BYWAYS PLUS: DATES! - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

For five years the female great horned owl had been in
captivity. She had flown into some power lines and the
electrical current had nearly killed her. She survived, but the
lower portions of both her wings had to be amputated. Yet
the fact she could no longer fly hardly disturbed her regal
bearing. Every morning she greeted me and those that cared
for her in the same awesome manner—fluffing up her
feathers, lowering her head, and hissing as she snapped her
beak together. And so she warned us that while she was
willing to accept our help, she was not interested in
friendship.
The famous naturalist Ernest T. Seton in 1890 described
the great horned owl as follows:' 'My ample opportunities of
fully observing these interesting birds in captivity as well as
in a state of freedom, and indeed all that I have seen of
them—their untamable ferocity, which is daily more
apparent; their magnificent bearing; their objection to
carrion, and strictly carniverous taste—would make me rank
these winged tigers among die most pronounced and savage
of the birds of prey.'' Perhaps the behavior of our captive
female is not so unusual!
The great horned owl, with its many subspecies, is widely
distributed throughout North, Central, and South America. It
can be found from lower arctic regions in the north to the
Straits of Magellan in die soudi. They are primarily a
forest-dwelling species, preferring to live and hunt in
timbered regions but in California, diey are found from the
timberline of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to coastal
grasslands and desert scrub. They do not migrate.
Great horned owls are among the three largest species of
The
Winged
Tiger
by Karen Sausman
Director-Naturalist
Living Desert Reserve
owls in North America. Their body lengdi is over 20 inches
and they have a wing span of nearly five feet. Only die snowy
owl and die great grey owl are larger. Great horned owls are
grey to grey-brown in color widi mottled bands of darker
brown on dieir back and wings. Down die breast, diey are
slightly lighter colored with bars of dark brown or black. They
have a large whitish area on dieir upper breast and of course,
two ear tufts which give diem die common name of' 'horned''
owl.
Great horned owls, Bubo virginianus, are directly related
to die eagle-owls of Africa and Asia. These too have
conspicuous ear tufts set above their broad facial discs. All
have large broad wings and are capable of soaring widi all die
grace and power of an eagle or large hawk. Owls of the genus
Bubo may be found everywhere except in die forests of
Australia and die Soudiwest Pacific Islands.
In late winter die adults begin establishing dieir territory.
Their prolonged hooting at diis time fills die night air. The
birds begin courtship displays and nesting as early as
January or February, allowing diem ample time to raise dieir
slow-maturing young. Preferred nesting sites are in tall
timber, but desert scrubs will do if trees are not available and
diey will even use rocky ledges in canyons. While diey are
capable of building dieir own nest, it is far more usual to find
diem using die old nests of eidier red-tailed hawks,
red-shouldered hawks or ravens. In northern climates such
early nesting requires constant care of die eggs during
stormy weadier. Sometimes die nest and even die incubating
bird are covered widi snow.
The period of incubation is 28 to 34 days and from one to
The Desert Magazine/March 1980 41