks larger.
Habitat in nature
Related species
The closest species is a marsh owl that lives in open areas. Also related are striped, capey and several other species of owls.
Nutrition
These birds hunt mainly for small rodents. Their favorite food is rats, voles, shrews.Sometimes their victims are small birds, such as sparrows and some finch birds. Eat an eared owl can even such a large sacrifice, like a hare or a jay.
When they feed their little chicks, they catch large insects for them. These are usually different bugs. Their hunting ground is an open area. It can be a field or a meadow. Looking for prey, an eared owl hovers in the air, making no sound. In this case, her eyes intently examine the terrain. At night, these birds perfectly see, they can see the victim even on a moonless night. Their hearing is also very sharp. As soon as the long-eared owl realizes that the prey is nearby, it immediately attacks it.
Lifestyle
Almost all eared owls lead a sedentary life. For the winter, the inhabitants of northern Europe fly to the southern territory of their range.
They live in the forest. Most often they choose coniferous forest for life, but sometimes they can be found in mixed. Occasionally, an eared owl can be seen also in a swamp or heather field. In the territory of their range, representatives of the species are very common. There are quite a lot of them in the forests of Europe and Asia.They also live in northern Africa. For the winter, northern populations fly south. Most other species of owls are fully sedentary. In addition to the long-eared owl, several species also belong to migratory birds.
Due to the fact that their plumage is very soft, and their feathers are arranged in a special way, these birds make almost no sounds when flying. The plumage is arranged in such a way that all sounds of flight are absorbed. This feature gives the bird a great advantage during the hunt. She can soar and fly up to the victim, without revealing her presence until the last moment.
In early spring, walking through the woods, you can hear the hooting of the male. He makes muffled sounds that can be referred to as “y-hu”. They repeat with a break of a few seconds. Sometimes it may be a louder and clearer sound or others. In the evening, small chicks can whistle lingeringly. It resembles a cat meow or a door creak.
During the day, they are very rarely active. You can see them in the daytime only sitting on a branch. So they sleep in the twilight to begin their hunt again.
Breeding
The nesting period of these birds is in March. The female lays from 4 to 6 eggs in one laying. This can occur 1-2 times a year. Hatching lasts up to 4 weeks, sometimes a few days less. Chicks need food and care for 2-3 weeks.
In the spring begins the mating season. But males may begin to show interest in their future "brides" in the second half of February. The mating dance is a flight of a couple, in which the males especially flap their wings. They do not build their nests. Instead, they choose the right place left by their masters. For example, a nest of magpies or crows. Sometimes they are lined up in hollows left by proteins. Having chosen for themselves a suitable home, an eared owl slightly changes the situation there. Sometimes they do without nests. The female can lay eggs directly on the ground, choosing a place in the bush. It can be any open space, for example, a meadow or glade.
In one clutch, there are usually 4-6 eggs. In size, they are slightly smaller than chicken. As soon as the last egg in the clutch is laid, the female begins to hatch them. The male is not involved in this process, but is still a caring partner. All the time, while the female is sitting on the eggs, he brings prey for her.And when the chicks hatch, the father feeds them.
Sometimes it happens that there is not enough food for everyone. In such years, not all chicks survive. Weak and small die. When they first appeared, their body is covered with white fluff. Soon he becomes gray, and then - brown. Mother not only takes care of the offspring, but also protects him. If there is a threat nearby, it takes the enemy as far as possible, pretending to be wounded.
Observations
Happy owl can be seen very rarely. And when she is resting on a tree, it is extremely difficult to notice the bird, since its color practically merges with the tree. Seeing an owl, you can take it for a part of a broken branch. Even if a person comes close, an eared owl will not fly away.
At night, however, they are active, vigorously hunting prey. Basically, it hunts rodents, hovering above the ground, and looking for prey.
Interesting Facts
- Representatives of the species long-eared owl are able to turn the head 270 degrees.
- In addition, each of its eyes can simultaneously cover a large overview - up to 160 degrees.
- If it is very cold in winter, individuals gather in groups and sleep together, snuggling in to warm up.
- When a group of small birds meets this predator in the daytime, they gather and drive it away.At this time, the owl is not a threat to them.
- An interesting feature of the eyes is their immobility. That is, the bird can only look strictly forward.
Protection and security
Almost throughout the area, eared owls are quite numerous and common. In nature, she has no enemies except man.
Video: eared owl (Asio otus)
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