Identification

Visual: Slender owl with long, close-set "ear tufts." Their wings are more than two and a half times longer than their bodies. Squarish, rusty facial disk, streaked breast and abdomen.

Vocal: Extremely difficult, since almost all of their calls overlap with those of the more common great horned owl. Territorial call is a single hoot, given at 2-5 second intervals. They also give a variety of barks, wails, screams, and kazoo-like squeals around the nest. Courting pairs sing a captivating duet, with the male’s deep hoos accompanied by the female's higher-pitched, descending whooo.

Nesting Habitat

Variable, but often in dense thickets of coniferous or deciduous growth with nearby open areas for hunting small rodents. A nest in the Boulder Mountain Park was located in a crow's nest in a dense stand of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir adjacent to a mountain meadow. A nest in Rocky Mountain National Park was located in spruce-fir forest at nearly 11,000 feet. These medium- sized owls breed from the plains to the subalpine forest. Once common along foothills streams of northeastern Colorado, they have been displaced by more cosmopolitan (adaptive to human disturbance) Great horned owls.

Nesting Dates

Courtship: February to April Incubation: late March to early June

Dependent nestlings: early April to early July

Incubation of 3-7 eggs requires 25-35 days, with the eggs hatching over a period of a week or more. The young fledge 30-40 days after hatching.

Statewide Distribution and Population

They nest statewide from the eastern plains and western valleys to near treeline. Potential increases in distribution were noted in the northwest part of the state in the Second Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas. Once common in the Front Range, populations have declined near urban areas.

Federal and State Status

Not listed. Colorado Natural Heritage Program special concern.

Search and Nest Monitoring Protocol

Beginning in March, drive or walk a set route at 1-2 week intervals, stopping every 400-800 m to listen for territorial calls. Once a territory has been located, search the ground for pellets, and search the trees for stick nests. Avoid approaching within 200 m of active nests.

Recommended Nest Buffer Area

Avoid human encroachment within 200 m of active nests.

References

Johnsgard, P. A. 1988. Owls of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Kingery, H. E., ed. 1998. Colorado breeding bird atlas. Colorado Bird Atlas Partnership, Denver.

Marks, J. S., D. L Evans, and D.W. Holt. 1994. Long-eared Owl. In The birds of North America, no. 133. American Ornithologist's Union, Washington, D.C.

Vroos, K. 1988. Owls of the Northern Hemisphere. MIT Press, Cambridge.

Walker, L. W. 1974. The book of owls. Alfred Knopf, New York.

Wickersham, L.E. 2016. The Second Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas. Colorado Bird Atlas Partnership, Denver.