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Thursday 15 November 2012

Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo)

A beautiful Owl in Europe and Asia, it is known as the Indian Great Horned Owl. In Great Britain, it has only just started to breed, not that a everyone agrees with that, well I do, so there. They are special. 


This eagle owl mainly feeds on small mammals in the 200–2,000 g (0.44–4.4 lb) weight range, such as volesratsmicerabbitsand hares. However, prey can be killed up to the size of both fully-grown foxes and marmots and young deer (up to a mass of 17 kg (37 lb)), if taken by surprise.

In central Europe, hedgehogs are often a favorite prey item, being eaten after the owl skins off their prickily backs. Eagle owls may habitually visit refuse dumps to predate rats. The other significant group of prey for Eurasian Eagle Owls is other birds and almost any type of bird is potential prey. Common avian prey includes corvidsgrousewoodpeckersheronsand, especially near coastal areas, ducksseabirds and geese.  Other raptors, including large species such as Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) and the largest buzzards, are regularly predated as well as almost any other type of owl encountered. When there is an opportunity, they will also prey on reptiles, including large and venomous snakesfrogsfish and even large insects and earthworms.
Hunting usually consist of the owl watching from a perch for prey activity and then swooping down swiftly once prey is spotted. The prey is often killed quickly by the eagle owl's powerful talons though is sometimes bitten on the head to be killed as well. Then the prey item is carried off to be swallowed whole or torn into pieces with the bill. Occasionally, they may capture other birds on the wing, including nocturnal migrants which are intercepted in mid-flight. Larger prey (over 3.5 kg (7.7 lb)) is consumed on the ground which leaves the owl vulnerable to loss of their prey or even predation by predators such as foxes. The dietary preferences of the species frequently overlap with the larger Golden Eagle but direct competition is uncommon due to differing times of activity between the species.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, You didn't think I did it, lol. I did take the picture.


43 comments:

  1. Very good info and a WONDERFUL picture.... could it be better....don't think so Bob.

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  2. STUNNING.......JUST STUNNING.


    PETER

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  3. Merci ce grand duc est tellement grand sa beauté et ta photo incroyable
    Mais si je dois partir en Asie pour le rencontrer je vais avoir du trajet
    Bravo et encore bravo pour cette si belle prise
    C'est génial

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  4. Beautiful photo, of a whole beautiful bird.

    Gr cees

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  5. Hi Bob! You and Wikipedia compliment each other perfectly! :-)

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  6. Ależ one są łakomczuchami, tyle jedzą. Cudowne zdjęcie. Pozdrawiam.
    They have a lot of munu. Wonderful picture. Yours.

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  7. such beautiful feathering! wow!

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  8. wouw wat een blik dat kan alleen een uil maar

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  9. Absolutely stunning, a beautiful creature. Excellent photo Bob.

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  10. Lovely portrait Bob. Oh for a wild one of these to see in Kent.

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  11. Good picture and very good explanation and good weekend Bob:))
    a hug.

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  12. Wow, that is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!


    Groetjes Tinie

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  13. Very nice picture Bob. Beautiful bird and intereting info.

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  14. Awesome photo, Bob. Thanks for adding the description. :)

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  15. Magnificent. Those eyes are jewels. Owls are so fascinating to me...so mystical. Last night I went to bed to the song of and owl (not sure which...but one of the big ones) and they always start their evening call this time of year. I had just watched a "Duckumentary" on the Nature channel and this was the final sugar to my nightcap.

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  16. amazing photos! Have a great day!

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  17. Wat een prachtige ogen en de hele foto is schitterend lieve groetjes Danielle

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  18. Magnifica toma de este precioso Buho real.Saludos

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  19. Oh gigantic picture Bob!!!
    Nice evening
    Crissi

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  20. A beautiful bird very well captured. ..

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  21. What a perfectly beautiful and stunning image, Bob. Those ideas are amazing and the detail you captured.. unbelievable! Wow.

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  22. Impresionante foto le has hecho a esta realeza de la noche, felicidades.
    Un abrazo.

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  23. Eye to eye.. Superb picture.. Congrat Bob.. ;-)

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  24. Oh Bob!What a beautiful picture!I love Owls!Here in the forest i can hear them every night! Anazing shot!!(I adore Santanas songs!!)
    Dimi..

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  25. What a cool looking owl! Great shot and info Bob!

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  26. Nitidez 10...magnifica, eres muy bueno Bob.

    Saludos.

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  27. what a MAGNIFICENT creature! Such an amazing photo, Bob



    Aloha !
    Comfort Spiral

    ~ > < } } ( ° >

    > < 3 3 3 ( ' >

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  28. Wow, those eyes are so amazing! What a brilliant photo Bob!!

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  29. Nicely captured Bob. I first met this bird on a training exercise here in the States. It's a large LARGE owl that can break a human's arm. It doesn't surprise me that they can get big rodents in those talons. The wingspan alone took my breath away!

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  30. Amazing portrait of this bird of prey.

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  31. j'adore la teinte de son plumage

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  32. Amazing picture of the owl! And great information from wikipedia.

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  33. Wonderful photo !!!
    A great shot...

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  34. Hello Bob,

    owls are fascinating ... birds of the night or birds of the wisdom ... or they are mystic...
    But think they are very interesting and beauty and this not only ecologically - also like on your photo ... esthetic and beautiful!

    regards Senna

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  35. Well... sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. This is one of those times..:)
    Plain beautiful!
    Very good information too.
    Greetings

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  36. came back to say, congrats on your POTW!

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  37. wow!
    amazing portrait
    he's magnificent

    congrats on POTW :)

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  38. amazing photo wow!!!! congrats on POTW:-)

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