Hobbies And Interests
Communication
During the breeding season, you might be lucky enough to hear long-eared owls communicating. Typical calls include single quavering hoots, catlike meows, whistles and long musical hoots. They have excellent vision and hearing, so if you get too close to a nesting female or roosting birds, they might try to scare you away with a threat display. It's a spectacular show: The owls fan their wings over their back, lower their head and make sharp shrieks and whistles.
Diet
Long-eared owls hunt almost exclusively at night, dining mainly on small mammals like mice, gophers, young rabbits, rats, shrews and voles. They fly low and silent over open ground, catching prey and killing it with a bite on the back of the skull. Their sense of hearing is so keen that they are known to catch mice in complete darkness. Although much is known about the habits of long-eared owls, they retain one mystery: No one knows how they drink water.
Breeding
In winter, male owls court females with songs and displays of flying skills. After mating sometime from February through July, the female lays two to 10 glossy, white eggs, typically in a stick nest abandoned by a large bird like a crow, magpie or hawk. She sits on her eggs for 25 to 30 days, leaving only for short periods at night. To keep her strength up, the male brings her food during the day.
Young Owls
Owl nestlings are covered with a thick white down from head to claws. They stay in the nest for roughly 21 days while their parents provide them with food. At 21 days they still can't fly, but they begin walking on the branches around their nest and getting familiar with their home territory. It's not until they're over 1 month old that they fledge, although their parents continue to provide food until the owlets are 10 to 11 weeks old.