DJ Geribo

The Great Horned Owl - a majestic bird with a wingspan of approximately 4.6 feet and weighing only about 3 pounds, doesn't actually have 'horns' but has tufts of feathers that resemble horns. 

Found throughout the United States as well as Alaska, their range extends south to Mexico and South and Central America. Their habitat includes forests, canyons, and clearings. Like other owls, the great horned owl is noctural and spends its nights searching for prey. Since they don't have teeth for chewing, they eat their prey whole, regurgitating pieces of indigestible material such as fur and feathers. They feed mostly on small mammals and are one of the few animals  that feeds on skunks. Their hearing is so acute they can hear a mouse stepping on a twig 75 feet away.

Courtship begins in January and February and both parents incubate the eggs until they hatch in about 4 weeks. Offspring are then protected by the parents until they've reached maturity at 1-2 months. The oldest known great horned owl was 28 years old.

Although there has been animosity towards the birds because they prey upon poultry, they are beneficial to humans because they control the rodent population. They are experts at catching prey because of the soft edges on their wing feathers that allow them to fly silently and ambush prey.