Where Do Owls Live?

The majority of owls are nocturnal, and usually live alone—as you may remember from the majority of depictions of owls in popular movies and novels. However, there are many different types of owls, and below is a sampling of a few of the most interesting types of owls, where they live, and their characteristics.

The Northern Hawk Owl

The Northern Hawk Owl is known for its “hawk” like appearance due to its long wing span, and its long tail. It’s a medium sized owl, ranging to about forty centimeters long with a wingspan that can range up to eighty centimeters. It has a round head, and the familiar yellow eyes that most owls possess. You can recognize this owl by its brown body that is striped with white. The Northern Hawk Owl lives throughout the boreal forests of North America, as well as Eurasia. They tend to nest in larger trees, as opposed to smaller ones, and will sometimes seize a nest that was abandoned by another bird. It hunts voles and thrushes, and is not a migratory bird.

The Elf Owl

The Elf Owl is actually the smallest of any owl, belonging to the owl family of Strigidae. They range only to about twelve inches tall, and their wingspan only ranges to about sixteen inches. You might recognize their call, which is extremely high pitched when compared to many of the other owls. Interestingly, when these owls reproduce, they typically habitat an abandoned woodpecker hole and lay their eggs there. You can find these owls throughout the southwest of the United States, and in Mexico. They are a migratory bird, and usually fly to Arizona or New Mexico for the spring and summer. In the winter, you can find them in the south of Mexico. As of right now, they are not an endangered species.

The Eurasian Pygmy Owl

The Eurasian Pygmy Owl is the smallest owl of all Europe. You can recognize this owl by its vibrant red color, with some grayish patches. They are not a migratory bird, and you can find them throughout the boreal forests of Northern and Central Europe, and as far as Siberia. They usually live close to swampy land. Their diet consists of birds their own size, and mammals they can easily catch.

The Long Wiskered Owlet

Still want to know more about where do owls live? The Long-whiskered owlet is a smaller owl that can be found in the Andean mountains of the Amazonas and San Martin in Peru. Its total length is about thirteen to fourteen centimeters, and has large eyes that are orange-brownish in color. The owl’s name comes from the long facial feather that extends beyond the borders of its face, thus making it appear to have whiskers. It’s an extremely rare form of the owl, and is currently considered a threatened bird. This is due partially to its small range of habitat, and also due to the deforestation that is occurring in that area. Currently, there only remain about between two hundred and a thousand of these owls left in the world.

The Sooty Owl

Finally, there is the Sooty Owl, which is also sometimes known as the Greater Sooty Owl. It’s a larger owl, and ranges up to forty centimeters in size, with a wing span that can go up to forty centimeters in length as well. The females are usually larger than the males, weighing up to one thousand gm, while the males usually only weigh up to seven hundred gm. As you may have guessed from the name, the face is a grayish color that resembles soot. You can find this owl in the southeastern part of Australia, as well as the Montane rainforests of New Guinea.

Now that you know where do owls live, you can go find some and pick your favorite owl species!