Phantom of the North

The great gray owls are a rare sight. The elusive phantom of the north easily stays hidden if chose so. The owl often perches near the edge of a... more

by Wildlife Fine Art

Title

Phantom of the North

Artist

Wildlife Fine Art

Medium

Photograph - Prints

Description

The great gray owls are a rare sight. The elusive "phantom of the north" easily stays hidden if chose so. The owl often perches near the edge of a meadow, slough, or open area where it hunts for mice. It is not shy and will often allow people to approach within 50 feet before flying. It will usually fly a couple of hundred yards before alighting. It has a deep-pitched booming call, hoo-hoo-hoo, which it gives at night or occasionally on overcast days. The Great Gray has the largest facial disk of any owl. This makes a perfect circle that may help it to hear better than most. Will readily plunge into snow depths of up to a foot and a half head first, grabbing subsurface rodents with talons using their keen hearing. They can break through a hard crust of snow for their prey. The great gray owl (Strix nebulosa),in North America, is among the largest owls, often more than 70 cm (2.3 feet) long. Much of its apparent size results from its plumage. It is gray to brownish, barred underneath, and heavily streaked. The owl often perches near the edge of a meadow, slough, or open area where it hunts for mice. The owls are considered beneficial to man because they eat rodents which complete with humans for food crops. This is one of the most sought after species by bird watchers. Anyone seeing this magnificent bird is lucky indeed.

Uploaded

October 21st, 2013