Great Horned Owl

Did anyone know that? They are both still here and I hear them calling each other in the evenings and mornings. I have not found the "pellet" that I learned about from the comment section. If you didn't read that "tidbit" of information... they eat their prey whole and then regurgitate the fur and bones in a small hard pellet. Yum.

A few more interesting facts:

wingspan: 50-60 in.

length: 18-25 in.

tail: 6.9-9.9 in.

average weight:

male-46 1/2 oz.

female-61 oz.

They are large, powerful and mostly nocturnal.

They have nicknames of "night tiger" & "flying bobcat".

Their horns are not really horns but feathers.

They have yellow eyes.

They are closely related to the Eagle Owl which is the world's largest owl.

They are the most common owl of North and South America.

The flat disc feathers around the eyes are thought to concentrate sound.

The male is much smaller than the female and has a lower pitched call.

Their diet may include small mammals to rabbits, birds, fish reptiles and amphibians. They are also the only animal that regularly eats skunk.

They usually have a clutch size of 1-3 but can have as many as 6.

I could write a three page report, but I will leave that for someone else.

I'll keep you posted if I stumble across a pellet!

Saturday afternoon update: Sure enough...I did find two pellets under the palm trees. One was broken into pieces and based on the foot I saw, it looks like the meal was a small bird. Fascinating morsel of information... wouldn't you agree?!