Appearance.
A little bigger pigeon(36 cm). The dorsal side is grayish-brown, the belly is red or yellowish, with longitudinal and small transverse stripes, the “ears” are long, the eyes are orange. It sits vertically on a branch. Hunts mainly at night. During the mating season, it flaps its wings loudly.
On migration they sometimes gather in small flocks.
Relatively silent, the voice is heard mainly in early spring - a mournful booming hoot "hoo-hoo", whistling and whining cries.
Habitat.
Lives more often in mixed and coniferous forests, in shelterbelts. It was once also found in city parks, but disappeared due to an increase in the number of crows, which stubbornly pursue it and often slaughter it to death.
Food. They feed mainly on small mouse-like rodents.
Nesting.
Nests in old crow nests and birds of prey, less often in hollows. First laying in April.
Masonry features.
Eggs are white, round, 40 x 32 mm. The number of eggs, like that of other rodent-eating owls, varies greatly from year to year. With a “harvest” of mice, there are up to 7 or even 8 eggs, and in bad years 3-4; the average is 5-6.
Spreading.
Distributed over most of the forest zone, occasionally along the outskirts of settlements, in mountains and forest-steppes, common on migration in steppe forest belts.
Wintering. In autumn, local owls often fly west, and northern individuals take their place.
Economic value.
As one of the most useful agriculture birds, she deserves protection and protection. Eared owls are especially valuable because in winter in the North Caucasus and in southern Ukraine, gathering in large flocks, they destroy great amount rodents on the threshing floors, currents and vegetable gardens.
Description of Buturlin.
Long-eared owl shared with short-eared owl hunting grounds. Both birds, similar in appearance and size, are very widespread, but while the short-eared owl meets in open and damp areas, the long-eared owl is found in forests. It does not exist only in the remote taiga, and it does not spread to the north as far as the short-eared owl, which can often be found in the tundra.
long-eared owl common from North Africa and Western Europe east to the Pacific Ocean; to the north it reaches 66°N in Finland and 58°N in the Urals. In Siberia, its border reaches Tyumen, up to 60 ° north latitude on the Yenisei, Lena and the Okhotsk coast. To the south, it is found wherever there are forests, and reaches Iran, Turkmenistan, the Himalayas and western China (Gan-Su and Tien Shan).
The long-eared owl deserves its own title, since her real ears are very large and the skin folds bordering them are strongly developed; her feathered “ears” are also long compared to the “ears” of a short-eared owl. The weight of a long-eared owl is about 250-300 grams, the wingspan is 85-95 centimeters, the wing length is 28-31 centimeters.
Wings and folded go beyond the end of the tail.
Coloring variegated, buffy or reddish, with dark brown trunk stripes and smaller streaks on the upper side of the body, below with a longitudinal and transverse brown pattern (this is one of the differences from the Short-eared Owl, which has no transverse pattern on the chest, abdomen and sides). When a long-eared owl sits, depending on how it holds its plumage, the bird looks very different: it will press its feathers and seem thin and small; lift and fluff its loose, lush feather - and its size will become more impressive. In flight, the long-eared owl differs from other owls of similar size in its long wings. The large size of the ears indicates that the long-eared owl is a true nocturnal bird. During the day, she flies only when she is disturbed.
From sunrise to sunset, this bird sits completely motionless on a tree, feathers tightly pressed to its body. Even when a person approaches, it usually remains motionless, and this motionlessness does not in the least harm the owl, since its variegated color makes it look like a tree trunk or a thick branch, and then an experienced eye can hardly notice it.
Quite different leads long-eared owl after sunset. The bird revives and begins to rush over the forest lawns and clearings with a smooth flight, appearing either on the edge or inside the forest and rising higher or lower. At this time you can hear voice long-eared owl - two-syllable "hoo-hoo".
Hunting this owl produces great havoc among small rodents; this bird is one of the most important exterminators of mice and voles harmful in agriculture. In addition to small rodents, the long-eared owl, although in small numbers, eats shrews, birds and insects.
In central and southern Russia, the long-eared owl partly settled, partly a migratory bird. In places in winter, its presence, like many other birds, becomes more noticeable than in summer, as it approaches villages and villages at this time, and the early onset of darkness allows it to hunt not only at night, but also in the evening. Some owls winter in the Crimea, the Caucasus and the plains of Central Asia, some fly even further - to southern China, northwestern India, Balochistan, Palestine and Africa.
At the nesting sites these owls appear early - in March, and the arrival is often made in flocks of 20 and even 30 pieces. On different dates in April you can find nests long-eared owl with full clutches of eggs. The number of eggs, like that of other rodent-eating owls, varies greatly from year to year. With a “harvest” of mice, there are up to 7 or even 8 eggs, and in bad years 3-4; the average is 5-6. Eggs are white, round; their dimensions are 40x32 mm on average. Like other owls, the long-eared owl does not build nests, but either lays eggs in hollows, or occupies the nest of a magpie, rook or squirrel. Nests are located in light, not very dense forests, in parks or gardens; This owl avoids dense forests. Incubation lasts twenty-seven days.
chick will be born very helpless, blind, with bare skin shining through among the rare fluff. However, after a week, the owls can stand on their feet and squeak vigorously, demanding food. Their development, despite the fact that there is a big difference in height between older and younger chicks (the long-eared owl begins incubation from the time of laying the first egg), goes very quickly, and a month after leaving the egg, the owlets are already flying and leaving the nest.
Broods, however, do not leave the nest immediately. First, they get out of the nest and stay on the branches for several days. In July, the broods break up, and each of the young owls begins to lead an independent lifestyle.
On our website you can read ornithology guide: bird anatomy and morphology , bird nutrition , bird breeding , bird migrations and bird diversity .
In the non-commercial online store of Ecological Center "Ecosystem" you can purchase the following methodical materials on ornithology:
computer(electronic) guide to birds of central Russia, containing descriptions and images of 212 bird species (bird drawings, silhouettes, nests, eggs and voices), as well as a computer program for identifying birds encountered in nature,
pocket guide-determinant "Birds of the middle band",
"Field guide to birds" with descriptions and images (drawings) of 307 species of birds in central Russia,
colored key tables"Migratory Birds" and "Wintering Birds" and also
MP3 disc"Voices of the birds of the middle zone of Russia" (songs, cries, calls, alarms of 343 most common species of the middle zone, 4 hours 22 minutes) and
MP3 disc"Voices of birds of Russia, part 1: European part, Urals, Siberia" (B.N. Veprintsev's music library) (singing or sounds during towing, calls, alarm signals and other sounds, the most important in the field identification of 450 species of Russian birds, duration sounding 7 hours 44 minutes)
Twilight has not yet fallen properly, and long-eared owls fly out on their hunting flight. Hungry for a long summer day, adult birds, and even more their offspring, want to profit, which is why they have to fly out to hunt so early. 
long-eared owl
- the name of one of the species of owls, typical representatives of the forest. The name is connected not with the fact that this particular species has real auricles, but with the fact that the feathers on the head are placed as if the protruding ears of the animal. If we talk about the size of the long-eared owl, then they are smaller than the gray crow. Females are larger than males, for example, males weigh 0.16-0.33 kg, females - 0.18-0.43 kg, wingspan is about 1 m. dominance of red tones. The back is grayish-brown with a red tint, the chest and abdomen are red or yellowish with oblong black stripes, which are crossed out by flat transverse strokes. The underbelly and undertail are white. The tail is yellowish below with uniform dark striping. From the bottom on the tail there are 7 dark stripes and 2-3 more are hidden. The eyes are yellow-orange. The beak is dark gray or blackish. The facial disc is rufous-gray, framed by white and black stripes. Around the eyes are black crescents from the side of the beak. Under the beak are black feathers. Between the eyes are white ridges in the form of crescents. Feather "ears" are long. When a bird sits, it is well distinguished from others by its seating style: a column with feather ears stretched vertically upwards. The leading edge of the last feather in the wings of a long-eared owl, unlike other species, is not at all sharp, but looks like a neat comb, consisting of at least two hundred or more small cilia per feather. The upper side of the flight feathers is covered with a delicate, rather elastic and dense short fluff. Such wings, even with sharp flaps, cut through the air quite silently, which helps the owl to search for prey by ear and, of course, the victims do not hear them at all. On the territory of Ukraine, the long-eared owl nests everywhere except the Carpathians. For nesting, it chooses forests with old tall trees of deciduous and coniferous species, but clearings or other open places must be a prerequisite, because for hunting they need open spaces, and not continuous forest plantations. They also nest in forest belts. different ages. During periods of migration and wintering, long-eared owls are found in thickets of shrubs, along the overgrown slopes of ravines, gullies, river banks, and also in countryside, suburban area and in urban gardens and parks.
A characteristic feature of long-eared owls is the gathering in groups for daytime rest. Most often, groups of resting owls can be found in the autumn-winter period. Sometimes they number up to 100 or more individuals. The sounds of long-eared owls depend on the nature of their activities. This is especially heard in the mating season and in times of danger. For example, the mating signal of a male is a low monotonous “hook”, and in the intervals between these sounds, the man flies quite noisily, flapping his wings, which is not at all typical for owls. The female gives out a weeping sound "Nyaya", can often be heard together. The cry of excitement is sharp and similar to - "kvyak", "kvyak". When nesting, long-eared owls do not try too hard, it is easier for them to find old magpie and crow nests and last year's unoccupied nests of kites, hawks or buzzards. It rarely occupies the nests of other birds. And in general, it lays eggs anywhere, the main thing is that they do not roll out. There are times when owls can drive a female of another bird out of the nest, which is already sitting, and the night helps her in this. The distance between nests of different pairs in dense nesting groups ranges from 100 to 800 m, in less saturated ones - from 0.8 to 3 km. Once an owl lays its first egg, it never leaves the nest for a minute. The reason is that the eared owl starts laying eggs in April, and the nights can still be frosty, the color of the eggs is also white and can be clearly seen against the background of still bare leafless trees, and magpies and crows are very fond of stealing eggs from nests. In laying from 3 to 9, more often 4-6 eggs. Hatching of chicks can last up to ten days. Although ornithologists believe that most likely the owl does not warm the first eggs laid and there are no children from them. Chicks in the nest whistle thinly, and the intonation of the whistle depends on age. An owl flies low and slowly, listening to the rustle on the ground, which is mainly characteristic of their main food - mouse-like rodents. They catch them in dense wheat, in meadow aftermath, on low stubble, in fallen leaves, under loose snow, under garbage, and even under organic remains floating on the water. It happens that long-eared owls they hunt small bird brotherhood: sparrows, buntings, tap dances, but they catch them only in difficult times, when there is not enough main food, or for some reason it becomes inaccessible. Moreover, the prey is chosen on its own, so that it is easy to deal with it, since they like to swallow it whole, and not tear it into small pieces. Such is an owl's whim. There are times when long-eared owls attack birds of their size - a jay or a magpie, when they do not expect danger at night. The owl instantly tears off the victim's head and swallows it along with feathers and beak, although the whole carcass remains intact later. According to research by ornithologists, long-eared owls, like all other owls, are quite a mystery. They can suddenly emerge from the darkness of the night, grab prey and just as instantly disappear without making any noise. Only in the light of summer twilight and on moonlit nights can one admire the aerial owl games. Being very close to their flights, the human ear will not catch a single rustle and flap of their rather large wings, even if not one bird is flying, but a dozen. Sometimes in the literature you can find that the flights of owls in the darkness of the night behind trees and bushes are considered ghostly. Ornithologists report that the appearance of an owl at night is transformed beyond recognition: its so-called face becomes round, the expression of the eyes changes, as if all the plumage is becoming more magnificent and its pattern looks different, and even the landing of the bird on the tree changes. With the onset of a bright day, everything comes back: the ears stand on end, the feathers are pressed tightly, the face is drawn out and its expression changes. It freezes in a column on a branch closer to the trunk.
In summer, it is easier for owls to hide from prying eyes, and in winter, needles help them out. Moreover, owls gather on one tree up to two dozen individuals. After the snow melts, mouse bones and feathers of the owl itself are clearly visible under the tree, and by their number one can guess how many owls were found here. Long-eared owls do not often settle near people, therefore they cannot afford to feed their offspring, there is not enough food. They try to make up for the lack of voles with sparrows, small birds, but for the long-eared owl, this is not an option. In the fields, when there is sowing, they fly right behind the tractors. Tractor plows turn whole mouse nests out of the ground. Mating pairs of long-eared owls can be compared with swan fidelity. They are quite devoted to each other, protecting themselves and the chicks, they are fearless before the enemy and are capable of anything. Although behind the behavior long-eared owls not evil or cunning, and do not provoke others to something bad. They do not need someone else's, they do not touch other people's nesting boundaries, of course, except for the nest, during the nesting period.
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Today, people often prefer exotic pets and birds. For example, in addition to canaries and parrots, an owl is sometimes acquired as a pet. Most often, a person gets content long-eared owl.
Many are attracted by the cute and funny look of the bird, but very often people forget that the owl is a wild animal that needs certain conditions content. The long-eared owl, like any other species of these birds, is completely unadapted to life in captivity..
Long-eared owl: general information
The long-eared owl got its name from the large tufts of feathers that are located on its head. Long-eared owls are slightly smaller than short-eared owls. The long-eared owl is able to turn its head 180 degrees.
This species of owl lives in forests., preferably in conifers. The habitat of long-eared owls occupies almost all of Europe and northern Asia. But these owls winter in Africa. In nature, the long-eared owl feeds on rodents (mice, voles) and insects.. The long-eared owl was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
Long-eared owl: feeding
A big enough problem is the feeding of the long-eared owl. The long-eared owl is a predator that needs to be provided live food. It is best to feed the long-eared owl with small rodents or one-day-old chicks.
It is forbidden feed the owl meat (especially pork is contraindicated for them). In addition, the body of an owl is designed in such a way that wool and bones of rodents must be present in the diet. A long-eared owl should eat two mice a day, and once a week you need to arrange a fasting day. Therefore, before buying a long-eared owl, you need to consider that you will need to spend a lot of money on feeding an owl.
It should also be remembered that mice poisoned with any kind of poison should not be given to an owl, since the bird is not resistant to poisons and may die.
In nature, the long-eared owl swallows prey whole (with bones and hair), and then regurgitates the undigested remains. That's why, if you feed the bird just raw meat, then it can quickly weaken and die.
The long-eared owl drinks water twice a day, but the water must be clean and fresh, and therefore it must be changed at least twice a day.
Long-eared owl: maintenance and care
It must be remembered that when acquiring an owl, then it will be very difficult to refuse it, because this is not a kitten that can always be attached to good hands. Also, you can’t let an owl that grew up next to people into the wild, because it will die there very quickly.
A long-eared owl should not sit in a cage all the time, she needs to fly a lot, because otherwise her muscles will quickly atrophy, which very often leads to the death of a bird.
The long-eared owl must be kept in a cage at least one meter high and 1.5 meters wide, and the depth of the cage must be at least 80 centimeters.
The cage door should also be wide enough for the bird to easily jump out of it. Also, the cage must have a grate above the pallet so that the owl does not step on its droppings. The paws of a long-eared owl are very sensitive, and any wounds are very difficult to heal, so you should immediately contact a veterinarian.
Cage bars can be either metal or wood, but keep in mind that upholstered wood bars are safer for an owl, and metal ones are easier to clean.
It should also be borne in mind that in order to keep a long-eared owl, you will have to hide all the things that an owl can tear apart, stain with droppings or knock over. In addition, it is advisable to replace the tulle on the windows with sufficiently thick curtains.
It is necessary to hang all the mirrors and windows in the room, as the bird will try to fly through the window (mirror). If the long-eared owl begins to behave very restlessly, then the cage should be covered with a dense cloth. Besides, the owl is quite sociable and loves to play, so you can buy a few toys for the bird(fur toys, mice for cats, ringing bell, etc.).
The long-eared owl is a bird from the owl family.
Long-eared owl habitat
This bird of prey inhabits mainly the northern hemisphere of our planet. Its habitat extends from Latin America to Egypt, India, South China, Pakistan, including the entire Western Europe and Asia.
The appearance of a long-eared owl
Its main feature is the "ears" - large bunches of feathers located on the head, which the owl can hide. The body length of the bird is from 31 to 37 cm, the wingspan is from 86 to 98 cm, while males and females are almost the same.
The back of a long-eared owl is grayish-brown, the belly is yellow or reddish with clearly defined longitudinal and small transverse dark stripes. The eyes are large and orange. Paws are covered with light red feathers almost to the claws. The claws themselves are long and sharp, with their help the owl grabs prey.
Long-eared owl lifestyle and nutrition
Long-eared owls like to inhabit coniferous forests, but they can also be found in a sparse forest belt, and sometimes these owls fly even in open areas.
Long-eared owls, like all members of the family, are nocturnal birds of prey. Their diet includes all kinds of rodents, such as field mice. In addition to rodents, the owl eats insects, and sometimes attacks small birds.
Long-eared owl breeding
The mating season for these birds begins in May. At the same time, owls begin to build their nests. They usually choose the hollow of a large tree to locate the nest. Often, the height from the ground to the hollow is decent so that predators cannot get to the owl eggs.
The fertility of long-eared owls depends on the number of mice in their habitats. When there are plenty of these rodents, then owls breed very well. Usually the clutch consists of 5 - 6 eggs.
Little owls hatch from eggs blind and with a rare fluff on their bodies. Both parents take part in caring for the offspring. The female is engaged in heating the babies, and the male feeds the whole family. A week later, little owls begin to show activity, require food. Therefore, the mother owl begins, together with the male, to bring food to the chicks.
AT one month old the chicks are trying to fly. Here it is already immediately clear which of them is the eldest and which is the youngest: if the first copes quite tolerably with his own wings, then his younger brother or a sister can barely tear themselves away from the twigs. For some time after leaving the nest, parents feed their grown chicks.
Young owls begin independent life at 2 months.
The most common and numerous owl in most Russian regions. She is slightly smaller and slimmer than the owl. The coloration is reddish with dark longitudinal spots on the chest and abdomen, across each spot there is a row of thin winding lines. Long feather ears sticking up are clearly visible on the head. The eyes are dark yellow or even orange. Body length 36.2-37.8 cm, wingspan 89.4-97.2 cm, body weight 243-300 g. The male is somewhat smaller than the female.
Where does the long-eared owl live and hunt, what does it eat
In our forests, a long-eared owl can also be found in winter, although most of the birds of this species migrate to more southern regions during the cold season. It happens that there, in forest belts or in small areas of coniferous forests, up to several dozen of these birds gather.
The long-eared owl is a myophage, which means that it preys mainly on small mouse-like rodents. Indeed, various voles and mice almost everywhere make up more than 90% of its prey. She also catches shrews, but their share is less than 1%. Studies by many scientists have shown that this owl can catch larger, and even unsafe animals.
squirrels, weasels and ermines, gray rats were noted among its victims. However, studying the hunting tracks of these owls in a small birch grove, on the outskirts of which a dump was arranged, I became convinced that they caught only voles and mice, and I never noticed their attacks on rats, although rat tracks crossed the grove in many places. Apparently, rats were still difficult prey for owls.
Birds usually play a small role in this owl's diet, and rarely exceed 5% of its prey. But in winter and during migrations, attacks on birds become noticeably more frequent. Sparrows are especially often affected by owls, although there are known cases of attacks by these predators on nuthatches, forest pipits, rooks, and gray partridges. Noted in the prey of owls and a large spotted woodpecker. By the way, about this woodpecker.
Somehow, at the end of winter in a dense spruce forest, I noticed a small number of woodpecker feathers lying under the tree and stuck on the tree branches. The fact that there were few feathers, and that the prey bird was eaten on the tree, indicated that the woodpecker was not eaten by a hawk or a four-legged predator. The feathers were torn out, not bitten. It was clear from the handwriting that some owl had caught the woodpecker.
But what it is, it's hard to say. In this forest I met both long-eared owls, and tawny owls, and upland owls. However, the daily food intake of a long-eared owl is about 30 g of meat, or 3 mice. So it is unlikely that she could completely eat a large spotted woodpecker, leaving nothing from him, except for a small amount of feathers (a woodpecker weighs 80-90 g). Even a boreal owl cannot do this. So, most likely, the woodpecker got the tawny owl for dinner.
Long-eared owl paw prints
Paw prints of an owl crouching on the snow (a); traces of a bird stomping in one place (b) and moving in jumps (c)
Paw prints of a long-eared owl are most often found at the place of hunting or eating prey, as well as on a perch sprinkled with snow. The length of the paw print, together with the claws, is about 7 cm. By the way, when trying to measure the owl footprint, we encounter some difficulties.
How to measure? Traditionally, the four-toed footprint of a bird's foot is measured from the front mark left by the claw or end of the middle (3rd) toe, and the back mark in the snow from the rear (1st) toe. But in an owl, not the 3rd (middle) finger is directed forward, but the 2nd finger, which forms a straight line with the back finger. In my opinion, most often in reference books this length is indicated - from the end of the 2nd to the end of the 1st (rear) finger. To avoid confusion, it should always be stated how the owl track was measured. Somewhat interfere with the accuracy of measurements and claws. In an owl, they are long and strongly curved.
Sometimes the bird extends the end of the finger, and then the hole left by the claw is at a fairly large distance from the end of the finger. Sometimes an owl, as it were, picks up its claws and they push through the snow or soil at the very finger. At times, for some reason, the claws are not at all visible on the paw print. In doubtful cases, it is advisable to measure the length of all fingers (from the heel to the end of the toe plus claw).
Long-eared owl locomotion
In the snow, the long-eared owl often moves not in steps, but in jumps. The length of the jump can be from 20 to 35 cm. It is possible that during long jumps it helps itself with wings. However, I did not notice the marks of the wings in the snow. While sitting on the snow, the bird places its paws closer together than during jumps. In a sitting owl, the width of the paired imprint is about 7.5 cm. The width of the track of a galloping bird is about 12 cm.
Long-eared owl nesting, pellets
For nesting, the long-eared owl looks for old nests of magpies and crows, sometimes lays eggs in the nests of buzzards, hawks, honey buzzards, squirrels (very rarely nests in hollows). Most often, 4 to 6 eggs are found in the nests of these birds. The largest clutch I saw had 9 eggs. The white rounded eggs of this owl are slightly smaller than those of the owl, measuring 39.1 x 32.2 mm.
While the female is incubating the clutch, the male stays close to the nest. I almost always found the place of constant daytime of the male in some bush or in a heap of brushwood, a few meters from the tree with the nest. If there was no suitable bush nearby, it was located on a neighboring tree. A large amount of droppings and pellets indicates that the male uses a certain perch constantly.
With some difference in the size of the pellets, it is striking that they all seem to be divided into 2 size groups: one is on average 5.4 × 1.8, the other 3 × 2 cm. A drop of long-eared owl droppings is about 3 × 3 cm.
Long-eared owl on the hunt
Where an owl hunted, in winter you can easily find its tracks. Most often they are found along the edges of the forest, forest clearings, at the edges of swamps, near curtains of bushes or weed thickets. On a high stump or low horizontal branch 1.5-2 m above the ground, familiar prints of owl paws are visible. On this perch, the owl waited for the appearance of the victim, and returned here with a captured vole.
It can be seen that she has been sitting in one place for a long time - all the snow has been trampled by her paws, creamy-white blots of droppings are visible under the perch. By the size of the blots, you can determine approximately the size of an owl, if for some reason the bird's paw prints are not visible. Having found a vole or mouse jumping out into the snow, the owl rushes at it and, if successful, eats the prey, sitting right there in place or takes it to a perch. By the way, she often carries small prey not in her paws, as the vast majority of diurnal birds of prey do, but in her beak.
At the place of eating the prey, the snow is stained with the blood of the victim. Quite often, the intestines and stomach of the animal remain. This contradicts the notion that most owls swallow their prey whole. Sometimes here you can also find an owl pellet dropped before eating prey. Medium-sized owls (eared, marsh, owls, etc.) tear the rodent apart and swallow it in large pieces. Sometimes, when there are a lot of rodents, and the owl is well-fed, it eats only the head or the front part of the carcass, leaving the rest. Larger owls, such as the Ural owl, swallow even large voles whole.
In addition to watching for prey from perches, very often owls use a search flight, flying around rodent-rich lands at a low altitude. When a prey is detected, the bird falls down with outstretched paws and straightened claws. According to the tracks left in the snow, it is clear that the predator makes throws not only at the animals that have jumped to the surface, but also at those that are advancing in the thickness of the snow at a shallow depth.
In this place, an oval hole remains, pressed through by the paws and body of the bird. On the sides of the hole, traces of wings are visible, and behind - sometimes strokes of long tail feathers that touched the surface of the snow. If the dive was successful, and this happens in about one in 5 throws, then traces of blood sometimes remain at the bottom of the hole. Similar traces are visible from a distance of 3-4 m.
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