Post by OldGreenVulture on Sept 26, 2019 4:54:56 GMT
Eurasian Eagle Owl - Bubo bubo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Bubo
Species: Bubo bubo
The Eagle Owl is a large and powerful bird, smaller than the Golden Eagle but larger than the Snowy Owl. It has a wingspan of up to 200 cm (5-7 feet). Adult females can weigh in excess of 4 kg (9 lb), in comparison the common Barn Owl weighs about 500 grams (1.1 lb). It mainly feeds on small mammals, but can kill prey up to the size of foxes and young deer (up to 10 kg/22 lb), if taken by surprise. Larger prey (over 3 kg/7 lb) is consumed on the ground which leaves the bird vulnerable (for example to other foxes).
The call of the Eagle Owl is a deep resonant “ooh-hu” with emphasis on the first syllable for the male, and a more high-pitched uh-Hu for the female (in German, the name of this bird is "Uhu"). Each member of an Eagle Owl population can be identified by means of its vocalizations.
The size, ear tufts and orange eyes make this a distinctive species. It has a strong direct flight. The difference between the male and female is that male's ear tufts are more upright than the female's.
Location - "The largest species of owl in the world, the European eagle owl lives all over mainland Europe and is particularly concentrated in Scandinavia.
Diet - "Their diet is entirely meat, consisting mostly of mice, voles and rats but their tremendous size and power also means they are easily capable of taking rabbits or even small deer"
Basic Facts -
Origin:Native; extinct in Britain since 18th century except for occasional European vagrants.
Size:65 - 70 cm. Females are larger than males and can weigh up to 4 kg (9 lbs).
Description: Largest owl in the world. Tall, upright. Prominent ear tufts, large orange eyes.
Habitat:Forests, woodland, rocky and mountain areas.Young:One or two eggs hatch after 35 days, start to fly after eight weeks and fully independent after six months.
Nest:In a rocky crevice lined with a few feathers.
Diet:Carnivorous; small mammals, but can take anything up to the size of a fox or small deer.
Population: No significant native breeding population. British distributionEuropean Eagle Owl - Bubo bubo
www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/education/factsheets/Eagle%20Owl.pdf
But read this -
"Lock up your pets... eagle owl on the loose"
PET owners were yesterday warned to keep their animals indoors, after one of the largest predatory owls in the world escaped from captivity.
A European eagle owl - which stands 3ft tall and has a 5ft wingspan and 4in talons - escaped from a garden near Linlithgow, West Lothian, on Monday night and has not been seen since.
The owl has not eaten for two days, and police have advised residents to keep cats and dogs indoors. They have warned that an attack on an infant is also a possibility.
The owl, named Fergus, has been known to target pets in the past and has attacked Staffordshire bull terriers while exercising, its owner said.
Eagle owls are capable of carrying away cats, dogs and other small pets. Earlier this year, an escaped eagle owl in Norfolk attacked five dogs over a fortnight before being captured.
A West Lothian Police source said yesterday: "We can't rule anything out here. It has not eaten for a couple of days. Parents should be careful, as it is not an impossibility that it may swoop on small children and prams."
The pet escaped from the garden of Chris Imlach, 34, who said the bird belonged to his 14-year-old son.
He said: "I was just getting him ready for flying, and he was tethered to his post in the garden. But when I came back he was gone.
"I have been out looking ever since. I want to find him as soon as possible because I don't want people coming to me saying he has tried to kill their dogs or cats.
"He's picked up one of my Staffordshire bull terriers while we've been out before, which shows you the strength of these owls.
"If anyone sees him, they should not approach him - just keep an eye on him and call the police."
Eagle owl owners usually register their birds with the Independent Bird Register. Although they have not occurred naturally in Britain since the last ice age, they have grown in popularity as pets in recent years, with more than 2,000 birds registered between 1998 and 2003.
A spokesman for the registry said the bird was unlikely to perch in trees, preferring cliff ledges, quarry faces and the tops of deep valleys.
He said: "The bird is hand-tame. It's possible it will fly at a person, but if it does it is almost surely because it's been trained to do so and it believes it can land on the person. The idea that it might attack a human is rubbish."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said: "There have been quite a few escaped eagle owls in the past 18 months.
"The bird is brown with a white chest and has prominent ear tufts and vivid orange eyes, so it should be easy to identify."
A police spokeswoman said: "We would appeal to anyone who sees this distinctive bird of prey to contact police straight away.
"It should not be approached by members of the public and people should not attempt to catch it themselves."
Powerful predator
• The eagle owl, Bubo bubo, is one of the most powerful raptors.
• Eagle owls make a distinctive sound and bark or growl if threatened.
• Those wild in Britain are thought to have escaped from zoos and private collectors because they were hunted to extinction in the late 1800s.
• There are pairs known to be breeding in the Highlands and the Yorkshire moors.
• The eagle owl is the Malfoy family bird - Harry Potter's arch enemy."
news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=556602006
Credited to Taipan from Carnivora.
carnivora.net/eurasian-eagle-owl-bubo-bubo-t2391.html#p5039
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Bubo
Species: Bubo bubo
The Eagle Owl is a large and powerful bird, smaller than the Golden Eagle but larger than the Snowy Owl. It has a wingspan of up to 200 cm (5-7 feet). Adult females can weigh in excess of 4 kg (9 lb), in comparison the common Barn Owl weighs about 500 grams (1.1 lb). It mainly feeds on small mammals, but can kill prey up to the size of foxes and young deer (up to 10 kg/22 lb), if taken by surprise. Larger prey (over 3 kg/7 lb) is consumed on the ground which leaves the bird vulnerable (for example to other foxes).
The call of the Eagle Owl is a deep resonant “ooh-hu” with emphasis on the first syllable for the male, and a more high-pitched uh-Hu for the female (in German, the name of this bird is "Uhu"). Each member of an Eagle Owl population can be identified by means of its vocalizations.
The size, ear tufts and orange eyes make this a distinctive species. It has a strong direct flight. The difference between the male and female is that male's ear tufts are more upright than the female's.
Location - "The largest species of owl in the world, the European eagle owl lives all over mainland Europe and is particularly concentrated in Scandinavia.
Diet - "Their diet is entirely meat, consisting mostly of mice, voles and rats but their tremendous size and power also means they are easily capable of taking rabbits or even small deer"
Basic Facts -
Origin:Native; extinct in Britain since 18th century except for occasional European vagrants.
Size:65 - 70 cm. Females are larger than males and can weigh up to 4 kg (9 lbs).
Description: Largest owl in the world. Tall, upright. Prominent ear tufts, large orange eyes.
Habitat:Forests, woodland, rocky and mountain areas.Young:One or two eggs hatch after 35 days, start to fly after eight weeks and fully independent after six months.
Nest:In a rocky crevice lined with a few feathers.
Diet:Carnivorous; small mammals, but can take anything up to the size of a fox or small deer.
Population: No significant native breeding population. British distributionEuropean Eagle Owl - Bubo bubo
www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/education/factsheets/Eagle%20Owl.pdf
But read this -
"Lock up your pets... eagle owl on the loose"
PET owners were yesterday warned to keep their animals indoors, after one of the largest predatory owls in the world escaped from captivity.
A European eagle owl - which stands 3ft tall and has a 5ft wingspan and 4in talons - escaped from a garden near Linlithgow, West Lothian, on Monday night and has not been seen since.
The owl has not eaten for two days, and police have advised residents to keep cats and dogs indoors. They have warned that an attack on an infant is also a possibility.
The owl, named Fergus, has been known to target pets in the past and has attacked Staffordshire bull terriers while exercising, its owner said.
Eagle owls are capable of carrying away cats, dogs and other small pets. Earlier this year, an escaped eagle owl in Norfolk attacked five dogs over a fortnight before being captured.
A West Lothian Police source said yesterday: "We can't rule anything out here. It has not eaten for a couple of days. Parents should be careful, as it is not an impossibility that it may swoop on small children and prams."
The pet escaped from the garden of Chris Imlach, 34, who said the bird belonged to his 14-year-old son.
He said: "I was just getting him ready for flying, and he was tethered to his post in the garden. But when I came back he was gone.
"I have been out looking ever since. I want to find him as soon as possible because I don't want people coming to me saying he has tried to kill their dogs or cats.
"He's picked up one of my Staffordshire bull terriers while we've been out before, which shows you the strength of these owls.
"If anyone sees him, they should not approach him - just keep an eye on him and call the police."
Eagle owl owners usually register their birds with the Independent Bird Register. Although they have not occurred naturally in Britain since the last ice age, they have grown in popularity as pets in recent years, with more than 2,000 birds registered between 1998 and 2003.
A spokesman for the registry said the bird was unlikely to perch in trees, preferring cliff ledges, quarry faces and the tops of deep valleys.
He said: "The bird is hand-tame. It's possible it will fly at a person, but if it does it is almost surely because it's been trained to do so and it believes it can land on the person. The idea that it might attack a human is rubbish."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said: "There have been quite a few escaped eagle owls in the past 18 months.
"The bird is brown with a white chest and has prominent ear tufts and vivid orange eyes, so it should be easy to identify."
A police spokeswoman said: "We would appeal to anyone who sees this distinctive bird of prey to contact police straight away.
"It should not be approached by members of the public and people should not attempt to catch it themselves."
Powerful predator
• The eagle owl, Bubo bubo, is one of the most powerful raptors.
• Eagle owls make a distinctive sound and bark or growl if threatened.
• Those wild in Britain are thought to have escaped from zoos and private collectors because they were hunted to extinction in the late 1800s.
• There are pairs known to be breeding in the Highlands and the Yorkshire moors.
• The eagle owl is the Malfoy family bird - Harry Potter's arch enemy."
news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=556602006
Credited to Taipan from Carnivora.
carnivora.net/eurasian-eagle-owl-bubo-bubo-t2391.html#p5039