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The Ferocious Feet of the Great Horned Owl
Watch out for this preeminent predatory bird of the night!
© Monte Stinnett
Great Horned Owls excel at nocturnal hunting, thanks to their acute senses and stealth — but their feet let them secure squirming prey. The outermost of their four toes can rotate forward or backward, an advantage that most other birds of prey lack, letting them capture animals as large as raccoons. A four-pound owl can take flight with six pounds of prey.
BirdNote®
The Ferocious Feet of the Great Horned Owl
Written by Bob Sundstrom
Mary McCann: This is BirdNote.
[Great Horned Owl pair duet]
Throughout much of the Americas, Great Horned Owls are the preeminent predatory bird of the night. And they are ferocious.
Their prowess as hunters depends on acute senses and stealth. But their feet — and long, curved talons — secure the attack. The outermost of their four toes has evolved to rotate forward or backward for handling squirming prey, an advantage that most other birds of prey lack. These feet let the owls capture mammals as large as hares and raccoons!
[Great Horned Owl call]
The grip strength in those feet — 200 to 500 pounds per square inch—is equal to that of the much larger Bald Eagle and up to six times stronger than the handshake of a bodybuilder. Talk about a “death grip!”
[Great Horned Owl pair duet]
And these owls definitely don’t skip leg day — with strong, thick legs, Great Horned Owls are power-lifters. A four-pound owl can take flight with up to six pounds of prey. Their preferred hunting tactic is to perch in a tree on the edge of an open field, listen closely, then drop, flap and glide silently toward an unwary animal.
And from there, those amazing feet take over.
[Great Horned Owl pair duet]
For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Digital Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Great Horned Owl Xeno Canto 459594 recorded by L. Buck, and Great Horned Owl Xeno Canto 520429 recorded by J. Swackhamer.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote July 2021 January 2024
Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# GHOW-13-2021-07-08 GHOW-13
References: https://wildlifeimages.org/species/great-horned-owl
Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Mary McCann
NarratorSights & Sounds
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