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Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus (Gmelin, JF 1788)

The great horned owl, also known as the tiger owl, or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. Its primary diet is rabbits and hares, rats and mice, and voles, although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, including rodents and other small mammals, larger mid-sized mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. In ornithological study, the great horned owl is often compared to the Eurasian eagle-owl, a closely related species, which despite the latter's notably larger size, occupies the same ecological niche in Eurasia, and the red-tailed hawk, with which it often shares similar habitat, prey, and nesting habits by day, thus is something of a diurnal ecological equivalent. The great horned owl is one of the earliest nesting birds in North America, often laying eggs weeks or even months before other raptorial birds. Source: Wikipedia




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Classification
Order:
  Strigiformes
Family:
  Strigidae
Genus:
   Bubo
Scientific:
  Bubo virginianus


Original description

Citation:
  (Gmelin, JF 1788)

Reference:
   Systema Naturae ed. 13, vol. 1, part 1

Protonym:
  Strix virginiana

Type locality:
  America = Virginia.

Link:
  https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2896887


Avibase identifiers

Avibase ID:
  FC366114BD3B51A0

Avibase ID:
  avibase-FC366114

Short link:
  https://avibase.ca/FC366114


Taxonomic Serial Number:
  TSN: 177884

Geographic range:

  • Bubo virginianus virginianus: Minnesota to Nova Scotia, s to Kansas, e Texas and Florida
  • Bubo virginianus saturatus: Coastal sw Alaska (Cook Inlet) to coastal central California
  • Bubo virginianus lagophonus: Central Alaska to ne Oregon and Montana; winters to Texas
  • Bubo virginianus algistus: coast of western Alaska (Kotzebue Sound south to Bristol Bay)
  • Bubo virginianus heterocnemis: NE Canada south to Great Lakes region
  • Bubo virginianus elachistus: S Baja California and Isla Espírito Santo
  • Bubo virginianus subarcticus: Mackenzie and nw Br. Col. to Hudson Bay, Wyoming, N Dak.
  • Bubo virginianus pacificus: Coastal California to nw Baja California
  • Bubo virginianus mayensis: SE Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula)
  • Bubo virginianus mesembrinus: S Mexico (Isthmus of Tehuántepec) to w Panama
  • Bubo virginianus pallescens: Deserts of cent. and se Calif. to Kansas and s Mexico (Oaxaca)
  • Bubo virginianus pinorum: Great Basin and Rocky Mountains in western United States, from northeastern California and southern Idaho south to northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and west Texas (Guadalupe Mountains)
  • Bubo virginianus nigrescens: Andes of Colombia to Ecuador and nw Peru
  • Bubo virginianus nacurutu: lowland South America, from northern Colombia east to the Guianas, and from southeastern Peru east to northeastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina
  • Bubo virginianus deserti: north central Bahia (northeastern Brazil)
  • Show more...
English:
Great Horned Owl
Catalan:
Duc de Virgínia
Czech:
výr virginský
Danish:
Amerikansk Stor Hornugle
German:
Virginiauhu
Spanish:
Búho americano
Finnish:
amerikanhuuhkaja
French:
Grand-duc d'Amérique
Croatian:
Američka ušara
Hungarian:
amerikai uhu
Italian:
Gufo reale della Virginia
Japanese (romaji):
amerikawashimimizuku
Japanese:
アメリカワシミミズク
Lithuanian:
Virgininis didysis apuokas
Dutch:
Amerikaanse Oehoe
Norwegian:
Amerikahubro
Polish:
puchacz wirginijski
Portuguese:
Jacurutu
Portuguese (Brazil):
jacurutu
Portuguese (Portugal):
bufo-americano
Russian:
Виргинский филин
Slovak:
výr bielobradý
Serbian:
Američka buljina
Swedish:
virginiauv
Ukrainian:
пугач віргінський
Chinese:
美洲雕鸮
Chinese (Traditional):
大鵰鴞


Authorities recognizing this taxonomic concept:

Avibase taxonomic concepts (current):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 2023 (May 2023):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 01 (August 2013):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 02 (May 2014):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 03 (March 2015):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 04 (Aug 2016):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 05 (Jan 2017):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 06 (Feb 2018):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 07 (Feb 2020):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 08 (Feb 2021):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Birdlife checklist version 07 (Jul 2014):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Birdlife checklist version 08 (Oct 2015):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Birdlife checklist version 09 (Dec 2016):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Birdlife checklist version 09.1 (Jun 2017):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v2 (Dec 2017):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v3 (Nov 2018):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v4 (Dec 2019):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v5 (Dec 2020):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v6 (Dec 2021):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v6b (Jul 2022):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v7 (Dec 2022):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v8 (Dec 2023):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements, version 2022:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements, version 2023:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 5th edition (as published):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 5th edition (incl. 2000 revisions):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 5th edition (incl. 2001 revisions):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 5th edition (incl. 2002 revisions):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 5th edition (incl. 2003 revisions):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 5th edition (incl. 2004 revisions):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 5th edition (incl. 2005 revisions):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 6th edition:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Clements 6th edition (incl. 2007 revisions):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
eBird version 1.50:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 1.52:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 1.53:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 1.54:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 1.55:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 2015:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 2016:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 2017:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 2018:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 2019:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 2021:
Great Horned Owl (Great Horned) ( Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group]) [version 1]
eBird version 2022:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
eBird version 2023:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Handbook of the Birds of the World (vol 1-16):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (31/01/2015):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (03/07/2017):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Handbook of the Birds of the World and Birdlife (Dec 2017):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Handbook of the Birds of the World and Birdlife (Dec 2018):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 1.0:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 1.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 1.5:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 1.6:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 1.7:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.0:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.3:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.4:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.5:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.6:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.7:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.8:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.9:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.10:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 2.11:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 3.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 3.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 3.3:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 3.4:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 3.5:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 4.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 4.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 4.3:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 4.4:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 5.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 5.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 5.3:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 5.4:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 6.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 6.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 6.3:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 6.4:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 7.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 7.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 7.3:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 8.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 8.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 9.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 9.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 10.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 10.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 11.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 11.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 12.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 12.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 13.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 13.2:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
IOC World Bird Names, version 14.1:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Working Group Avian Checklists, version 0.01:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Working Group Avian Checklists, version 0.02:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Working Group Avian Checklists, version 0.03:
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Working Group Avian Checklists, version 0.04 (7/07/2024):
Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus) [version 1]
Zoonomen - Zoological Nomenclature Resource:
Bubo virginianus [version 1]
Zoonomen - Zoological Nomenclature Resource:
Bubo virginianus [version 1]

Taxonomic status:

Species status: full species (sometimes nominal subspecies)

This taxon is considered a subspecies of Bubo [virginianus or magellanicus] (sensu lato) by some authors

Your sightings

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Related taxa

Highlight taxa in a checklist (shown in red)

Other related concepts

Other synonyms

See also the taxonomic synonyms table.


Azerbaijani: Virciniya yapalağı
Belarusian: Віргінскі пугач
Bulgarian: Вирджински бухал, Вирджински бухал [Група virginianus]
Breton: Toud-Virginia
Catalan: Duc americà, Duc de Virgínia
Cree: ohtawkêhow
Cree (syllabic): ᐅᐦᑕᐤᑫᐦᐅᐤ
Czech: výr virginský, výr virginský [skupina virginianus]
Welsh: Tylluan gorniog fawr
Danish: Amerikansk Stor Hornugle, Virginiaugle
German: Dunkler virginische Uhu, Virginiauhu, Virginia-Uhu, Virginiauhu [virginianus-Gruppe]
English: Great Horned Owl, Great Horned Owl (Great Horned), Great Horned-Owl, Virginia great horned owl
English, HBW: Great Horned Owl
English (IOC): Great Horned Owl
English (United States): Great Horned Owl (Great Horned)
Esperanto: Amerika gufo, Granda kornostrigo
Spanish: Búho, Búho Americano, Búho Americano (grupo virginianus), Búho común, buho cornudo, Búho cornudo, Búho Cornudo (grupo virginianus), Búho Cornudo Americano, Buho grande, Búho Grande, Búho Real, Estiquirín, Ñacurutú
Spanish (Argentine): Ñacurutú, Ñacurutú (grupo virginianus), Ñacurutú [grupo virginianus]
Spanish (Bolivia): Ñacurutú
Spanish (Chile): Tucúquere, Tucúquere [grupo virginianus]
Spanish (Colombia): Búho Real
Spanish (Costa Rica): Buho grande, Búho Grande (grupo virginianus), Búho Grande [grupo virginianus]
Spanish (Ecuador): Búho (Cuscungo) Coronado [Grupo virginianus]
Spanish (Spain): Búho americano (grupo virginianus)
Spanish (HBW): Great Horned Owl (Great Horned)
Spanish (Honduras): Estiquirín
Spanish (Mexico): buho cornudo, Búho Cornudo, Búho Cornudo (grupo virginianus)
Spanish (Nicaragua): Búho Grande
Spanish (Panama): Búho Cornado Americano, Búho Cornado Americano (grupo virginianus)
Spanish (Peru): Búho Americano, Búho Americano [grupo virginianus]
Spanish (Puerto Rico): Búho Cornudo Americano
Spanish (Paraguay): Búho, Ñacurutú [grupo virginianus]
Spanish (Uruguay): Ñacurutú, Ñacurutú [Grupo virginianus]
Spanish (Venezuela): Lechuzón Orejudo
Estonian: ameerika kassikakk
Finnish: Amerikanhuuhkaja
French: Grand-duc d’Amérique, Grand-duc d'Amérique, Grand-duc d'Amérique (nominal), Grand-duc d'Amérique (virginianus), Grand-duc d'Amérique [virginianus]
Frisian: Amerikaanske oehoe
Irish: Mórulchabhán cluasach
Galician: Bufo da Virxinia
Guarani: Ñakurutû guasu
Manx: Hullad chleayshagh vooar
Croatian: Američka ušara
Hungarian: amerikai uhu
Icelandic: Grímuúfur, Grímuúfur [virginianus hópur]
Italian: Gufo della Virginia, Gufo della Virginia razza scura, Gufo reale della Virginia
Japanese (romaji): amerikawashimimizuku, amerikawashimimizuku (virginianus guru-pu)
Japanese: アメリカワシミミズク, アメリカワシミミズク (virginianus グループ), アメリカワシミミズク(virginianus グループ)
Kazakh: Виргин үкісі
Kirghiz: Америка сары үкүсү
Scientific: Bubo virginianus, Bubo virginianus [virginianus Group], Bubo virginianus virginianus, Strix macrorhyncha, Strix virginiana
Lithuanian: Virdzinijos apuokas, Virgininis didysis apuokas
Latvian: Amerikas ūpis
Montagnais (Innu-aimun): uhu, uhumishu
Dutch: Amerikaanse Oehoe, Amerikaanse Oehoe (virginianus groep)
Norwegian: Amerikahubro, amerikahubro (virginianus gr.)
Polish: Puchacz wirginijski, puchacz wirginijski [gr. virginianus]
Portuguese: coruja-do-mato, corujão, corujão-orelhudo, Corujao-orelhudo o jacurutu, Jacurutu, jucurutu, mocho, mocho-orelhudo, morucututu, murucututu
Portuguese (Brazil): coruja-do-mato, corujão, corujão-orelhudo, Jacurutu, jacurutu [grupo virginianus], jucurutu, mocho, mocho-orelhudo, morucututu, murucututu
Portuguese (Portugal): bufo-americano, bufo-americano [grupo virginianus], Jacurutu
Rhaeto-Romance: Piv da la Virginia
Romanian: Bufniţa mare cornută
Russian: Американский филин, Виргинский Филин, Виргинский филин [группа virginianus]
Slovak: Výr bielobradý, výr bielobradý (skup.)
Slovenian: Ameriška velika uharica
Serbian: Američka buljina, Američka buljina [virginianus grupa]
Swedish: Virginiauv
Turkish: Amerika Puhusu, Amerika puhusu [virginianus grubu]
Tatar: Виргиния өкесе
Ukrainian: Пугач віргинський, Пугач віргінський
Chinese: 美洲雕鸮
Chinese (Traditional): 大鵰鴞

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