Discussing the Great Horned Owl that appeared in our backyard last week I mentioned that we have not seen nor heard a Barred Owl for several months. A Minnetonka birder discussing owls on an email network this weekend said that he is seeing Great Horned Owls in his neighborhood, but has not seen a Barred Owl there for some time, although in the past both species had been seen coincidentally in the area. Great Horned Owls are the most significant avian predator of Barred Owls. When horned owls move into a territory it is possible that the Barred Owls move out or are eaten by their larger cousins. While the two species of owls might look close in size, Great Horned Owls at three pounds weigh twice as much. The photo shows the foot of a Great Horned Owl. The talons have needle points. Note the texture of the inside of the foot. Those stipples have the texture of rubber, improving grip, as if the talons alone were not enough. The photo is of an owl found dead near Grand Marais several winters ago. It had been shot in the back. 

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 1:27 pm and is filed under Backyard birding, Bird biology, Bird interactions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.