These impressive birds are usually active at night, and their hidden feathers help them stay hidden from prey animals and bird watchers. Let’s learn about the five biggest owls in the world. These are the world’s largest owl species, each with its unique features and habitat needs.
The Great Horned Owl
- Weight: 3.2 pounds
- Wingspan: 4.6 feet
- Location: North and South America and the Arctic
- Identifying Trait: Feathery tufted “horns”
The Great Horned Owl is the most common owl in the Americas. It gets its name from the feathered “horns” on its head. These owls are monogamous and share duties like incubating eggs and hunting for food.
They eat small animals like scorpions and rodents, and can even catch bigger birds and prey. They also swallow their food whole and later cough up pellets with what they can’t digest, like bones and hair.
3rd Biggest Owl in the World : The Snowy Owl
- Weight: 4.5 pounds
- Wingspan: 4.8 feet
- Location: North America and Arctic tundras
- Identifying Trait: Distinctive black and white plumage and heavily feathered feet
The Snowy Owl has warm, camouflaged feathers for its cold habitat. It has special feathers near its beak to feel things better and thick feathers on its feet to act like snowshoes. Snowy Owls are agile and can catch small birds in mid-air. They mainly eat lemmings, and their breeding depends on the lemming population.
The Great Grey Owl
- Weight: 2.5 pounds
- Wingspan: 5 feet
- Location: North America
- Identifying Trait: Large facial disc, mottled grey coat, and white “moustache”
The Great Grey Owl has grey feathers and a big facial disc that helps it hear well. It hunts for rodents and small birds, and sometimes bigger prey like rabbits. It’s mostly active at night but also hunts during the day. They like swampy areas and moist forests, but can live in other places too.
The 2nd Biggest Owl in the World : Eurasian Eagle Owls
- Weight: 6-8 pounds
- Wingspan: 5-6 feet
- Location: Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa
- Identifying Trait: Distinct vocal patterns, striking orange eyes, and feathery tufts
Eurasian Eagle Owls are adaptable and can live in various habitats, including cities. They don’t have natural predators and can live for up to 20 years. They eat mammals, birds, fish, insects, and reptiles, and sometimes even young deer.
The Biggest Owl in the World : Blakiston’s Fish Owl
- Weight: 6-8.8 pounds
- Wingspan: 6.5 feet
- Location: Russia, China, and Hokkaido, Japan
- Identifying Trait: Ear-like tufts and a diet of fish
Blakiston’s Fish Owl is the world’s largest owl. It’s endangered due to deforestation and overfishing of its prey. They need specific forests with old trees to nest and hunt. These owls are not like most others because they hunt fish, so they don’t have silent wing feathers.
