The Eagle Owl is a large and powerful bird, smaller than the Golden Eagle but larger than the Snowy Owl. It is sometimes titled the world’s largest owl, but so is the Blakiston’s Fish Owl, which is slightly bigger on average.
The Eurasian Eagle Owl is an old world owl found in all parts of Europe and the Middle east as well as on the African continent. It is a very hardy owl able to breed in the arid Sahara and Arabian deserts, the jungles of equatorial Africa, as well as in the northern reaches of Siberia. When possible the Eagle Owl prefers to nest near woodlands, with level land and tree lined waterways.
The call of the Eagle Owl is a deep resonant “ooh-hu” with emphasis on the first syllable for the male, and a more high-pitched uh-Hu for the female (in German and Hungarian, the name of this bird is “Uhu” and the Dutch name is “Oehoe”). Each member of an Eagle Owl population can be identified by means of its vocalizations.
The size, ear tufts and orange eyes make this a distinctive species. It has a strong direct flight. The ear tufts of males are more upright than those of females.
In the wild, the eagle owl is an opportunistic hunter and feeds on mice, rats, rabbit, squirrels and birds. It will take any prey that is not larger than itself. It has been said that they are able to take a small roe deer when the occasion arises. Since birds do not have a sense of smell, they are not adverse to also consuming skunks for food. The eagle owl swallows its food whole, whenever possible, ingesting fur or feathers, bone and meat. It then regurgitates a pellet discarding what its body does not require.
The eagle owl nests in late January or early February. Their clutch of eggs usually consists of from one to four, depending on the amount of food available. The male is very attentive to the female, bringing all the food that is necessary, while the female tends the nest, sitting very close on the eggs and the young. Most females are so conscientious that they do not leave the nest until the young have grown to a good size. Despite the fact that the male appears as though he is interested in seeing the young, the female feeds her young beneath her breast feathers until the young are large enough and, in many cases the male first sees them when they fall out of the nest due to their large size. This presents no problem to the parents, who manage to take care of the feeding of the young on the ground, while keeping predators at bay. It has been rumored in bird lore, that even a bear will give a wide berth to an eagle owl.
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