The long-eared owl is around 15-16 inches (38-40.6 cm) in length with a wingspan of around 40 inches (101.6 cm).
It has long ear tufts that are set very close together and can’t be seen when the owl is flying. The long-eared owl is brownish-gray with a vertical streaking pattern. It has a chestnut-colored facial disk with small white patches set under bright yellow eyes.
With their excellent eyesight and hearing, the long-eared owl hunts almost exclusively at night. It hunts mostly from the ground or from low areas in trees.
The long-eared owl preys on small rodents like voles, deer mice, kangaroo rats, and pocket gophers. It is also known to eat small snakes, birds, and insects.
To kill its prey, the long-eared owl bites the back of the skull and swallows the animal whole.
The long-eared owl breeds from February to July, and pairs are monogamous (they only have one mate at a time). To attract a female, the male performs an aerial display, flying in a zig-zag pattern over possible nesting sites. Sometimes, long-eared owls build their nests close together in loose colonies.
The female long-eared owl lays 2 to 10 eggs over about 30 days in a stick nest built by other birds. The eggs are white, smooth, and shiny. The female incubates (sits on the eggs to keep them warm) for 25 to 30 days, taking short breaks at night to hunt for food.
After hatching, the chicks leave the nest at about 21 days old. They still cannot fly, so they stay in nearby bushes. By 35 days old, the chicks learn to fly. They stay with their parents for around 10 to 11 weeks.
The long-eared owl has an average lifespan of 4 years. The oldest long-eared owl on record was 12 years old.
The long-eared owl is very quiet during the day and hard to detect. They are experts at camouflage and are able to stretch out their slender bodies and compress their feathers so they look like a tree trunk.
Support for NatureWorks is provided by:
There are no recent records of the long-eared owl breeding in New Hampshire, but it may winter in the state, although not in large numbers.
The long-eared owl is found from Eastern Canada to the Northeast U.S. and from central Canada south through California, Texas, and northern Florida.
The long-eared owl winters in the southern part of its range.
It also lives in Europe, Asia, and northern and eastern Africa.
NHPBS inspires one million Granite Staters each month with engaging and trusted local and national programs on-air, online, in classrooms and in communities.
