Naming Things Is hard
The great horned owl is named for the pair of long feather tufts atop its head, but those aren’t horns. They are often called ear tufts, but they aren’t ears either. Like the barred owl, the ear openings on a great horned owl are hidden beneath the facial disc feathers around its eyes.
The correct term for the feather tufts is plumicorns, but plumicorned owl gives the impression of an owl with a purple unicorn on its head. That would totally ruin the owl’s reputation as a powerful predator.
When you look, you see.
Wondering where you can find great horned owls to get a look at those tufts? First stop, your nearest forest! Even if you don’t have a forest handy, great horned owls live all over North America and you have a good chance to find them pretty much anywhere where you’ve got a decent clump of trees. The good news is that you’ve probably seen lots of pictures of great horned owls, so you’ll know one when you see one.
You may notice from some of the pictures, that great horned owls have excellent tree camouflage, so they can be hard to spot. Since they are nocturnal, which means they are mostly active at night, you may have a little trouble spotting one, but keep looking up! Sometimes you can spot a sleepy great horned owl roosting in a tree during the day.
Your chances of seeing (and hearing) great horned owls increase in the fall and winter, because unlike many birds who nest in the spring, great horned owls often begin nesting in the winter. It takes a while for the young ones to learn all the hunting skills they need in the wild. So, when nesting season comes around, the males and females will call to each other and you’ll often hear this as the sun rises and sets. If you hear them calling, that means they are probably setting up a territory nearby and if you look, you’ll see!
Lend me your ear, and I'll share some more tuft stuff.
Great horned owls are one of the most recognizable and popular owl species, so there are tons of resources out there to learn more about them. Below are just a few to get you started.
Kids, remember to ask a parent, teacher, or librarian for help whenever you are looking for books or using the Internet. I always try to make sure to share kid-friendly books and resources, but websites are changing all the time, so always check with an adult first.
- In this video from PBS LearningMedia, you get to meet Olivia, a great horned owl. Watch her keep her cool as the host makes the same mistake as Copper, calling Olivia’s tufts “ears.” 😁
- The Owl Research Institute has a fantastic article on owl adaptations, including those mysterious feather tufts. https://www.owlresearchinstitute.org/adaptations
- Browse photos, dig into some more great horned owl knowledge, and watch a head-bobbing-good video of a pair of great horned owls over at the National Geographic Kids website: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/great-horned-owl/