EAGLE OWL Bubo bubo

This giant of an owl weighs up to 2.5–3kg and has a wingspan of 155-175 cm. They have beautiful markings and huge gleaming orange eye as well as prominent ears, which have a flap of skin at the front which can be raised to enable the bird to hear sounds from behind. In addition, they can rotate their heads through 360 degrees, which gives them an unrivalled field of vision. Almost anything that moves is fair game for this adaptable and opportunistic hunter. It is capable of swooping upon all manner of creatures its own size, such as the capercaillie, with which it shares the evergreen forests of Europe. The eagle owl will also prey on other predatory birds in its hunting grounds, such as tawny owls and buzzards and occasionally it will kill more powerful birds such as snowy owls. One bird was once seen carrying a full-grown red fox in its talons!

There are two eagle owls on display in our Forest Habitat. The male is approximately 20 years of age and the female 13 years. Listen out for the male’s call - a deep, throaty, reverberating “ooohuh” repeated six or seven times a minute. On a quiet night, it can be heard over distances of up to one mile. Occasionally recorded in Scotland as vagrants, eagle owls are non-migratory and territorial birds.

Active at night soon after sunset, the owl spends its day roosting under cover either in a tree, on the ground under a dense bush or on a sheltered rock ledge. Almost any habitat suits the eagle owl although it prefers areas with lots of prey species and plenty of hiding places. They prefer to hunt in the open but will also frequent forests. They wait for prey by sitting on a lookout post, rock or tree, watching for signs of movement. If they are unable to eat all their prey at once, they may bury it in a hollow and return the next day.

Eagle owls pair for life and the male continues to feed the female and the young after the eggs have hatched while the female remains on the nest. They use few materials to build their nest, preferring the shelter of a rock crevice or an overhang. In forests, they will also nest in ground cover among tree roots or under fallen trunks.