Spotted Owls

By Ryan

https://people.creighton.edu/~gpr37493/Teaching/PLS333_Spring08/spotted_owl_450w.jpg

DO NOT STEAL!!!!!This information is not mine and it is for learning purposes only. Thank you RYANF

Description: The Spotted Owl is a nocturnal, woodland owl and is darkly coloured, with a round head , and dark brown eyes.

Size: Their length about 48cm for females and 46cm for males. Their wingspan is about 109cm for females and 106cm for males. Their weight is usually 518-760g.

Habits: A nocturnal and usually tame bird. They react to differently in temperature by moving up and down within the canopy, which may be one of the reasons they require such a large and complex living area.

Food/Hunting: The Spotted Owl's diet consists of small mammals like flying squirrels, rats, mice, voles and also some birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Hunting is done mostly at night, beginning just after sunset and ending a half hour before sunrise. Spotted Owls use a branch to sit and wait until they can dive down onto prey. Prey is sometime caught for a later meal. The most important food items for the Spotted Owl are flying squirrels and woodrats.

Breeding: The spotted owl breeding season is mainly from March to September. They usually begin breeding when they are two to three years old. Eggs are laid every 3 to 4 days, mostly in April. The female does all the incubation and the male delivers the food to the nest. The incubation period is about 28-32 days.

Habitat: Spotted owls are found in to low and mid-elevation of forests with dense canopy. They prefer forests of douglas fir with vegetation at multiple levels and are often found near streams, ponds and other water sources. Because spotted owls usually don't cross brushy or clearcut areas, they prefer large undisturbed mature forests.

Interesting Facts: Spotted Owls are one of the few owls that have dark colored eyes. Most owls have eyes colored from yellow to red-orange. A Spotted Owl may live to be 17 years old. A pair of spotted owls usually requires 2,000-5,000 acres of forest. Spotted Owls don't migrate but may move to lower elevations in deep snow or when prey is hard to find. Young birds tend to fly long distances, which sometimes brings them into inappropriate habitats.

http://www.galleryone.com/images/bateman/bateman_-_mossy_branches-spotted_owl.jpg

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/soc204/plazad/native4/zachary/Zach%20&%20Pernell%20webpage_files/image004.jpg

I got the information from:

http://www.owlpages.com

http://www.google.com

http://www.peregrinefund.org 

http://www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb