Within the strigid family, among owls, owls and other nocturnal birds, is the magnificent eagle owl. This species is unique in many ways, highlighting its regal appearance and great adaptability.
Eagle Owl Story
The eagle owl belongs to the genus Bubo, which includes more than 20 species of owls, called eagle owls or horned owls. These species are found in different countries and are characterized by their large size.
Specifically, the eagle owl has a total of 16 subspecies, each with unique and special characteristics:
- Japanese eagle owl.
- European Eagle Owl.
- Himalayan Eagle Owl.
- Iberian Eagle Owl.
- Byzantine Eagle Owl.
- Yakutian eagle owl.
- Chinese eagle owl.
- Afghan eagle owl.
- Turkmen eagle owl.
- Russian eagle owl.
- West Siberian Eagle Owl.
- Eagle owl of Tarim.
- Tibetan Eagle Owl.
- Steppen Eagle Owl.
- Ussuri eagle owl.
- East Siberian Eagle Owl.
These owls are named after the sound of their song, which sounds like their name “bubo, bubo”, hence in medieval bestiaries, where it was highly appreciated, it was called exactly the same as this onomatopoeia emitted by them, already known as bubos.
Historically, they have performed different jobs being bred in captivity, something relatively easy, as it is easy to tame them. For this reason they have been used for centuries in falconry, as well as in pest control and to prevent the nesting of unwanted birds, such as seagulls or pigeons.
Eagle Owl Characteristics
The eagle owl is a large strigiform or nocturnal bird of prey, since the average size of one of these owls is about 70 centimeters from head to tail , 150 centimeters in wingspan and between 2, 5 and 3.5 kilograms in weight Even so, there have been specimens that have exceeded 4 kilograms and the 170 centimeter wingspan, being really big.
They have amazing and striking deep orange eyes, presenting a bold and penetrating gaze. Like all eagle or horned owls, it has two plumes of feathers that look like ears, located on the sides of its skull. A curiosity is that the males usually have the feathers of these tufts more bristly, something used by experts to differentiate between male and female eagle owls.
In addition to their large wingspan, which is already impressive, they have strong and sharp claws, ready for action on any moment. Which, combined with its short but powerful beak, makes it a deadly predator, capable of catching pieces considerably larger than its own.
Its plumage is made up of a mantle of feathers, actually a mix of soft and stiff feathers, which allow it to Fly extremely ste althilyThese feathers are brown and mottled, and vary between shades of brown, white and black.
Eagle Owl Habitat
The eagle owl has a wide distribution throughout Eurasia, except for the Arctic and tropical areas of Southeast Asia, as well as the arid zones, such as Arabia or insular zones, such as the Mediterranean islands or the United Kingdom. In general, it avoids population centers, as it prefers places further away from human populations.
In general, these birds are very adaptive, since the only thing they need is to have enough space to be able to carry out their flight maneuvers well. However, it seems to prefer areas of cliffs and ravines, where there are trees and bushes, as it usually nests on the rock, as we will discuss when discussing its habits in as for reproduction. The reason why they avoid arid or polar areas is due to the lack of prey available to them, since it is in wooded places or with soft soil where they can catch the rodents that dig their burrows in those soils.
As for altitude, the eagle owl does not suffer from vertigo, as it inhabits places as high as the Alps (reaching the 2100 meters altitude) the Himalayas or the Tibetan mountains.
They are not migratory birds, they usually live in the same place throughout their lives, being sedentary and not leaving their home except in cases of extreme necessity, such as its destruction or lack of food.
Eagle Owl Play
In the reproduction of the eagle owl we must highlight their courtship, because it is then when the males sing the nuptial song that is so famous. This can be heard from autumn to winter, when it becomes more powerful. After courtship, which includes the song of the male and different movements that serve to attract the female, copulation takes place.
Between the months of January and February the female lays a clutch, usually consisting of between 2 and 4 completely white eggs, which will be the only one of the whole year. These eggs need to be incubated for about 35 days, something that the mother does exclusively. In order to lay their eggs, the females prepare their nests where they can, without building a nest as such, but taking advantage of natural nests, such as holes in trees or holes in rocks, although it has also been seen that they take advantage of the nests of other birds that they find in the trees
They start to incubate as soon as they lay the first of the eggs, so the chicks don't hatch at the same time, but they go doing it at the wrong time of each other, this causes a hierarchy of food at this time, since they are born. In this way, the eldest plays with an advantage, because when his siblings are born, he is already bigger and stronger
Feeding the chicks is done by both parents, however the female spends much more time and effort feeding the young than her, which begin to explore the surroundings of the nest shortly after birth. However, they do not make their first flights until they are about 2 months old, being fed by their parents for an extra month, definitively abandoning their nest when they are 3 months old.
Feeding and habits of the eagle owl
The eagle owl is a solitary animal, which only meets with its conspecifics during the breeding season, carrying out courtship, copula and that's it. As for the feeding of the eagle owl, they are considered apex predators, being at the top of the food chain, because except for humans, they have no natural predator. They are carnivorous and feed on their prey, which are preferably rabbits and partridges
They are nocturnal birds that move with incredible ste alth, being able to stalk their prey for a long time without them noticing their presence. They stalk them until they think the time is right, at which point they pounce on them, seizing them with their sharp claws and strong beak. It stands out because in addition to smaller rabbits and rodents, they are capable of hunting animals such as fawns, weighing more than 10 kilograms, which is more than twice their own body weight.
Eagle Owl Conservation Status
Because eagle-owls have partridges and rabbits as their most common prey, they were chased by hunters, who saw how these animals took their prey. Until 1973, the year in which the species was legally protected, they were considered vermin and mercilessly annihilated.
But not only hunters are dangerous for the conservation of this species, as there have been numerous cases of eagle owls dying due to their impact against fences and wind turbines, others being run over and of those who suffer electrocutions for leaning on electrified lines. But the saddest thing is the number of them who die at the hands of poachers and because of the unstoppable destruction of their habitats
For all these reasons, the eagle owl is considered a species of special interest, being delisted as an endangered species due to the improvement in evolution of their populations. Specifically, it is estimated that in Spain there are between 2,500 and 5,000 pairs of eagle owls, while in Europe the figures are between 12,000 and 42,000 pairs[1]
