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Long-eared owl

Birds

The long-eared owl, Asio otus, also called the northern long-eared owl or cat owl, is a medium-sized owl of the family Strigidae with an extensive distribution across Eurasia from the Iberian Peninsula through Russia to Japan, and through much of North America from British Columbia to the southwestern United States, wintering south into North Africa, the Middle East and southern Asia. It measures 31 to 40 centimeters long with a wingspan of 86 to 102 centimeters, has erectile ear tufts set closer to the center of the head than in most owls, ochraceous-tawny plumage washed with grey or brown and streaked with black, and yellowish-orange to orange-red eyes, with females typically larger than males. It specializes in hunting voles but takes other prey when necessary, migrates in northern populations, and roosts communally in winter in groups from 6 to more than 150 birds, relying on highly asymmetrical ear structures for exceptional hearing. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and in CITES Appendix II. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Classification
Diet
Carnivore 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 2
Relationship to People
Natural Pest Control 3
Living or Extinct
Yes 4
Comparison
NatureServe Rank
G5 Secure 5
CITES Appendix
Appendix II 3
Scientific Name
Asio otus 4
Conservation Status
Least Concern 6
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Strigidae, Taxa
Source Long-eared owl (Wikidata)

In Biome

Chaparral, Biomes
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Asio otus
Desert, Biomes
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Asio otus

In Ecosystem

Danube Delta, Ecosystems
Source Long-eared owl (Wikipedia)
Heath, Ecosystems
Source Long-eared owl (Wikipedia)
Sonoran Desert, Ecosystems
Source Long-eared owl (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Africa

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Belgium

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Denmark

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

North America

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Norway

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Russia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Spain

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sweden

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Taiwan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Ukraine

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)
2. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
3. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Asio otus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
  • Conservation Status: CITES
    CITES Appendix II
  • Economic Importance for Humans: Positive: "Long-eared owls help to control populations of r"
    Long-eared owls help to control populations of rodents that are considered to be agricultural pests.
  • In Biome: Desert, Habitat Regions, biome: desert or dune
    desert or dune desert or dune
  • In Biome: Chaparral, Habitat Regions, biome: chaparral
    chaparral chaparral
View the Source
4. Long-eared owl (Wikidata)
Wikidata
  • Wikidata Q25384 (P225 taxon name)
  • Statements section, conservation status (P141)
    IUCN Red List conservation status (Wikidata property P141): least concern.
  • Child Taxon Of: Strigidae, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source
5. NatureServe Explorer: Asio otus
NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)
Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
View the Source
6. Long-eared owl (Wikipedia)
  • Introduction
    The long-eared owl is one of the most widely distributed and most numerous owl species in the world, and due to its very broad range and numbers it is considered a least concern species by the IUCN.
  • Category: Fauna listed on CITES Appendix II
  • In Ecosystem: Sonoran Desert, Mammals
    In the Sonoran Desert of Mexico, nearly all known prey were geomyoids, in particular the Merriam's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami), which alone made up 74.7% of the foods.
  • In Ecosystem: Danube Delta, Birds
    Birds were the main foods for wintering long-eared owls in Romania's Danube Delta, with birds making up 59.5% of total prey by number and 51.6% by biomass of 948 prey items against 40.7% by number and 48.4% by biomass for mammals.
  • In Ecosystem: Heath, Habitat
    The preferred habitat in Great Britain was found to consist most regularly (amongst 200 nests) of small tree plantations, copses or scattered trees on moorlands, heath or mosses (33%), followed by blocks of forest (24.5%), smaller plantations, shelterbelts or hedgerows in various agricultural areas (24%) and scrub or wooded clumps near the coast and in wetlands (15%).
View the Source
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