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Title
Great Horned Owl Puffed on a Tree Limb #154387645
Description
TheÃÂ great horned owlÃÂ Bubo virginianus, also known as theÃÂ tiger owlÃÂ originally derived from early naturalists` description as the `winged tiger` or `tiger of the air`, or theÃÂ hoot owl,ÃÂ is a largeÃÂ owlÃÂ native to theÃÂ Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributedÃÂ true owlÃÂ in the Americas.ÃÂ Its primary diet isÃÂ rabbits and hares,ÃÂ rats and mice, andÃÂ voles, although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, includingÃÂ rodentsÃÂ and other small mammals, larger mid-sizedÃÂ mammals,ÃÂ birds,ÃÂ reptiles,ÃÂ amphibians, andÃÂ invertebrates. In ornithological study, the great horned owl is often compared to theÃÂ Eurasian eagle-owlÃÂ Bubo bubo, a closely related species, which despite the latter`s notably larger size, occupies the same ecological niche inÃÂ Eurasia, and theÃÂ red-tailed hawkÃÂ Buteo jamaicensis, with which it often shares similar habitat, prey, and nesting habits by day, thus is something of a diurnal ecological equivalent.ÃÂ The great horned owl is one of the earliest nesting birds inÃÂ North America, often laying eggs weeks or even months before other raptorial birds.