Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owl
The great horned owls are one of the heaviest owl around, sometimes weighing over 5 pounds. The "horns" that give this bird its name are actually tufts of feathers that aid in camouflage, not ears as many people think. Their legs and feet are covered with feathers right up to their deadly talons.
Owls have amazing binocular vision that allows them to find prey even when there isn’t much light. Great Horned Owls have human-sized eyes don’t move around. Instead, they have to turn their heads to see what is around them, often rotating their necks a full 270 degrees.
Like all owls, the ears of a great horned owl are actually crescent shaped slits in their skulls, right beside their eyes. The circular facial disks of feathers on an owl’s face focus sound toward these ears. The ear slits are also located one higher than the other (asymmetrical) to help the owl locate prey in the dark.