Trivia question for Sep-03-2011

Carter loves owls and when he came across these gorgeous birds, he knew he had to include them in his trivia.  Like many poorly understood night birds, this owl has been the victim of ignorance.  During the 19th century, the species declined dramatically over most of its range, due mainly to the destruction of its eggs and young by farmers and gamekeepers.

It mainly feeds on small mammals in the 0.44-4.4 lb weight range, such as voles, rats, mice and hares. However, prey can be killed up to the size of foxes, marmots and young deer (up to 37 lb), if taken by surprise. The other significant group of prey is other birds and almost any type of bird is potential prey. Common avian prey include corvids, grouse, woodpeckers, other raptors and, especially near coastal areas, ducks, seabirds and geese. Larger prey (over 7 lb) is consumed on the ground which leaves the bird vulnerable (for example to foxes).

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what type of owl this is and how far their deep mournful wooo call carries?  Also, tell us what these birds sometimes do with their youngest and weakest off-spring?

Good luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to our friend Natalie Borgardt for being persistent and for being the first with the correct answer. The cool looking owl we featured is the Eurasian Eagle Owl. The Eurasian Eagle-owl is a species of eagle owl resident in much of Europe and Asia. It is also one of the largest types of owls.

Their mournful call can carry for 3-miles in the night so it can keep contact in large territories.  Eagle owls can be cannibalistic.The youngest and weakest chick may be killed and then devoured by its parents and siblings.

The Eagle Owl is a large and powerful bird, smaller than the Golden Eagle but larger than the Snowy Owl. It is sometimes referred to as the world’s largest owl, but this is actually the Blakiston’s Fish Owl, which is slightly bigger on average. The Eagle Owl has a wingspan of 55–79 in and measures 23–30 in long. Females weigh 3.9-10 lbs and males weigh 3.3-7 lbs. In comparison, the Barn Owl weighs about 1.1 lbs. Here is more on the majestic owls: Eurasian Eagle Owl

Thanks for playing along 😉