Scientific Name:   Asio otus

Length:   13.8-15.8 in (35-40 cm)

Weight:   7.8-15.3 oz (220-435 g)

Wingspan:   35.4-39.4 in (90-100 cm)

Nest:   The nest site is usually in tree, 4-30' above ground, usually at about mid-level in tree; sometimes in giant cactus or on cliff ledge. No nest is built as they utilize abandoned nests built by other birds, such as crows, ravens, magpies, various hawks.

Eggs:   2-10, usually 4-6. White. Incubation is by female only, usually 26-28 days. Male brings food for female during incubation period.

Feeding Behavior:   Hunts mostly at night, sometimes before dusk, looking for food over fields or in open woods, flying back and forth a few feet above the ground. Locates prey by sound or by sight, then swoops down to capture it with talons. The diet consists of small mammals. Depending on region, may be mostly voles, deer mice, kangaroo rats, pocket gophers, etc. Also known to eat small birds, shrews, bats, lizards, snakes, other small creatures.

Young:   Female remains with young almost continuously for first 2 weeks, while male brings food for female and young. Young climb out of nest onto nearby branches after about 3 weeks, can make short flights at about 5 weeks. Adult male feeds young until they are 10-11 weeks old, when they disperse from area.

Range:   The long-eared owl has an extremely large distributional range. In Eurasia, they are distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and the British Isles, in both of which they are found somewhat spottily but quite broadly, especially for an owl. From western France east through the remainder of Europe they are found nearly everywhere.

Brief Description:   The base color is commonly overlaid with variable blackish vertical streaks (and occasionally spots), which are usually more apparent about the wings and back. Long-eared owls tend to have dusky streaks on the upper breast, below which they may be heavily marked with herring bone pattern.