Unlocking the mysteries of the secretive owl

Most owls are active at dusk and dawn, spending the daytime at a quiet, inconspicuous roost. They can be found roosting singly or in pairs or family groups but may form flocks outside of the breeding season (A group of owls is called a parliament).

Liz Bradley, FWP Biologist for Region 2, shares information about this intelligent bird that not only hoots, but whistles, screeches, screams, purrs, snorts, chitters and hisses.

How many different species of owls live in Montana?

There are 15 species of owl that live in Montana. Twelve of these can be found in parts of Montana year-round: great-horned owls, great gray owls, northern pygmy owls, northern saw-whet owls, barred owls, western screech-owls, eastern screech-owls, boreal owls, short-eared owls, long-eared owls, northern hawk owls (rare), and barn owls.

Flammulated owls and burrowing owls are migrants that breed in Montana in the spring/summer but go south in the winter. The snowy owl is also a migrant but breeds in northern Canada and Alaska and will migrate south to the comparatively warmer climes in mid to southern Canada and the northern U.S. (including Montana) in the winter.

Owls thrive in different habitats, so what is the most common owl in Mineral County?

Great-horned owls are probably the most common owl seen in Montana, including Mineral County.

How large are their nests and where might we observe one?

Great-horned owls do not build their own nests but can be found using stick nests built by other birds. They will also nest in tree cavities, broken-top snags, old barns, and cavities in cliffs. Great-horned owls are nocturnal and can most often be heard and seen at night and dusk/dawn. They live in a wide variety of habitats from river bottoms to timberline.

What precautions should we take for the birds and our own safety?

It’s advised to keep a distance from the nests of owls or other birds. If the owl notices you and is acting perturbed, then you’re too close. If overly disturbed, they may abandon their nest.

Great-horned owls pose no threat to humans, but they do occasionally prey on house cats and very small dogs. If you have an owl in your neighborhood you might consider keeping your pets inside, especially at night.

How big can they get and how old can they live?

Great-horned owls are a large owl, generally 3-4 pounds and 20-25 inches tall. In the wild, great-horned owls can live into their 20s.

When do most owls breed and when do they lay eggs? How many in a clutch?

The breeding time for our different owl species in Montana vary from winter through spring. Great-horned owls begin nesting as early as February. They usually lay 2-4 eggs and have a 32-day incubation period with eggs hatching in March or April.

Is there a different sound made to attract mates?

The male and female pair can often be heard calling a “duet” to each other during the winter, leading up to and during the breeding season. The female’s call is higher pitched than the male, so you can tell them apart. Their distinctive “hoot” call has often been described as sounding like: “Who’s awake? Me too!”

Are owls considered raptors? And if not, how are they classified?

Yes, owls are raptors. Raptors are a type of bird that captures live prey. Eagles, hawks, and falcons are also raptors.

Are owls’ scavengers or what is their primary diet? Fish or garbage?

Great-horned owls are carnivores (they only eat meat) and have one of the most diverse diets of North American owls. They generally eat small to medium-sized mammals and birds but can also eat types of amphibians, reptiles, fish, and insects. In Montana, skunks and snowshoe hares are some of the larger mammals they prey upon. They will scavenge if they have to, but primarily eat live prey.

What studies has FWP conducted on owls?

In spring 2020 and again this year, FWP is conducting surveys for great gray owls. Great grays are one of our less common species in Montana and we are trying to learn more about their population status and distribution. Biologists are going out at night and playing a recording of a great gray owl call and listening for a response.

Additionally, biologists deploy autonomous recording units that record non-stop for 7 days and are then retrieved. The data can then be downloaded and run through sophisticated software that can pick out the great gray owl hoots.

These surveys are being conducted in their breeding season from mid-February through mid-April, when they are most likely to respond. So far, we have not found any great gray owls in Mineral County but we are still looking! Please report any sightings to FWP.

What are owls’ predators or biggest threats?

Adult owls generally do not have many natural predators but are sometimes killed by other owls, hawks, or ravens in territorial disputes. Young owls, however, can fall prey to predators such as foxes, skunks, or racoons. The biggest threats to owls are human caused injuries such as getting struck by a vehicle, caught in a barbed wire fence, shot, or electrocuted. Owls may die of natural causes such as starvation or injuries sustained while hunting.

YouTube has videos of owlets as cute little pets. Is this legal?

It is NOT legal to keep owls as pets. Owls are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and it is illegal to possess live owls or even parts of owls (including feathers). Rehabilitation centers and education facilities have special permits that allow them to keep and care for owls, or other birds.

How far can they turn their head around?

Great-horned owls can easily rotate their head 270 degrees to see behind themselves without having to move their body. They NEED to be able to turn their heads because they cannot move their eyes in their sockets like we can. Because they have so many feathers it’s hard to tell they have very long necks (with twice as many vertebrae as we do!), which is what allows them to move their heads so deftly.

How is their eyesight compared to a human? Compared to an eagle?

Both eagles and owls have excellent vision but eagles generally see better during the day and owls see better at night. Most owls hunt at dusk/dawn and at night and therefore do not have (or need) color vision. Owls’ forward-facing eyes give them better binocular vision than most other birds and thus better depth perception.

Unlike owls, eagles have excellent color vision because they hunt during the day. Although humans see in color, we can’t compete with eagles that can see a broader range of color and UV light and can see 8x as far as we do, spotting a rabbit at two miles away.

Great-horned owls also have superb hearing and special feathers that allow them to fly “silently” through the air, making them even more effective predators at night.

Can you share information about their talons and beak? Meaning, do they have a unique fashion of hunting and then feeding?

Great-horned owls have extremely sharp talons that together can spread as wide as 30 inches and crush prey with 500 pounds of pressure per square inch.

They then use their sharp beak to tear off pieces to eat. They eat fur, feathers, and bone along with the meat and will throw up these indigestible parts in the form of “pellets.”

Biologists wondering what an owl is eating will seek out and pick through these pellets to look for clues (like an identifiable jawbone from a rodent).

Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig, what kind of owl was he?

Hedwig was a snowy owl.