Great Grey Owl
Photos by Mandenno Photography
The Great Grey Owl is generally considered the largest owl in the world by overall length. It also has the largest facial disc.
It is found all across the Northern hemisphere. It prefers coniferous taiga forests, but has been found in places as far south as around 40°N and sometimes lower on rare occasion.
The actual “size” of a Gray is easy to misunderstand. They are about 70% feathers, and are outweighed by many other owls. Grays just have very long and fluffy feathers.
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/eeab11aa-c613-46b1-99b6-94888403cae8.jpeg
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/8865b5f0-3046-4249-80f6-1ec44d344e48.jpeg
For actual numbers I’ll just share their Wiki entry:
In terms of length, the great grey owl is believed to exceed the Eurasian eagle-owl and the Blakiston’s fish owl as the world’s largest owl. The great grey is outweighed by those two species as well as several others, including most of the genus Bubo. Much of its size is deceptive, since this species’ fluffy feathers, large head and the longest tail of any extant owl obscure a body lighter than that of most other large owls. The length ranges from 61 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in), averaging 72 cm (28 in) for females and 67 cm (26 in) for males. The wingspan can exceed 152 cm (5 ft 0 in), but averages 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) for females and 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) for males. The adult weight ranges from 580 to 1,900 g (1.28 to 4.19 lb), averaging 1,290 g (2.84 lb) for females and 1,000 g (2.2 lb) for males. The males are usually smaller than females, as with most owl species.
Add comment