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Great horned owls are the most common owls in Minnesota and perhaps the
most adaptable on the continent. They are excellent hunters, with silent
flight, night vision, sensitive hearing, large talons, and hooked beaks. The live
in both open and wooded areas, perching up high to quietly search for prey.
Great horned owls eat mostly rodents, but will also feed on waterfowl and
other birds, including smaller owls.
Description: The Great Horned Owl ranges from 43 cm (17
in) in low latitudes and altitudes, to 53 cm (21 in) in areas
like Alaska, northern Canada and the Andes of Ecuador. Large head
and body; large yellow forward- directed eyes; soft plumage; ear
tufts are dark brown, mottled in white and buff; face is white
to buff; locket of white at throat; powerful taloned feet and
hooked beak of a predator. It has two color phases, orange or
whitish. The white phase is present on the wooded plains of North
and South America.
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