The most comprehensive facts about different types of owls on internet including facts about owls types physical features, regions, age, eggs, prey and predators. By and large, there are different types of owls living in this planet with each having its own peculiar characteristics. To my surprise, the total types of owls have turned out to be 216 across the globe. Since there is an inundation of owl types in the world, so it would be almost out of the question to describe each and every type. However, I’ve brought together some of the different species of owls that are recognized worldwide and will definitely provide an overview of these different species of owls.
Different Types of Owls – Different species of owls
Barn Owl
Having murky eyes and cloudy shade, Barn Owl is certainly one of the most famous of all types of owls. It has also several blemishes all over its body and wingspan with feminine Barn Owls possess relatively more number of foggy marks than masculine Barn Owls. However, the base of the owl is largely colorless and feathers exhibit brownish-red shade. The mouth is pale yellow while the two feet are comprised of whitish-yellow as well as bronzed shade.
Prey of Barn Owl
Barn Owls usually show aggression against tiny creatures including vole, mouse, rat, shrew, frog, young insects and bats. By and large, such types of owls make use of the mixture of the eyesight as well as audible senses to locate their victim. However as compare to vision, their audible senses are far better and mostly use them too. Due to the presence of lopsided ear apertures, these owls can pay attention to even slightest of movements from faraway and varied angles. That is why they pursue their victims mainly on uncovered plains.
Where do Barn Owls live?
- These types of owls are readily found in every continent including Australia and Antarctica.
- Barn owls are usually located in deserted caverns and tree fissures.
- They dwell in deep forest, farmland and moors.
Age Limit and Number of Eggs
Barn owls have a maximum 2 years of age and lay from three to six eggs.
Learn more: What Do Barn Owls Eat
Long Eared Owl
These types of owls possess many marks on their body together with pale yellow shade having slightly brown touch as well. Even though majority of people baffle by the name of Long Eared owl and think that they possess extended ears. However, it is not the case and these owls have normal or perhaps short ears but there are some feather clumps known as ear tufts bearing a great resemblance to the ears. The bottom of Long-Eared Owl is largely coated with quills while the face is mostly brownish-red shade. The feminine Long Eared Owls differs on the basis of their even more murky shade. These owls largely operate in the early evening as they are on the go at that time.
Long Eared Owl – Prey
Long Eared Owls mostly hound at smaller animals like bats, chipmunk, squirrel, kangaroo rat, deer mouse, shrew and gophers. While hovering over the sky, it sounds more like a tree-bough as it extends its wingspans and camouflages itself. They fabricate their shells far above the ground level and at almost 30 feet high. That is why most researchers found their shells in places where eagles were residing some time ago.
Where do Long Eared Owls live?
- These types of owls are readily found in North America, Europe and Asia.
- They live in the boundaries of deep jungle and riparian districts.
Age Limit, Breeding Season and Number of Eggs
- Unlike Barn Owls, the lifespan of these owls can extend up to a maximum of 10 years.
- The breeding months starts from March to May and lay about four to five eggs.
Predators of Long Eared Owls
- Raccoons
- Great Horned Owls
- Barred Owls
Barred Owl or Hoot Owl
Having standard size and brownish gray shade, these types of owls also exhibit murky eyes. At the abdomen, there are several upright marks while upper body is largely configured with colorless rails. These owls rests on bough like any other owl and target its victim at the very position.
Barred Owl – Prey
There is an extensive array of living creatures that fall victim to Barred Owls like meadow vole, deer mouse, bats, squirrel, shrews and rats, other birds, young bugs, fishes, snake and frog. Barred Owl is quite vociferous and largely found their shells in deserted places of crow and squirrel.
Where do Barred Owls live?
- These types of owls reside in hollow spaces in trees
- They are readily found in North America and South Canada.
Breeding Season and Number of Eggs
The breeding months starts from March to August and lay two to four eggs.
Predator of Barred Owl
Great Horned Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Having buttery shade as well as murky border at the facial frame, Northern Hawk Owl is one of the beautiful types of owls. It possesses colorless eyebrows and upper body contains brownish-gray shade having colorless marks at the skull. Another great feature of such different types of owls is that they exhibit deceptive eyes at the rear of their skull. Besides, these types of owls also possess an extended tail that is really effective in order to change direction while hounding in the deep jungle. Northern Owl Hawk is mostly discovered on tree boughs that are usually open.
Northern Hawk Owl – Prey
These different types of owls go after vole, frog, fishes and even swift-airborne birds.
Where do Northern Hawk Owls live?
These types of owls usually found in Norway (Eurasia), Finland, Sweden, Siberia and Northern China, North America and Central Asia.
Breeding Season and Number of Eggs
The female Northern Owl Hawk lays up to 13 eggs breeding months start from April to May
Burrowing Owl
Belongs to the normal owl family tree and little in magnitude, Burrowing Owl possess spherical and slightly brownish facial frame. These types of owls have mostly gentle bronzed shade in their skull, rear as well as wingspan while the chest and abdomen is pale yellow. There is a whitish band of color drown on the cheeks of Burrowing Owl. Female Burrowing Owls are comparatively darker in shade than male Owls. These owls are largely full of zip in the nightfall and sunrise. More often than not they are located on the heap of grime searching for their target at just one of the two feet. Since they fabricate shells at the land, therefore their eggs are more vulnerable to enemies. The growth of Burrowing Owls is gradually waning and hence is in a danger of extinction.
Burrowing Owl – Prey
These types of owls usually aim at small creatures including mouse, rabbit, squirrel, other birds, rats, beetle, reptiles and grasshoppers.
Where do Burrowing Owls live?
These types of owls are readily found in Mississippi Valley of America, Mexico, Florida, South and Central America. In winter season, they move toward Louisiana and Arkansas.
Breeding Season and Number of Eggs
The breeding months are from March to April and lay up to nine eggs.
Predators of Burrowing Owl
- Indigenous dogs and cats
- Bigger owls
- Skunks
- Hawks
- Snake
- Ferret
- Armadillos
- Motor vehicles
Northern Saw Whet Owl
Having an undersized tail and little magnitude, Northern Saw whet Owl is one of those types of owls that possess big skull. Besides, unlike traditional owls, they also have big yellowish eyes while the facial frame contain a whole heap of whitish pattern encircling the eyes. At the border of the frame, there is a grayish-white strip enveloping the whole disc. However, the major portion of the skull is largely composed of grayish-brown shade and colorless bands at the brow. The whole structure of these owls is enveloped with feathery substance of reddish-brown shade having marks at the rear.
Northern Saw Whet Owl – Prey
Such types of owls are more likely hound their victim at sunrise and twilight and include mouse, bats and shrews, other birds, young bugs, frog, vole, squirrel and various little living creatures. These types of owls also store their prey for winter season if they find ample quantity.
Where do Northern Saw Whet Owls live?
These types of owls normally reside in Western USA, Various parts of Mexico, Southern Canada (Ontario), Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ohio River Valley
Breeding and Number of Eggs
Like any other owl, these types of owls also breed in the months starting from March till April and lay up to maximum seven eggs.
Predators of Northern Saw Whet Owl
- Bigger owls
- Large size hawks
Eurasian Eagle Owl
These types of owls are widely recognized as the weightiest of all owls across the globe. Even the female Eurasian Eagle Owl may arrive more than 9 pounds that is two times more than North American weightiest owl named as Snowy Owl. There is a fluffy material at the higher body of Eurasian Eagle Owl with dark brownish-yellow shade. The border of the facial frame is covered with dark brown marks while the tail has gloomy bronzed patterns.
Eurasian Eagle Owl – Prey
Such types of owls usually chase their victims at twilight and sunrise and include small creatures like deer fawn, mouse, various birds, creepy-crawly, rabbit, vole and rats. Besides, these types of owls also feed on little owls, fishes and snake.
Where do Eurasian Eagle Owls live?
These types of owls are readily found in Middle East, Asia, North Africa and Europe.
Number of Eggs
Eurasian eagle owl can lay up to a maximum of four white eggs.
Short Eared Owl
Having bronzed fluffy substance enveloping the whole body, Short Eared Owl is largely wrapped up with several murky patterns throughout the entire body. However, female Short-Eared Owls are murkier than masculine owls. This is actually a ‘blessing in disguise’ since it masquerades itself from potential predators.
Short Eared Owl – Prey
Like other owls, these types of owls usually hound at sunrise and twilight while their diet comprise of mainly mouse, mole, rabbit, shrew, moles and muskrats. Besides, such types of owls also pursue seabirds but only in seashore regions. Every so often, the young bugs like caterpillar and grasshopper also become part of their diet. However, one of the unique features of these owls is that they do not feed their victim at the site of murder rather they take it back to its shell.
Where do Short Eared Owls live?
These types of owls are readily located in Galapagos Islands, North America, Iceland, Hawaii and South America.
Number of Eggs
Such types of owls can lay up to a maximum of 14 eggs.
Predators of Short Eared Owl
- Red-tail Hawks
- Bald Eagles
- Snowy Owls
- Airplanes and motor vehicles
Elf Owl
Elf owl is an undersized owl and have no ear clumps but with a spherical skull. These types of owls usually possess brownish-red frame along with colorless eyebrows. At the brow of these owls, there are foggy marks that spread over their wingspan too. Elf owl has a dumpy tail with stripes while the abdomen is slightly grayish. While relaxing, the wings of Elf Owls reach almost at the bottom of tail and the fluffy substance wraps up their feet.
Elf Owl – Prey
These types of owls usually aim at little animals like young bugs, cicadas, caterpillar, grasshoppers and scorpions. Actually a large portion of their meal comprise of young bugs as they always scavenge for these easy targets.
Where do Elf Owls live?
These types of owls usually reside in USA Southwest region, Baja California and Central Mexico.
Snowy Owl
These types of owls are widely recognized as the weightiest as well as the next biggest wingspan in North America. They have spherical skull and colorless fluffy substance with gloomy marks all around their body structure. Female Snowy Owls have a great number of marks while male have almost zero marks at all. The bill of these owls may extend at a maximum of two-inch large while the bottom is intensely wrapped up with feathers.
Snowy Owl – Prey
Like other different species of owls, these types of owls also target little creatures like snowshoe hare, vole, small fishes, lemmings, dogs, squirrel, mouse and many others.
Where do Snowy Owls live?
These types of owls usually reside in North American Arctic tundra. Besides, they are also present in Siberia and Canada in winter.
Read More: What does a Snowy Owl Look Like?
Great Grey Owl
Having swollen skull and blonde eyes, Great Grey Owls are indeed one of the biggest of all types of owls across the globe. They also have a very elongated tail while the bottom is intensely wrapped up with fluffy feathers of brownish-grey shade. Interestingly, they also have a colorless facial hair at the spherical frame.
Great Grey Owl – Prey
When it comes to killing their victims, these types of owls normally scavenge in sunrise and twilight. This includes mouse, chipmunk, and vole and so on.
Where do Great Grey Owls live?
These types of owls mostly reside in North side of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Alaska, Minnesota, Asia and Europe.
Age Limit and Number of Eggs
Such types of owls can lay up to five eggs and their age may extend to even 40 years.
Predators of Great Grey Owl
- Great Horned Owls
- Hunger
- Gun down by humans
- Electricity cables
Spectacled Owl
Being noticeably different tinted owls, these types of owls possess murky bronzed structure and yellowish-white abdomen. As the name implies, they bear great resemblance to the colorless strip encircling their frame thereby sounds like wearing spectacles.
Spectacled Owl – Prey
Such types of owls also hound little creatures including young bugs, frog, various birds, skunk, possum and mouse.
Where do Spectacled Owls live?
These types of owls usually reside in Central USA, Mexico and Southern America.
Number of Eggs
They can lay up to a maximum of just two eggs.
Predators of Spectacled Owl
- Loss of territory
- Destruction of jungle
Great Horned Owl
These types of owls usually have brownish-red shade and are certainly one of the biggest owls among the different species of owls. The female Great Horned Owls are bigger than male owls. However, the front frame of owl is somewhat carroty in color. The chest is filled with patterns of colorless fluffy substance while inner body is rather grayish. Most people think that these types of owls have horns, as the name implies however, these horns are basically feathery tufts instead. The bill of these owls may extend up to 1.5-inch large and possess an elongated neck whereas sounds otherwise. The feet at the bottom of these types of owls is intensely feathered and is quite hefty as well with size up to 1.5-inch large. The ends of wingspan of Great Horned Owls have gaps known as slots. Such slots are really useful in changing directions while scavenging in the deep jungle.
Great Horned Owl – Prey
These types of owls normally scavenge in the early evening and aim at little animals like skunks, pet cats, mouse, vole and rabbits, young bugs, tiny birds, grouse, pheasant and snowshoe hares.
Where do Great Horned Owls live?
These types of owls generally reside in South America, Central and North America.
Breeding Season and Number of Eggs
The breeding season of such types of owls starts from January and ends on February and lays only four eggs.
Spotted Owl
These types of owls have murky eyes and the abdomen and chest is largely covered with colorless marks. The rear as well as skull of Spotted Owl has not too many marks on them. The front frame of spotted owl is slightly golden-brown while the eyebrows are slightly dyed and the feet are heavily covered with feathers.
Where do Spotted Owls live?
They are usually found in Washington, California, Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Breeding Season and Number of Eggs
These owls have breeding months starting from March till September and lays up to only three eggs.
Western Screech Owl
These types of owls are usually feathered with grayish color or perhaps brownish-red and are beautifully disguised while perching. They have murky borders all over their spherical face with two distinctive stages of matured owls. In the initial phase they have slight grayish shade in Southwest while in Northwest; they become murkier and bronzed tinted. The spherical discs are pale yellow and there are upright marks and bands of colors at the abdomen and inside portion of wingspan. Similarly, at the next phase, these owls become reddish colored. They are very gloomy or perhaps brownish red and have marks at the chest of these types of owls.
Western Screech Owl – Prey
By and large, these types of owls target at little creatures like any other owl including little birds, young bugs, deer mouse, rodents and kangaroo rat.
Where do Western Screech Owls live?
These owls are generally located in North America (Pacific Northwest), British Columbia, Baja California and Mexico.
Number of Eggs and Predators
Such types of owls lay only three eggs while their predators include:
- Barred Owl
- Long-Eared Owl
- Raccoons
- Great Horned Owl
- Snake
- Squirrel
I love the barn owl. Nice face.
My wife and I managed to get some amazing pictures and video of a Northern Saw-Whet Owl here in Toronto on friday. If you would like to see our pictures come to: http://frametoframe.ca/photo-essay-northern-saw-whet-owl-sighting
I have some owls visiting me at my home in El Paso, Texas which is very far west, on the border of Mexico and New Mexico. It’s very dry here and there are very few trees. Lots of small cacti. I live on the edge of a mountain with a mountain above my house and an aroyo below.
I was wondering if someone could help me determine the type (s) of owls who are visiting.
It is always dark when they come so I can’t see much of their coloring or faces, so I need help.
I have a few boys of info that may help.
1) I always see the owls in the summertime. It is usually 95-105 here in the summer.
2) the first few times I saw them, it was a group of 3 or 4. One was very tall, maybe 15-18inches tall. The other 2 or 3 were small, ranging from 8-11 inches tall. Would these be a different kind of owl or do they hunt in groups? Would the smaller ones be babies, or adolescent owls?
3) 8/10 of the times I’ve seen the owls, they appear at dusk while the sky is still blue. The times when I have not seen them at dusk have been a) not late at night, 10pm. And b) just before dawn, 5a.m. Still completely dark.
4) I have a swimming pool, and a green grassy yard. (I live in an area where water and grass are uncommon. could they be drinking, or feeding on the bugs in the damp grass? also, lots of bats congregate near my pool at dusk.) There is a yucca plant on the far side of the pool looking down into the aroyo. The owls are most often seen either a) hopping around the grass b) perched on the yucca or on a dead(still standing, just without fans) pal tree, looking down into the arroyo, or c) on the handrail going into the pool. One morning (5am) I saw a rather large owl jump into my pool. He sat on the top step, which is maybe 5 inches deep, and bathed for a good 10 minutes. I assume he was bathing. He had 4/5 of his body out of the water but he was thrashing around a little bit. Maybe thrashing isn’t the right word. He was “playing”.
5) they do not hoot. I have never heard a hoot. I have heard screeches, “sort of” similar to the ones hawks make during the day. But! I’m not even positive the screeches came from them. There are hawks and eagles around here. I’ve heard something screeching, but I’ve never heard a screech and seen an owl simultaneously. But I have not ever heard a hoot.
6) they don’t have visible ears. Their heads are rounded.
I wish I could tell ya’ll more, and I wish I saw these gorgeous animals more. I hope someone can help me.
I’m just a college student who has fallen in love with these birds and wants to learn more.
I’d love it if some kind person could give me a few suggestions as to what you think they might be!
Thank you!
Hi Jimena, my name is Albert and I too live in El Paso, TX.I live in the lower valley next to the border highway and although I cannot shed light on the types of owls you encountered, I did want to share my story with you. It was around 7pm in the summer time and darkness had just blanketed the area, when my dog started to bark with extreme ferocity. Being concerned I, rushed to the backyard, where the barking was coming from, opened the door and there my dog was standing, at point and hair bristled up, barking towards the direction of a corner in the yard. I had my flashlight in hand and I lit the area in which he pointed and at the top of a four foot chain link fence was what I considered a very large owl. He had to be at least two feet tall. The owl showed absolutely no fear of my dog or myself, whatsoever. I stepped cautiously towards the owl and I got about twelve feet from him. After my initial shock at the size of this bird, I found myself admiring the beauty of the majestic presence he projected. Never once showing any fear but holding his position of strength and control. I watched for a while and my wife, whose curiosity had gotten the better of her by now, came outside to observe the situation. She told me to leave it alone and to come inside the house and to bring our dog with me. I ran inside to grab a camera to take a couple of pictures of it. But to my deep regret, the owl was gone. Fortunately, I had three other encounters with the owl. Each time very much alike. I get close to it and it allows me to admire it, as soon as I go to get the camera, upon my return, it’s gone. I never got to see it again.My wife told me a story she used to hear from family members that those types of owls are, according to mexican lore, “lechusas”. They are supposedly, witches turned into large owls sent by people who have some sort of envy towards someone, to watch over certain people and to administer “bad luck”. I am also of hispanic decent, despite my last name, but I do not believe in such nonsense. Ironically, we did go through five solid rough years of what anyone would consider “bad luck”. I see it as normal stages of life. I could go on forever with stories of those terrible five years. During those five years, I saw on several occasions, more owls, only they were the smaller kind. They were probably eight or ten inches tall and they would fly around me , keeping around a five foot span from my head. I thought nothing of it and would just watch them till they would leave. One night, my neighbor and I were at the four foot tall chain link fence, which divided our properties, just talking about the work day events when an owl, same small size, came within four feet from us and started to fly above our heads and then landed two to three feet from us on top of the fence rail. My neighbor freaked out! He started cussing at it and yelling and waving his arms at it and told me to do the same. Well, I thought all this adverse action was very comical to me and stood there laughing. When the owl finally flew away and landed on a light pole in front of my neighbors house, just watching us, my neighbor proceeded to tell me wild stories about that little owl being a “lechusa” and how it was looking to spread evil upon us. Well, one year later he and his wife divorced and before he left to live elsewhere, my neighbor came over to tell me he blamed that night with the encounter of the owl for losing his family. Again, I don’t believe it. I didn’t grow up with these wives tales and consider myself a realist and therefore cannot believe in such things as the “lechusa”. Anyway, I know I have not helped you in your endeavor to find what type of owls you encountered but hopefully, I entertained you with mine. Good luck with your findings!