Long-eared Owl
Asio otus
Summary 7
The Long-eared Owl - Asio otus (previously: Strix otus) is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping of owls are the barn owls, family Tytonidae.
Taxon biology 8
Long-eared owls are active at night. They blend in well with their surroundings, making it very difficult to spot them during the day. The best way to find them is to look for droppings and pellets on the ground. If you happen to see one, it is easy to identify by its ear tufts, which are only decorative. Their real ears are flaps directly next to their eyes that open and close. These owl uses old nests from magpies, crows and various hawks. They will also nest in man-made nesting boxes.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/7457894@N04/2471624146
- (c) photo taken by Artur Mikołajewski, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Asio_otus_uszatka1.JPG
- (c) photo taken by Artur Mikołajewski, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Asio_otus_uszatka2.jpg
- (c) Gregory "Greg" Smith, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Asio_otus_-California%2C_USA-8.jpg
- (c) Original uploader was Piet Reens at nl.wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Asio_otus_-_Ransuil.jpg
- (c) Snowyowls, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Cherxiao.jpg
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asio_otus
- (c) Copyright Ecomare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22758512
