title: "Great horned owl" content: attract a female. Despite its camouflage and cryptic locations, this species can still sometimes be spotted on its daytime roosts, especially by American crows ("Corvus brachyrhynchos"). Since owls are, next to red-tailed hawks, perhaps the main predator of crows and their young, crows sometimes congregate from considerable distances to mob owls and caw angrily at them for hours on end. When the owls try to fly off to avoid this harassment, they are often followed by the corvids. Typically, great horned owls are highly sedentary, often capable of utilizing a single territory throughout their mature lives. Although some species such


title: "Great horned owl" content: as snowy owls, northern saw-whet owls, long-eared and short-eared owls are true migrants, most North American owls are not migratory and will generally show fidelity to a single territory year around. In great horned owls, mated pairs occupy territories year-round and long-term. Territories are established and maintained through hooting, with highest activity before egg-laying and second peak in autumn when juveniles disperse, and can range from an average of in Yukon to an average of in Wyoming. Most territorial defense is performed by males, but females frequently assist their partners in hooting contests with neighbors or intruders, even during incubation.


title: "Great horned owl" content: On occasion, although territory borders may be successfully maintained via vocalizations alone without even seeing the competing owl, such confrontations may turn physical, with various levels of threats distinguished. The highest threat level involves the spreading of wings, bill-clapping, hissing, higher-pitched screams of longer duration, with general body poised to strike with its feet at intruder. If the intruder continues to press the confrontation, the defending owl will "hop" forward and strike it with feet, attempting to grasp and rake with claws. Territoriality appears to place a limit on the number of breeding pairs in a given area. Individuals prevented


title: "Great horned owl" content: from establishing a territory live a silent existence as "floaters". Radio-telemetry revealed that such floaters concentrate along boundaries of established territories. At Kluane in Yukon, incursions into neighboring territories were observed only twice—by females when neighboring female had died or emigrated, suggesting that territorial defense may be sex specific. At least four dead great horned owls in Kluane were apparently killed by others of their own species in territorial conflicts. Owls killed by other horned owls are sometimes cannibalized, although the origin of the killing may have been territorial aggression. Northern populations occasionally erupt south during times of food shortage,


title: "Great horned owl" content: but there is no annual migration even at the northern limits of the great horned owl's range. Hunting activity tends to peak between 8:30 pm and 12:00 am at night and then can pick back up from 4:30 am to sunrise. Hunting activity tends to be most prolonged during winter by virtue of prey being more scarce. However, great horned owls can learn to target certain prey during daylight in the afternoon when it is more vulnerable, such as eastern fox squirrels ("Sciurus niger") while they're building their leaf nests and chuckawallas ("Sauromalus ater") sunning themselves on desert rocks. Owls


title: "Great horned owl" content: hunt mainly by watching from a snag, pole or other high perch. During hunting forays, they often fly about from perch to perch, stopping to survey for food at each, until they sense a prey item below. From such vantage points, owls dive down to the ground, often with wings folded, to ambush their prey. Effective maximum hunting distance of an owl from an elevated perch is . Due to their short but broad wings, great horned owls are ideally suited for low speed and maneuverability. Despite reports that they do not hunt on the wing, they also sometimes hunt


title: "Great horned owl" content: by flying low over openings on the ground, scanning below for prey activity. Great horned owls can fly at speeds of more than in level flight. Hunting flights are slow, often quartering low above the ground where prey is likely to occur in open country or open woodland. Brief hovering flight (for about 6–18 seconds) have been described, especially in windy areas. On occasion owls may actually walk on the ground in pursuit of small prey or, rarely, inside a chicken coop to prey on the fowl within. Rodents and invertebrates may be caught on foot around the base of


title: "Great horned owl" content: bushes, through grassy areas, and near culverts and other human structures in range and farm habitat. The great horned owl is generally a poor walker on the ground; it walks like a starling, with a pronounced side-to-side gait. They have been known to wade into shallow water for aquatic prey, although this has been only rarely reported. Owls can snatch birds and some arboreal mammals directly from tree branches in a glide as well. The stiff feathering of their wings allows owls to produce minimal sound in flight while hunting. Almost all prey are killed by crushing with the owl's


title: "Great horned owl" content: feet or by incidentally stabbing of the talons, though some may be bitten about the face as well. Prey is swallowed whole when possible. When prey is swallowed whole, owls regurgitate pellets of bone and other non-digestible bits about 6 to 10 hours later, usually in the same location where the prey was consumed. Great horned owl pellets are dark gray or brown in color and very large, long and thick, and have been known to contain skulls up to in width inside them. However, not all prey can be swallowed at once, and owls will also fly with prey


title: "Great horned owl" content: to a perch and tear off pieces with their bill. Most dietary studies focus on pellets found under perches and around nests, since they provide a more complete picture of the diversity of prey consumed, but prey remains outside of pellets may provide clues to prey excluded from the pellets and a combination of both is recommended. Many large prey items are dismembered. Great horned owls may behead large prey before taking it to its nest or eating perch. The legs may also be removed, as may (in some bird prey) the wings. The great horned owl will also crush


title: "Great horned owl" content: the bones of its prey to make it more compact for carrying. On occasion, the owls may return to the kill site to continue eating if the prey is too heavy to fly with after dismemberment. Many owls will accrue a cache of prey, especially those who are nesting. Caches must be at a safe location, usually the crotch of a tall tree. In northern regions, where large prey is prevalent, an owl may let uneaten food freeze and then thaw it out later using its own body heat. Hunting success seems to require fairly open understory, and experimental testing


title: "Great horned owl" content: of microhabitat proved that open areas provided more hunting success on five species of rodent, with cloudy nights and denser bush foliage both decreasing success. Prey can vary greatly based on opportunity. According to one author, "Almost any living creature that walks, crawls, flies, or swims, except the large mammals, is the great horned owl's legitimate prey". In fact, the great horned owl has the most diverse prey profile of any raptor in the Americas. Over 500 species have been identified as great horned owl prey, with dozens more identified only to genus or general type (especially numerous invertebrates) and


title: "Great horned owl" content: presumably several more unknown from their relatively little-studied populations in the neotropics. Mammals (more than 200 species) and birds (nearly 300 species) make up the majority of their diet. Their diet in North America is made up of 87.6% mammals, 6.1% birds, 1.6% reptiles and amphibians with the remaining 4.7% being made up by insects, other assorted invertebrates and fish. Estimated mass of individual prey for the owls has ranged from as little as to as much as Most prey is the range of (shrews) to (jackrabbits). A single owl requires about of food per day and can subsist on


title: "Great horned owl" content: a large kill over several days. Despite the great diversity of prey taken by these predators, in most of the Continental United States from the East to the Midwest as well as Canada and Alaska, great horned owls largely live off just a handful of prey species: three species of lagomorph: the eastern cottontail ("Sylvilagus floridanus"), the snowshoe hare ("Lepus americanus") and the black-tailed jackrabbit ("Lepus californicus"); two species of New World mice: the white-footed mouse and the North American deermouse ("Peromyscus leucopus & maniculatus"), approximately three species of vole: the meadow, prairie and woodland voles ("Microtus pennsylvanicus, ochrogaster &


title: "Great horned owl" content: pinetorum") and one introduced pest, the brown rat. Small rodents form the great majority of great horned owl prey by number. Weighing a mere and on average, the nine species of New World mice in "Peromyscus" and eight species voles in "Microtus" recorded in the diet would appear to be overly small to be as important as they are to a predatory bird of this size. The prominence of these genera is undoubtedly due to the abundance of both genera in the wooded edge habitats frequented by great horned owls. It is estimated that a family of owls with two


title: "Great horned owl" content: offspring would need to take about a half dozen (voles) to a dozen (mice) of these rodents every night to satisfy their dietary requirements but apparently the accessibility and abundance of these foods is irresistible as their numeric dominance is indisputable. By winter in areas that hold heavy snow, "Peromyscus" mice often come to outnumber the voles in the diet since the mice tend to travel over the surface of the snow while the voles make tunnels underneath the snow. In fact, a healthy family of great horned owls can decimate a colony of field rats, thus potentially performing a


title: "Great horned owl" content: key role in controlling a highly destructive pest. Great horned owls living in the timbered fringes of garbage or refuse dumps may subsist mostly on rats. In the Rockies, California, the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, the diversity of this species' diet rises, in sync with the diversity of rodents. Especially important, from Colorado to Washington State is the northern pocket gopher ("Thomomys talpoides"), although assorted other pocket gophers ("Geomys, Cratogeomys, Zygogeomys, Pappogeomys" and other "Thomomys" ssp.) are readily taken. While the northern weighs from , other pocket gophers hunted average from in mass. From Washington to Baja California


title: "Great horned owl" content: a very important food is the pocket mice, primarily the Great Basin pocket mouse ("Perognathus parvus"). While the Great Basin species is a relative giant at , other hunted pocket mice (which may include both "Perognathus" and "Chaetodipus" ssp.) can average nearly as light as . In East Texas, the hispid cotton rat ("Sigmodon hispidus") is the most commonly recorded prey species. The same species constituted 75% by number of a small sampling in Oklahoma. In semi-desert and other arid habitats, kangaroo rats become increasingly important prey, ten species have been reported in the diet but most prominently the Ord's


title: "Great horned owl" content: and Merriam's kangaroo rats ("Dipodomys ordii & merriami"), both being widespread, numerous and relatively diminutive (at . Eight known larger species of kangaroo rats, including the giant kangaroo rat ("Dipodomys ingens") averaging at , are also taken. The squirrels, including ground squirrels, marmots ("Marmota"), prairie dogs ("Cynomys"), chipmunks and tree squirrels, are diurnal and so are largely unavailable to great horned owls as prey. Occasionally though, one will be caught from their leaf nest, nest hole or burrow entrance first thing in the morning or in the late afternoon and approximately 35 species have been successfully predated by these owls.


title: "Great horned owl" content: In general larger sized than other rodent families, the species hunting range from the gray-collared chipmunk ("Tamias cinereicollis") to the hoary marmot ("Marmota caligata"); thus, squirrels can be provide a very fulfilling meal. An even larger rodent is sometimes attacked as prey by great horned owls, the North American porcupine ("Erethizon dorsatum"), in which average adults range from . This has been determined from owls who have porcupine quills imbedded in them, sometimes resulting in death. On occasion, they are successful in killing porcupine, even adults as determined by the size of the quills left behind and prey remains at


title: "Great horned owl" content: bloodied kill sites. Other rodents recorded as secondary prey in North America include flying squirrels ("Glaucomys" ssp.), the golden mouse ("Ochrotomys nuttalli"), red-backed voles & bog lemmings ("Myodes" & "Synaptomys" ssp.), the muskrat ("Ondatra zibethicus"), the northern grasshopper mouse ("Onychomys leucogaster"), the northern pygmy mouse ("Baiomys taylori") and jumping mice ("Zapus" & "Napaeozapus" ssp.). Although generally no match for rodents in sheer quantity of individuals, in terms of prey biomass, the most significant prey of North American great horned owls are hares and rabbits. About a dozen lagomorphs species are known to be hunted by the owl, from the relatively


title: "Great horned owl" content: tiny pygmy rabbit to several hares weighing more than . Two hare species, the black-tailed jackrabbit and snowshoe hare, are so important to the owls as a food source that the local owl populations sharply rise and fall in sync with the hares' cyclical population trends. With adult weights of in adult cottontails, in snowshoe hares and in black-tailed jackrabbits, these species are overall the largest regular prey for this species. In Utah, where great horned owls are dependent on the jackrabbits, average brood size rose from 2 at jackrabbit population lows to 3.3 when the jackrabbits were at their


title: "Great horned owl" content: peak. At the peak of population cycle, jackrabbits accounted for 90.2% and desert cottontails ("Sylvilagus audubonii") for another 8.7% of prey biomass. In the short-grass prairie of Colorado, mountain cottontail ("Sylvilagus nuttallii") and black-tailed jackrabbits predominated in October to December, making up 42.9% by number (and nearly all the biomass), thence dropping to 9.3% by number in April, while voles rose to 32.2% peak in May, down to a minimum of 10.2% by number in June. Further north in Colorado, in the absence of jackrabbits, the mountain cottontails falls to third place by number (12.9%) behind the northern pocket gopher


title: "Great horned owl" content: (36.5%) and prairie vole (24.7%) but still dominates the biomass, making up about half. In central Utah, the lagomorphs (black-tailed jackrabbit/desert cottontail) and Ord's kangaroo rat each made up 39% of the food by number, respectively. The mountain cottontail dominates the biomass of prey in the Sierran foothills of California, making up 61.1% of the biomass, although are numerically secondary to desert woodrat. Remarkably, in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area of Idaho, individual rodents (1159 counted) were more than 10 times more numerous than lagomorphs (114 counted) by quantity and yet the jackrabbit and


title: "Great horned owl" content: mountain cottontail still made up approximately half of the biomass. The dependence on lagomorphs also extends into Mexico, as in Baja California about a quarter of identified prey was black-tailed jackrabbit and either desert or the larger Mexican cottontail ("Sylvilagus cunicularius"). In the northern boreal forest, great horned owls are even more dependent on the snowshoe hare. At the peak of the 10 year hare cycle, snowshoe hares were by far the largest component of both summer and winter diets (77–81% and 90–99%, respectively, in Alberta; 83–86% and 75–98%, respectively, in Yukon). At the lowest point of the hare's cycle,


title: "Great horned owl" content: summer diets consisted of only 0–16% snowshoe hare in Alberta and 12.7% in Yukon. When hares were scarce, great horned owls in these regions fed mostly on large rodents, mice and voles, grouse and ducks. Because fewer of these alternative prey species are available in boreal forest during winter, owls had to emigrate or suffer high mortalities if they stayed. In Alberta, the local population of great horned owls can increase threefold from hare population lows to peaks. The dependency on the snowshoe hare by the great horned owl extends into Alaska as well. Other mammals are taken readily as


title: "Great horned owl" content: well. From both the tropics and the United States, several species of opossum may be taken, down to the size of the tiny dwarf fat-tailed mouse opossum ("Thylamys velutinus"). In Brazil, white-eared opossum ("Didelphis albiventris") were found in 12% of pellets, but all specimens appeared to be juveniles each weighing about . Quite differently, in Pennsylvania, Virginia opossum ("Didelphis virginianus") made up 6% by number of prey but due to their large size (approximately ) and that all specimens were adults, they occupied the highest percentage of biomass of any species in a wide study from that state. At least


title: "Great horned owl" content: eight species of shrews are taken by opportunity and make up the smallest mammalian prey taken by great horned owls, as specimens of least shrew ("Cryptotis parva") or masked shrew ("Sorex cinereus") have had an estimated weight of only . One of the more regularly taken shrews, though, is the larger northern short-tailed shrew ("Blarina brevicauda"), which was represented in more than 2% of pellets in the Upper Midwest. Moles, of at least four or five species, are also widely but lightly reported as prey. Remnants of armadillo, presumably nine-banded armadillo ("Dasypus novemcinctus"), have been found around owl nests in


title: "Great horned owl" content: the south. 11 species of bat are known to be hunted by great horned owls. One pellet in Texas was found to be composed entirely of Mexican free-tailed bats ("Tadarida brasiliensis"). Smaller species of mammalian carnivore, such as ringtail ("Bassariscus astutus"), American mink ("Neovison vison"), black-footed ferret ("Mustela nigripes") and various other small weasels ("Mustela" ssp.), are sometimes taken as prey. Prey in the form of canids, like foxes or coyotes ("Canis latrans") are often juveniles presumably snatched from the mouths of dens by night. Kit and swift foxes of up to adult size may taken. Surprisingly, at least two


title: "Great horned owl" content: cases of a great horned owl preying on an adult raccoon ("Procyon lotor") have been reported. One instance of an owl taking a bobcat ("Lynx rufus") as prey was also reportedly observed. In one case, a great horned owl was the likely killer of an adult female fisher ("Martes pennanti"), though young ones are typically taken. Occasionally, domestic carnivores are also prey. A few cases of young or small dogs ("Canis lupus familiaris") and several of juvenile and adult cats ("Felis silvestris catus") being killed by great horned owls have been reported. The most infamous predatory association amongst relatively larger


title: "Great horned owl" content: carnivores is that with skunks. Due to their poor sense of smell, great horned owls are the only predators to routinely attack these bold mammals with impunity. All six skunk species found in North America are reported as prey, including adult striped skunks ("Mephitis mephitis"), which is some case at least three times as heavy as the attacking owl. In one single nest, the remains of 57 different striped skunks were found. Due to the proclivity of skunk predation, great horned owls nests frequently smell strongly of skunk and occasionally will even stink so powerfully of skunk that they leave


title: "Great horned owl" content: the smell at kill sites or on prey remains. After mammals, birds rank as the next most important general prey group. Birds are usually considerably secondary in the diet but outnumber the mammals in the diet by diversity, as more than 250 species have been killed in North America alone. Statistically, the most significant avian prey seems to be galliforms, of which they are known to have preyed on 23 species, basically consisting of all of the native species found in the United States. In the Upper Midwest, the ring-necked pheasant ("Phasianus colchicus") and northern bobwhite ("Colinus virginianus") were the


title: "Great horned owl" content: fifth and sixth (out of 124 identified species) most significant prey species in 4838 pellets. Errington characterized the predatory pressure exerted on bobwhites by great horned owls as "light but continuous pressure", which may be considered characteristic of the species' hunting of all galliforms. Usually coveys of quail are partially protected by spending the night roosting communally in dense thickets but should a hunting owl be able to track down the communal roost, losses can be fairly heavy until the roost relocates. Similarly, owls may track down sleeping grouse, which also roost in vegetation but more openly than quail. Some


title: "Great horned owl" content: grouse, such as greater prairie chicken ("Tympanuchus cupido"), sharp-tailed grouse ("Tympanuchus phasianellus") and greater sage-grouse ("Centrocercus urophasianus"), may also been vulnerable to great horned owls while displaying conspicuously in openings on a lek first thing in the morning. In the boreal forest, especially in years where the snowshoe hare experiences population decreases, great horned owls prey fairly heavily (approximately 25% of biomass) on ruffed grouse ("Bonasa umbellus") and spruce grouse ("Falcipennis canadensis"), enough so in the earlier bird to possibly contribute to population reductions. Larger species of galliform are not immune to predation either. On Protection Island in Washington State,


title: "Great horned owl" content: introduced common peafowl ("Pavo cristatus") are an important prey item. The wild turkey ("Meleagris gallopavo"), on average between the sexes, is probably the largest bird the great horned owl hunts in which they kill adults. Both full-grown wild turkeys and adult domestic turkeys have been hunted and killed. Under normal circumstances, domestic chicken ("Gallus gallus domesticus") will be ignored in favor of wild prey. On occasion, individual owls, especially inexperienced juveniles, will become habitual fowl killers. These errant owls mainly hunt chickens, though will also take domestic guineafowl, turkeys and anything else available. In general, chickens kept in locked cages


title: "Great horned owl" content: with enclosed tops overnight are safe from great horned owls; not so chickens left free range or in open enclosures. While galliforms are widely reported, the few cases where great horned owls locally turn to birds as the primary food source over mammals, these may often be local responses to the abundance of breeding water birds or concentrations of roosting water birds, since they tend to roost in relatively open spots. They have been known to predate more than 110 different species of assorted water bird. In prairie wetlands of North Dakota, avian prey, primarily represented by ducks and the


title: "Great horned owl" content: American coot ("Fulica americana") came to represent 65% by number and 83% by biomass of the diet of the local owls, also including secondarily grebes, smaller rails and shorebirds as well as upland-based species like grey partridge ("Perdix perdix"), sharp-tailed grouse and passerines. 77% of the ducks in that study were juveniles, the largest duck being a male mallard ("Anas platyrhnychos") weighing approximately , but nearly all the coots were adults. On Protection Island, Washington, where they are no native land mammals, rhinoceros auklets ("Cerorhinca monocerata"), both adults and nestlings, were the most numerous prey, present in 93% of 120


title: "Great horned owl" content: pellets. Species as large as adult Canada geese, snow goose and great blue herons have been successfully killed. The nestlings of even larger species like trumpeter swans ("Cygnus buccinator"), American white pelicans ("Pelecanus eryhtrorhynchos"), brown pelicans ("Pelecanus occidentalis") and sandhill cranes ("Grus canadensis") have also been killed by these owls. Other assorted birds are taken seemingly at random opportunity. The predatory effect of this species on other raptorial birds, which is often considerable, is explored in the following section. In Brazil, it was found in a small study that birds overall outnumbered mammals in pellets, although most were not determined


title: "Great horned owl" content: to species and the ones that were shown a tremendously diverse assemblage of birds with no obvious dietary preference. Although not usually numerically significant, 86 species of passerine have been taken by great horned owls. Members from most North American families are known as prey, although among smaller types such as chickadees, warblers, sparrows, cardinals, wrens and most tyrant flycatchers only a few species from each have been recorded. Nonetheless, an occasionally unlucky migrant or local breeder is sometimes snatched. Fledgling songbirds are regularly taken in spring and summer. The smallest avian prey known for great horned owls are the


title: "Great horned owl" content: blue-grey gnatcatcher ("Polioptila caerulea") and the ruby-crowned kinglet ("Regulus calendula"). Somewhat larger bodied families are more prominent, i.e. the corvids (14 species) and icterids (14 species) and, secondarily, the kingbirds ("Tyrannus" ssp.), thrushes, mimids and European starling ("Sturnus vulgaris"). This is likely due to the fact that the larger passerines usually roost in relatively open spots and have larger, more conspicuous nests. Crows and ravens tend to be grabbed off of their communal roosts by night. The great horned owl rarely misses an opportunity to hunt reptiles and amphibians. However, lizards are largely unavailable as prey due to their typically


title: "Great horned owl" content: diurnal periods of activity. However, some snakes are partially or largely nocturnal, and more than a dozen species are hunted in North America. Snakes hunted range from small, innocuous garter snakes ("Thamnophis" ssp.) and night snakes ("Hypsiglena torquata") to venomous species like cottonmouths ("Agkistrodon piscivorus") and prairie rattlesnakes ("Crotalus virdis") and formidable, large species like common king snakes ("Lampropeltis getula") and black rat snakes ("Pantherophis obsoletus"), which in mature specimens can rival the owl in mass and sheer predatory power. The capture of the hatchlings of very large reptiles such as loggerhead turtles ("Caretta caretta") and American alligators ("Alligator mississippiensis")


title: "Great horned owl" content: by great horned owls has been reported, in both cases likely when the baby reptiles are attempting to make their way to the security of water. On rare occasion, salamanders, frogs and toads are reported as prey. On rare occasions, fish are taken including goldfish ("Carassius auratus"), bluegill ("Lepomis macrochirus"), bullheads ("Ameiurus" ssp.), other catfish, suckers, sunfish, eels and dace and chub. Many types of invertebrates are recorded as prey. These include mainly insects, but also crayfish, crabs, spiders, scorpions and worms. The occasionally invertebrate prey taken largely consists of common, large insects such as various beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, water


title: "Great horned owl" content: bugs and katydids, some of which the great horned owl has even reportedly caught via "hawking", i.e. swooping at on the wing. In some cases, the content of insects in great horned owl pellets may actually be due to the owls eating other birds which have freshly eaten insects in their own stomachs. It is commonly believed that routine insectivory in great horned owls is mainly restricted to inexperienced young owls too unskilled to graduate to larger prey yet. It is clearly inefficient for owls of this size to attempt to raise young on a diet of foods as small


title: "Great horned owl" content: as insects. Although rare, carrion-feeding has been recorded in great horned owls, especially ones wintering in Canada and other northern areas during harsh weather. Road kills are sometimes opportunistically eaten. A case of an owl scavenging a white-tailed deer ("Odocoileus virginianus") carcass, ultimately tearing off the deer's leg, was captured on a motion capture video camera set out to film wildlife. Due to their very broad dietary habits, the great horned owls share their prey with many other predators, including avian, mammalian and reptilian ones. Almost every study comparing the diets of North American owls illustrates the considerable overlap in


title: "Great horned owl" content: the dietary selection of these species, as all species, besides the primarily insectivorous varieties, rely on many of the same small rodent species for most of their diet, extending from the small northern saw-whet owl and eastern screech owl to the great horned and great grey owls. In a long-term study of a block of Michigan, all nine species of accipitrid, falcon and owl that stayed to breed there were found to be primarily dependent on the same two rodent genera, the meadow vole and the two common "Peromyscus" species. In the Great Basin, the owls share black-tailed jackrabbit and


title: "Great horned owl" content: desert cottontail as the primary prey with golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and ferruginous hawks ("Buteo regalis"); all four species had diets with more than 90% of the biomass is made up of those lagomorphs. Of these, the great horned owl and golden eagle were able to nest most closely to one another because they had the most strongly dissimilar periods of activity. In California, when compared to the local red-tailed hawks and western diamondback rattlesnakes ("Crotalus atrox"), the diets were most similar in that by number about 15-20% of all three species' diets depended on cottontails, but the largest portion


title: "Great horned owl" content: was made up of ground squirrels in the hawk and the rattlesnake and desert woodrats and other assorted rodents in the great horned owl. In the boreal forests, the great horned owl's prolificacy as a snowshoe hare hunter places it second only to the Canada lynx ("Lynx canadensis") among all predators. Although locally dependent on the hares as their main food, northern goshawk ("Accipiter gentilis"), red-tailed hawks and golden eagles apparently do not have as large of an impact on the hares. Nor do mammalian carnivore generalists that also kill many hares, like the fisher, bobcat, wolverine ("Gulo gulo"), coyote


title: "Great horned owl" content: and larger varieties (i.e. wolves ("Canis lupus"), cougars ("Puma concolor") and bears ("Ursus" ssp.)). The relationship between great horned owls and other raptorial birds in its range is usually decidedly one-sided. While certain species, such as the red-tailed hawk and northern goshawk, might be seen as potential competition for the owls, most others seem to be regarded merely as prey by great horned owls. The great horned owl is both the most prolific and diverse predator in America of other birds of prey, with other accomplished raptor-hunters such as the goshawk and the golden eagle being more restricted in range,


title: "Great horned owl" content: habitat and number in North America and thus having a more minor impact. This is not to say that raptors ever comprise a significant portion in any known study of this owl's diet but predation can be seriously detrimental for such prey, as raptors tend to be territorial and sparsely distributed as a rule and thus can be effectively decimated by a small number of losses. In the gray hawk ("Buteo plagiatus"), for example, in a study of one breeding block of Arizona, the owls were observed to visit nests nightly until all the nestlings were gone. Raptorial birds in


title: "Great horned owl" content: general tend to have large, conspicuous nests which may make them easier for a hunting owl to locate. The great horned owl gains an advantage by nesting earlier than any other raptor in its range (indeed any bird), as it is able to exploit the other raptors as food while in a more vulnerable state as their own nestlings have become well developed. On average, great horned owls begin nesting about three weeks before red-tailed hawks begin to build nests, although some raptors may locally breed as much as two months after the owls. More so than diurnal varieties of


title: "Great horned owl" content: raptor, fairly significant numbers of owls are hunted, as all species are to some extent nocturnal and thus their corresponding activity can attract the horned owl's unwanted attention. The extent of predation on other owls depends on the habitat preferences of the other species. Eastern and western screech owls may be most vulnerable since they prefer similar wooded edge habitat. In a block of Wisconsin, great horned owls were responsible for the failure of 78% of eastern screech owl's nests. Long-eared owls and, to a lesser extent, barn owls tend to hunt in open, sparsely treed habitats more so than


title: "Great horned owl" content: great horned owls, but since they may return to wooded spots for nesting purposes, they may be more vulnerable there. The long-eared owl and barn owls are often compared to the great horned owl as these medium-sized species often occur in abutting habitats and often hunt primarily the same vole and mice species, although the alternate prey of the great horned tends to be much larger, including the smaller owls themselves. In a pair of studies from Colorado, the average weight of prey for long-eared owls was , for barn owl and for the great horned owl. Both young and


title: "Great horned owl" content: adult great grey owls, despite their superficially superior size, are apparently hunted with impunity by great horned owls. In the boreal forests, both the northern hawk owl and great grey owl appear to be in greater danger of great horned owl predation in years where the snowshoe hare have low populations. Great horned owls were the leading cause of mortality in juvenile spotted owls (30% of losses) and juvenile great grey owls (65% of losses). Less is known about relations with the snowy owl, which may compete with great horned owls for food while invading south for the winter. Anecdotally,


title: "Great horned owl" content: both snowy and great horned owls have rarely been reported to dominate or even kill one another depending on the size and disposition of the individual owls, although the snowy's preference for more open areas again acts as something of a buffer. The snowy may be the one North American owl too formidable for the great horned owl to consider as prey. Whereas owls of any age are freely attacked by great horned owls whether nesting or not, when it comes to diurnal raptors, great horned owls are mainly a danger around the nest. They often hunt diurnal raptors when


title: "Great horned owl" content: they come across their often relatively conspicuous active platform nests during hunting forays in spring and summer, taking numbers of both nestlings and brooding adults. Again, like owls, diurnal raptors are attacked depending on the relative similarity of their habitat preferences to the owl. Cooper's hawks ("Accipiter cooperii") and red-tailed hawks tend to be most vulnerable, as they prefer the same wooded edges frequented by great horned owls. Other diurnal raptors may be attracted to more enclosed wooded areas, such as sharp-shinned hawks ("Accipiter striatus") or zone-tailed hawks ("Buteo albonotatus"), or more open plain and meadow areas, such as Northern


title: "Great horned owl" content: harriers ("Circus hudsonius") and ferruginous hawks, but this is almost never a total insurance against predation as all of these are recorded prey. In a study of red-shouldered hawks ("Buteo lineatus") and broad-winged hawk ("Buteo brachyurus")s breeding in New York, despite their nesting in deeper woods than those that host these owls, the main cause of nest failure was great horned owl predation. Similarly, the great horned owl was the primary cause of nesting failure for both desert-dwelling Harris's hawks ("Parabuteo unicinctus") and forest-dwelling northern goshawk in Arizona (39% and 40% of failures, respectively), wetland-inhabiting osprey ("Pandion haliaetus") in Delaware


title: "Great horned owl" content: (21% of failures) and peregrine falcons ("Falco peregrinus") in the Western United States (27% of failures). The fact that many of the nests great horned owls use are constructed by accipitrids may lead to localized conflicts, almost always to the detriment of the hawks rather than the owls. While the young of larger diurnal raptors are typically stolen in the night, great horned owls also readily kill large adult raptors both in and out of breeding seasons, including osprey, northern goshawk and rough-legged buzzard. Great horned owls are frequently mobbed by other birds. Most accipitrids will readily mob them, as


title: "Great horned owl" content: will falcons. Hen harriers, northern goshawks, Cooper's hawks, Harris's hawks, red-tailed hawks, Swainson's hawks, ferruginous hawks, red-shouldered hawks, American kestrels, peregrine falcons, prairie falcons ("Falco mexicanus") and common ravens ("Corvus corax") are among the reported species who have been recorded diving on great horned owls when they discover them. In Arizona and Texas, they may be mobbed by Mexican and western scrub jays ("Aphelocoma wollweberi & californica") and western and Cassin's kingbirds ("Tyrannus verticalis & vociferans"). The most infamous nemesis of this owl, however, is the American crow, who seems to regard it with great scorn. Several incidences have been


title: "Great horned owl" content: recorded of dozens or even hundreds of crows appearing to mob a great horned owl. Such daytime flights normally cover short distances; if the owl flies, it alights to the nearest secluded spot to escape its tormentors. If an owl alights on ground or on exposed branch or ledge, it may respond to swooping and stooping flights of corvids and raptors with threat display and raising of its wings. Great horned owls are some of the earliest-breeding birds in North America, seemingly in part because of the lengthy nightfall at this time of year and additionally the competitive advantage it


title: "Great horned owl" content: gives the owl over other raptors. In most of North America, courtship is from October to December and mates are chosen by December to January. This species was once thought to be strictly monogamous, but recent analysis indicates one male may mate with two females simultaneously, as was discovered for the first time in 2018 in Reno, Nevada. During courtship in late fall or early winter, the male attracts the attention of his mate by hooting emphatically while leaning over (with the tail folded or cocked) and puffing up his white throat to look like a ball. The white throat


title: "Great horned owl" content: may serve as a visual stimuli in the low light conditions typical of when this owl courts. He often flies up and down on a perch, while approaching the potential mate. Eventually, he comes to approach the female and tries to rub his bill against hers while repeatedly bowing. If receptive, the female hoots back when the pair meet but is more subdued in both her hoot and display. The male may convince the female by bringing her freshly caught prey, which they will share. While males often hoot emphatically for about a month or six weeks towards the end


title: "Great horned owl" content: of the year, the period where females also hoot is usually only a week to ten days. Pairs typically breed together year after year and may mate for life, although they associate with each other more loosely when their young become mostly independent. Pairs rekindling their reproductive relationship in the winter may perform a milder courtship to strengthen pair bonds before producing young. Males select nesting sites and bring the females' attention to them by flying to them and then stomping on them. Nests with open access, considering this birds large size, as opposed to enclosed with surrounding branches, are


title: "Great horned owl" content: preferred. Like all owls, great horned owls do not build their own nest. They nest in a wider variety of nest sites than any other North American bird. Many nests are in cavernous hollows of dead trees or their branches, especially in southern states in large trees along the edge of old-growth lots. In mountainous or hilly areas, especially in canyons of the southwest and Rocky Mountains, cliff ledges, small caves, and other sheltered depressions may be used. Owls living in prairie country, in the absence of other animals' nests, riparian trees or non-native trees or the bare ground of


title: "Great horned owl" content: tree hollows or man-made structures, will use boulders, buttes, railroad cuts, low bushes and even the bare ground as nest sites. Ground nests have also been recorded in the midst of tall grasses in Florida and in the midsts of brushy spots on the desert ground. Even the burrow entrances of American badger and coyote dens have reportedly been used as nests, in spite of the inherent risk of sharing space with such potentially dangerous co-inhabitants. Most tree nests used by great horned owls are constructed by other animals, often from a height of about off the ground. They often


title: "Great horned owl" content: take over a nest used by some other large bird, sometimes adding feathers to line the nest but usually not much more. Allegedly there have some cases where the owls have reinforced a nest structure or appeared to have reconstructed a nest, but as a rule no owl species has ever been known to actually build a nest. Great horned owls in the southwest may also use nests in cacti, built by Harris's hawk and red-tailed hawk, as well as large hollows in cacti. The nests they use are often made by most larger types of acciptrids, from species as


title: "Great horned owl" content: small as Cooper's hawks to bald eagle and golden eagle, though perhaps most often those of red-tailed hawks and other buteonines. Secondly in popularity are crow and raven ("Corvus" ssp.) nests. Even Canada goose, black-crowned night heron ("Nycticorax nycticorax") and great blue heron nests have been used, the latter sometimes right in the midst of an active heronry. The leaf nests of squirrels are also regularly used but in general great horned owls are partial to stick nests since they provide a much firmer, safer foundation. The stage at which eggs are laid is variable across North America. In Southern


title: "Great horned owl" content: Florida, eggs may be laid as early as late November to as late as early January. In the southeast, from south Texas to Georgia, egg laying may begin from late December to early February. From Southern California to northern Louisiana, egg laying is from early February to late March. The largest swath of egg-laying owls from central California to South Carolina to as far north as Ohio and Massachusetts is from late February to early April. In the Rocky Mountains, Northwestern United States, northern New England and eastern Canada, egg laying is from early March to late April. In the


title: "Great horned owl" content: rest of Canada and Alaska, egg laying may be from late March to early May. The latest known date of egg laying was in mid-June in Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territory. In northwestern Utah and north-central Alberta, egg-laying can be 3–4 weeks earlier than usual when food is abundant and weather is favorable. For owls found in more tropical climates, the dates of the breeding season are somewhat undefined. There are usually 2 eggs per clutch, but clutches range in size from 1 to 6 eggs (over 3 is uncommon, over 4 is very rare), depending on environmental conditions. The


title: "Great horned owl" content: average egg width is , the average length is and the average weight is , although mass could be slightly higher elsewhere because this figure is from Los Angeles County, CA where the owls are relatively small. The incubation period ranges from 28 to 37 days, averaging 33 days. The female alone usually does all the incubation and rarely moves from the nest, while the male owl captures food and brings it to her, with the first nightly food delivery typically occurring soon after dark. The young weigh around at birth on average and can gain an average of about


title: "Great horned owl" content: a day for the first four weeks of life, with typical weights in the range of by 25–29 days for males and females, respectively. When first hatched the young are covered in whitish gray down, with some brownish about the wings. Gradually the soft juvenal downy plumage comes through the down, being typically a cinnamon-buff color, but with variable hues predicting the eventual color of the mature owls. The extent of down gradually diminishes, developing mature-looking plumage by late summer, although many first year birds still have scattered bits of down into autumn. By late autumn, first-year birds look similar


title: "Great horned owl" content: to adults but with a slightly warmer, reddish tinge, less well developed ear tufts and a smaller white throat patch. The nestling owls develop mostly in behavior between two weeks and two months of age, in which time they adapt the ability to defend themselves, grasp foods and climb. Vocally, the young are able to exert weak chips while still in the egg, developing into a raspy chirp shortly after hatching. The calls of the young increase rapidly in intensity, pitch and character, some juvenile males mimicking their father's hooting in fall but usually they conclude with various odd gurgling


title: "Great horned owl" content: notes. The earliest competent hooting by juvenile owls is not until January. Young owls move onto nearby branches at 6 weeks and start to fly about a week later. However, the young are not usually competent fliers until they are about 10 to 12 weeks old. The age at which the young leave the nest is variable based on the abundance of food. The young birds stay in an area ranging from 13.1 to 52 ha from the nest into fall, but will usually disperse up to several thousand hectares by the end of fall. The offspring have been seen


title: "Great horned owl" content: still begging for food in late October (5 months after leaving the nest) and most do not fully leave their parents territory until right before the parents start to reproduce for the next clutch (usually December to January). Birds may not breed for another year or two, and are often vagrants ("floaters") until they establish their own territories. Based on the development of the bursa, great horned owls reach sexual maturity at two years of age. Great horned owls seem to be the most long-living owl in North America. Among all owls, they may outrank even the larger Eurasian eagle


title: "Great horned owl" content: owl in known longevity records from the wild, with almost 29 years being the highest age for an owl recorded in North America. A more typical top lifespan of a great horned owl is approximately 13 years old. In general, great horned owls are most vulnerable in the early stages of life, although few species press attacks on the owl's nests due to the ferocious defensive abilities of the parents. Occasionally, nestlings and fledglings will fall from the nest too early to escape or to competently defend themselves and have then fallen prey to foxes, bobcat, coyotes, or wild or


title: "Great horned owl" content: feral cats. Occasionally raccoons and American black bears consume eggs and nestlings from tree nests and Virginia opossum may take the rare unguarded egg. Crows and ravens have been reported eating eggs and small nestlings. This can normally only happen when owls are driven from the nest by human activity or are forced to leave the nest to forage by low food resources but on occasion huge flocks of crows have been able to displace owls by harassing them endlessly. In general, great horned owls rarely engage in siblicide, unlike many other raptorial birds. Siblicide occurred at 9 of 2,711


title: "Great horned owl" content: nests in Saskatchewan. Most cases where young owls are killed and/or consumed by their siblings or parents appear to occur when the nestling is diseased, impaired or starving or is inadvertently crushed. Adults generally have no natural predators, excepting both North American eagles and other owls of their own species. Occasionally, great horned owls may be killed by their own prey. Although typically able to kill skunks without ill effect, five owls were found blind after getting sprayed in their eyes by skunks. Cases where the quills of porcupines have killed or functionally disabled them have been observed as well.


title: "Great horned owl" content: Violent fights have been observed between great horned owls after attempts to capture rat snakes and black racers. When a peregrine falcon repeatedly attacked a great horned owl near its nest along the Hudson River, it was apparently unable to dispatch the larger raptor despite several powerful strikes. During their initial dispersal in fall, juvenile owls have a high mortality rate, frequently more than 50%. For owls in the Yukon Territory, juvenile survival in the 9 weeks after dispersal has dropped from 80% to 23.2% in a span of three years in response of instability of food supply. In the


title: "Great horned owl" content: Yukon, adults on territory had an average annual survival rate of 90.5%. Anemia, caused by "Leucocytozoon ziemanni" and the drinking of blood by swarming, blood-drinking blackflies ("Simulium" ssp.), was a leading cause of juvenile mortality in the Yukon. The great horned owl is not considered a globally threatened species by the IUCN. Including the Magellanic species, there are approximately 5.3 million wild horned owls in the Americas. Most mortality in modern times is human-related, caused by owls flying into man-made objects, including buildings, cars, power lines, or barbed wire. In one study, the leading cause of death for owls was


title: "Great horned owl" content: collision with cars, entanglement with wires, flying into buildings and, lastly, electrocution. Among 209 banded nestlings in yet another study, 67% were found dead after independence: 56 were found shot, 41 were trapped, 15 hit by cars, 14 found dead on highways and 14 electrocuted by overhead power lines. Secondary poisoning from pest control efforts is widely reported variously due to anticoagulant rodenticides, strychnine, organophosphates (famphur applied topically to cattle ("Bos primigenius taurus")), organochlorines, and PCBs. Frequently, the species were denominated a pest due to the perceived threat it posed to domestic fowl and potentially small game. The first genuine


title: "Great horned owl" content: nature conservationists, while campaigning against the "Extermination Being Waged Against the Hawks and Owls", continued to advocate the destruction of great horned owls due to their predatory effect on other wildlife. Thus, small bounties were offered in trade for owl bodies. Around the turn of the 20th century, the great horned owl was considered endangered in the state of Michigan because of a large quantity of poachers who were illegally hunting and collecting it. Hunting and trapping of great horned owls may continue on a small scale but is now illegal in most countries. Occasionally, these owls may prey on


title: "Great horned owl" content: threatened species. Following the devastation to its populations from DDT, the reintroduction of the peregrine falcon to the Mississippi and Hudson Rivers was hampered by great horned owls killing both young and adult peregrines at night. Similarly, as mainly recorded in New England, attempts to reintroduce ospreys, after they were also hit hard by DDT, were effected by heavy owl predation on nestlings, and the owls were also recorded to take a large toll locally on the threatened colonies of roseate terns. Where clear-cutting occurs in old-growth areas of the Pacific Northwest, spotted owls have been badly affected by considerable


title: "Great horned owl" content: great horned owl predation. While at least the ospreys and peregrines have rebounded admirably nonetheless, bird and mammal species that are much rarer overall sometimes fall prey to great horned owls, many in which even sporadic losses can be devastating. Among the species considered threatened, endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN which are also known to be killed by great horned owls are Townsend's ground squirrels ("Urocitellus townsendii"), Pacific pocket mice ("Perognathus pacificus"), giant kangaroo rats, Stephens' kangaroo rat ("Dipodomys stephensi"), black-footed ferrets, greater and lesser prairie chickens, marbled murrelets ("Brachyramphus marmoratus"), ivory-billed woodpeckers, Florida scrub jays ("Aphelocoma coerulescens"),


title: "Great horned owl" content: pinyon jays, Kirtland's warblers ("Setophaga kirtlandii") and rusty blackbirds ("Euphagus carolinus"). The American Bird Conservancy's "green list" includes birds with considerable population declines (many classed as near threatened by the IUCN) or other immediate threats and/or restricted populations. Altogether, great horned owls hunt 50 different species from that list. Many warrior-based tribes of Native Americans admired the great horned owl for their "strength, courage and beauty". The Pima of the southwest believed that owls were reincarnations of slain warriors who fly about by night. The Arikara of the Great Plains had mystic owl societies in which initiates were made to


title: "Great horned owl" content: adorn facial mask made of the wing and tail feathers of great horned owls. Some Indian nations regarded the great horned owl as a friendly spirit who could aid in matters of love, such as the Passamaquoddy of Maine who felt the call of this species was a magical love flute designed to ignite human passions. The Hopi of the southwest also associated this owl with fertility, albeit of a different kind: they believed the calling of the owls into summer predicted hot weather, which produced good peach crops. During the winter solstice, the Hopi performed a ceremony with great


title: "Great horned owl" content: horned owl feathers in hopes of summoning the heat of summer. Tribes in New Mexico were known to use owl wing feathers to produce arrows which could strike their enemies with a minimum of sound. The Zuni held owl feathers in their mouths hoping to gain some of the silence that owls use in ambushes while striking their own enemies from other tribes. The Iroquois felt the origin of the great horned owl was due to an unformed owl annoying Raweno, the almighty creator, while Raweno created the rabbit, causing Raweno to make the owl "covered with mud" (dark camouflage)


title: "Great horned owl" content: and doomed to ceaselessly call "whoo whoo", which he used while harassing Raweno, by night because Raweno was active during the day. The great horned owl is the provincial bird of Alberta. Great horned owl The great horned owl ("Bubo virginianus"), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air") or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. Its primary diet is rabbits


title: Grips-Theater content: cart. The Wilmersdorf widows in this version are widows of former Boers still dreaming of white supremacy in Africa. Since 1992, the GRIPS owns a so-called ‘studio and rehearsal stage’ in addition to the theatre at Altonaer Straße. Until 2009, smaller productions were staged at the Schiller-Theater Werkstatt (workshop), but since then, the GRIPS Podewil at Klosterstraße. Usually, the GRIPS releases at least four new plays and stages 300 performances per year. When Volker Ludwig left his post as the GRIPS‘ artistic director at the end of the 2011/2012 season, he appointed Stefan Fischer-Fels as his successor who had previously


title: "Ffion Hague" content: Gymraeg Glantaf, and then went on to study English at Jesus College, Oxford, and joined the Civil Service after graduating. She belonged to the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and the National Youth Choir. She met William Hague in 1995, when she became his private secretary at the Welsh Office. Because of the embarrassment caused by the previous Welsh secretary John Redwood, who was unable to sing the Welsh national anthem, it was decided that his successor should learn the words. They were married on 19 December 1997, at the Palace of Westminster, and currently reside in Richmond, North Yorkshire.


title: "Makarios III" content: The three bishops of the Church of Cyprus demanded that he resign as president, stating that his temporal duties violated canon law. Makarios foiled the three bishops and had them defrocked in the summer of 1973. Before choosing their replacements, he increased the number of bishops to five, thereby reducing the power of individual bishops (see ecclesiastical coup). As time progressed Grivas' pursuit of enosis through guerrilla tactics with the use of the EOKA-B's paramilitary organisation failed to force Makarios to follow the policy of self-determination-union with Greece and led to a period of armed civil war in Cyprus among


title: Churro content: Churro A churro (, ) is a fried-dough pastry—predominantly choux—based snack. Churros are traditional in Spain and Portugal, from where they originate, as well as the Philippines and Ibero-America. They are also consumed in the Southwestern United States, France and other areas that have received immigration from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. In Spain, churros can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick, where they are known as "porras" in some regions. They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in champurrado, hot chocolate, dulce de leche or café con leche. Sugar is often sprinkled on top. The origin


title: Churro content: of churros is unclear. One theory suggests they were brought to Europe from China by the Portuguese. The Portuguese sailed for the Orient and, as they returned from Ming Dynasty China to Portugal, they brought along with them new culinary techniques, including altering dough for "youtiao", also known as "yóuzháguǐ" in southern China, for Portugal. The new pastry soon crossed the border into Spain, where it was modified to have the dough extruded through a star-shaped die rather than pulled. Another theory is that the churro was made by Spanish shepherds, to substitute for fresh bakery goods. Churro paste was


title: Churro content: easy to make and fry in an open fire in the mountains, where shepherds spend most of their time. Churros are fried until they become crunchy, and may be sprinkled with sugar. The surface of a churro is ridged due to having been piped from a churrera, a syringe-like tool with a star-shaped nozzle. Churros are generally prisms in shape, and may be straight, curled or spirally twisted. Like pretzels, churros are sold by street vendors, who may fry them freshly on the street stand and sell them hot. In Spain and much of Latin America, churros are available in


title: Churro content: cafes for breakfast, although they may be eaten throughout the day as a snack. Specialized "churrerías" can be found in the form of a shop or a trailer during the holiday period. In addition, countries like Colombia, Peru, Spain and Venezuela have churrerías throughout their streets. In Portugal, they are commonly eaten at carnivals, fairs and other celebrations, where they are made freshly at street stands. The dough is a mixture of flour, water and salt. Some versions are made of potato dough. In Seville (Andalusia), the name "calientes" or "calentitos de rueda" is sometimes used instead of the word


title: Churro content: "churro". These tend to refer to the thicker variant, called "porra". Calientes are usually fried in the shape of a continuous spiral and cut into portions afterwards. The center of the spiral is thicker and softer, and for many a delicacy in itself. The standard "churro" is also sold under the name "calentitos de papas", the name referring to the softer mashed potato–like texture. In parts of Eastern Andalusia, a much thinner dough is used, which does not allow for the typical ridges to be formed on the surface of the churro. The final result therefore has a smooth surface,


title: Churro content: and is more pliable and of a slightly thinner diameter than standard Spanish churros. Another difference is that sugar is never sprinkled on them, because the flavour is not considered suitable. Filled, straight "churros" are found in Cuba (with fruit, such as guava), Brazil (with chocolate, "doce de leite", among others), and in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Mexico (usually filled with "dulce de leche" or "cajeta" but also with chocolate and vanilla). In Colombia and Venezuela, churros are glazed with arequipe and sweetened condensed milk. In Spain, a considerably wider diameter is used to accommodate the filling. In Uruguay,


title: Churro content: churros can also come in a savoury version, filled with melted cheese. In the Philippines, "churros" are typically straight, or bent into U-shapes or circular shapes. They are usually dusted with white sugar. "Churros" are almost always eaten with "tsokolate" drinks (a pairing known as "churros con tsokolate"), which can also serve as a dip. They are popular during the Christmas season. Churros in American theme parks and street fairs are most often rolled in cinnamon sugar or other flavored sugars. Churro A churro (, ) is a fried-dough pastry—predominantly choux—based snack. Churros are traditional in Spain and Portugal, from


title: "Linlithgow Palace" content: who spent a night there in 1633. In 1648, part of the new North Range was occupied by The 2nd Earl of Linlithgow. An English visitor in October 1641 recorded in a poem that the roof of the great hall was already gone, the fountain vandalised by those who objected on religious grounds to the motto "God Save the King," but some woodcarving remained in the Chapel Royal. The palace's swansong came in September 1745, when Bonnie Prince Charlie visited Linlithgow on his march south but did not stay overnight. It is said that the fountain was made to flow


title: "Alexander Kotov" content: made his points by citing first-hand stories of incidents involving famous grandmasters, most of whom he knew personally. Such entertaining and enlightening personal accounts helped to ensure that his books remained popular among chess players of widely varying nationalities and playing strengths. Kotov was a great admirer of World Champion Alexander Alekhine, and wrote a comprehensive two-volume biographical series of books on his life and career titled "Shakhmatnoe Nasledie A.A. Alekhina", which were published between 1953 and 1958 and translated into Czech, German, Serbian and Spanish. The work significantly contributed to Alekhine's rehabilitation in the Soviet Union. His trilogy of


title: "Second Industrial Revolution" content: and funded a simple cruciform system that connected major cities, ports and mining areas, and linked to neighboring countries. Belgium thus became the railway center of the region. The system was soundly built along British lines, so that profits were low but the infrastructure necessary for rapid industrial growth was put in place. There have been other times that have been called "second industrial revolution". Industrial revolutions may be renumbered by taking earlier developments, such as the rise of medieval technology in the 12th century, or of ancient Chinese technology during the Tang Dynasty, or of ancient Roman technology, as


title: "Charles Gibson" content: to Georgianna Law and Burdett Gibson, and is a great-nephew of graphic artist Charles Dana Gibson. He grew up in Washington, D.C.. and attended the Sidwell Friends School, a private college-preparatory school in Washington. In 1965, Gibson graduated from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, where he was News Director for WPRB-FM, the university radio station, and a member of Princeton Tower Club. In 1966, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard having a brief stint in service. Gibson joined the RKO General in 1966 as a producer and later worked as a reporter and anchor for WLVA (now WSET) television


title: "Common redpoll" content: Common redpoll The common redpoll ("Acanthis flammea") is a species of bird in the finch family. It breeds somewhat further south than the Arctic redpoll, also in habitats with thickets or shrubs. The common redpoll was listed in 1758 by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his "Systema Naturae" under the binomial name "Fringilla flammea". The current genus name "Acanthis" is from the Ancient Greek "akanthis", a name for a small now-unidentifiable bird, and "flammea" is the Latin for "flame-coloured". The common redpoll was previously placed in the genus "Carduelis". Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the Arctic and common redpolls


title: "Common redpoll" content: formed a distinct lineage, so the two species were grouped together in the resurrected genus "Acanthis". The nominate subspecies "A. f. flammea", the mealy redpoll, breeds across the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. There is also an Icelandic subspecies, the Icelandic redpoll ("A. f. islandica"), and one that breeds in Greenland and Baffin Island called the Greenland redpoll ("A. f. rostrata"). Many taxonomic authorities consider the lesser redpoll a subspecific form of the common redpoll. Together the Iceland and Greenland forms are sometimes known as 'northwestern redpolls'. All forms migrate south into Canada, northern USA, or Eurasia. These


title: "Common redpoll" content: birds are remarkably resistant to cold temperatures and winter movements are mainly driven by the availability of food. There are two distinct populations (one lighter, one darker) united in "islandica", the relationships of which are unresolved. The common redpoll is a small brownish-grey finch with dark streaks and a bright red patch on its forehead. It has a black bib and two pale stripes on the wings. Males often have their breasts suffused with red. It is smaller, browner and more streaked than the generally similar Arctic redpoll, adults measuring between in length and weighing between . The rump is


title: "Common redpoll" content: streaked and there is a broad dark brown streak across the vent. It has brown legs, dark-tipped yellowish bills and dark brown irises. The mealy redpoll is larger and paler than the lesser redpoll with which it often mixes, apparently without significant interbreeding though sympatry was established too recently to draw firm conclusions. The male mealy redpolls are darker than the similarly sized Arctic redpolls but the females are almost identical. The range of the common redpoll extends through northern Europe and Asia to northern North America, Greenland and Iceland. It is a partial migrant, moving southward in late autumn


title: "Common redpoll" content: and northward again in March and April. Its typical habitat is boreal forest of pines, spruces and larches. It feeds mainly on seeds, principally birch and alder seed in the winter. The common redpoll builds its nest low down in a tree or bush. The nest has an outer layer of thin twigs, a middle layer of root fibres, fragments of juniper bark and lichens and an inner layer of down, willow buds and reindeer hair. Three to seven speckled eggs are laid and incubated by the female. They hatch after about eleven days and the young fledge in about


title: "Common redpoll" content: a further thirteen days. Common redpoll The common redpoll ("Acanthis flammea") is a species of bird in the finch family. It breeds somewhat further south than the Arctic redpoll, also in habitats with thickets or shrubs. The common redpoll was listed in 1758 by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his "Systema Naturae" under the binomial name "Fringilla flammea". The current genus name "Acanthis" is from the Ancient Greek "akanthis", a name for a small now-unidentifiable bird, and "flammea" is the Latin for "flame-coloured". The common redpoll was previously placed in the genus "Carduelis". Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the


title: "Angel of the North" content: Angel of the North The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, tall, with wings measuring across. The wings do not stand straight sideways, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward; Gormley did this to create "a sense of embrace". The angel like much of Gormley's other work is based on a cast of his body. It stands on the hill of Birtley, at Low Eighton in Lamesley, overlooking the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside, and the


title: "Angel of the North" content: East Coast Main Line rail route, south of the site of Team Colliery. According to Gormley, the significance of an angel was three-fold: first, to signify that beneath the site of its construction, coal miners worked for two centuries; second, to grasp the transition from an industrial to an information age, and third, to serve as a focus for our evolving hopes and fears. Work began on the project in 1994, and cost £800,000. Most of the project funding was provided by the National Lottery. The "Angel" was installed on 15 February 1998. Due to its exposed location, the sculpture


title: "Angel of the North" content: was built to withstand winds of over 100 mph (160 km/h). Thus, foundations containing of concrete anchor the sculpture to rock below. The sculpture was built at Hartlepool Steel Fabrications Ltd using COR-TEN weather-resistant steel. It was made in three parts—with the body weighing and two wings weighing each—then brought to its site by road. The components were transported in convoy—the body on a 48-wheel trailer—from their construction site in Hartlepool, up the A19 road to the installation site away; the nighttime journey took five hours and attracted large crowds. The "Angel" aroused some controversy in British newspapers, at first,


title: "Angel of the North" content: including a "Gateshead stop the statue" campaign, while local councillor Martin Callanan was especially strong in his opposition. However, it has since been considered to be a landmark for North East England and has been listed by one organisation as an "Icon of England". It has often been used in film and television to represent Tyneside, as are other local landmarks such as the Tyne Bridge and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The sculpture is also humorously known by some local people as the "Gateshead Flasher", because of its location and appearance. Several maquettes were produced during the development stage of


title: "Angel of the North" content: the project. A life-size model from which the sculpture was created was sold at auction for £2.28 million in July 2008. An additional bronze maquette used in fundraising in the 1990s, owned by Gateshead Council, was valued at £1 million on the BBC show "Antiques Roadshow" on 16 November 2008—the most valuable item ever appraised on the programme. In 2011 German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop sold his life-size maquette (previously kept in the garden of his mansion in Potsdam, Germany) at an auction at Christie's in London for £3.4 million to an anonymous bidder. Another maquette was donated to the


title: "Angel of the North" content: National Gallery of Australia in 2009, and stands in its Sculpture Garden. Inspired by the "Angel of the North", several similar projects have been proposed. The "Angel of the South" title has been given by some to the "Willow Man", which sits to the side of the M5 in Somerset, while the White Horse at Ebbsfleet has been proposed for Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent. The sculpture "Brick Man" (also by Gormley) was proposed for the Holbeck area of Leeds. David Park's 2018 novel, "Travelling in a Strange Land," incorporates The Angel of the North into its climax and resolution. Angel of


title: "Xavier Cugat" content: his fourth to singer Abbe Lane (1952–64), and his fifth to Spanish guitarist and comic actress Charo Baeza (1966–78). Entering the world of show business, he played with a band called The Gigolos during the tango craze. Later, he went to work for the "Los Angeles Times" as a cartoonist. Cugat's caricatures were later nationally syndicated. His older brother, Francis, was an artist of some note, having painted the famous cover art for F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby." In the late 1920s, as sound began to be used in films, Cugat put together another tango band that had


title: Jambalaya content: Jambalaya Jambalaya ( , ) is a Louisiana-origin dish of Spanish and French (especially Provençal cuisine) influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Traditionally, the meat always includes sausage of some sort, often a smoked meat such as andouille, along with some other seafood,mostly pork, chicken, crawfish, or shrimp. The vegetables are usually a soffritto-like mixture known as the "holy trinity" in Cajun cooking, consisting of onion, celery, and green bell pepper, though other vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, chilis, and garlic are also used. After browning and sauteeing the meat and vegetables, rice, seasonings, and broth


title: Jambalaya content: are added and the entire dish is cooked together until the rice is done. Jambalaya is similar to (but distinct from) other rice-and-meat dishes known in Louisiana cuisine. Gumbo uses similar sausages, meats, seafood, vegetables and seasonings. However, gumbo includes filé powder and okra, which are not common in jambalaya. Gumbo is also usually served over white rice, which is prepared separate from the rest of the dish, unlike jambalaya, where the rice is prepared with the other ingredients. Étouffée is a stew which always includes shellfish such as shrimp or crayfish, but does not have the sausage common to


title: Jambalaya content: jambalaya and gumbo. Also, like gumbo, étouffée is usually served over separately prepared rice. Jambalaya has its origins in several rice-based dishes well attested in the Mediterranean cuisines of Spain and France, especially in the Spanish dish "paella" (native to Valencia) and the French dish known as "jambalaia" (native to Provence). Other seasoned rice-based dishes from other cuisines include pilaf, risotto and Hoppin' John. There are two primary methods of making jambalaya, differentiated by the presence or absence of tomatoes. The first is Creole jambalaya (also called "red jambalaya"). First, meat is added to the trinity of celery, peppers, and


title: Jambalaya content: onions; the meat is usually chicken and sausage such as andouille or smoked sausage. Next vegetables and tomatoes are added to cook, followed by seafood. Rice and stock are added in equal proportions at the very end. The mixture is brought to a boil and left to simmer for 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the recipe, with infrequent stirring. Towards the end of the cooking process, stirring usually ceases. Some versions call for the jambalaya to be baked after the cooking of all the ingredients. The second style, more characteristic of southwestern and south-central Louisiana, is Cajun jambalaya, which


title: Jambalaya content: contains no tomatoes (the idea being the farther away from New Orleans one gets, the less common tomatoes are in dishes). The meat is browned in a cast-iron pot. The bits of meat that stick to the bottom of the pot (sucs) are what give a Cajun jambalaya its brown color. A little vegetable oil is added if there is not enough fat in the pot. The trinity (of 50% onions, 25% celery, and 25% green or red bell pepper, although proportions can be altered to suit one's taste) is added and sautéed until soft. Stock and seasonings are added


title: Jambalaya content: in the next step, and then the meats are returned to the pot. This mixture is then simmered, covered, for at least one hour. Lastly, the mixture is brought to a boil and rice is added to the pot. It is then covered and left to simmer over very low heat for at least 1/2 hour without stirring. The dish is finished when the rice has cooked. In a less common method, meat and vegetables are cooked separately from the rice. At the same time, rice is cooked in a savory stock. It is added to the meat and vegetables


title: Jambalaya content: before serving. This is called "white jambalaya". This dish is rare in Louisiana as it is seen as a "quick" attempt to make jambalaya, popularized outside the state to shorten cooking time. Many people in the south, and typically in Louisiana, enjoy a simpler jambalaya style. This style is cooked the same as the Cajun style, but there are no vegetables. Many restaurants serve this style as opposed to the others, because it is more child-friendly, has a more consistent texture, and is easier to make. Jambalaya is considered by most Louisianans to be a filling but simple-to-prepare rice dish;


title: Jambalaya content: gumbos, étouffées, and creoles are considered more difficult to perfect. Most often a long grain white rice is used in making jambalaya. Jambalaya is differentiated from gumbo and étouffée by the way in which the rice is included. In these dishes, the rice is cooked separately and is served as a bed on which the main dish is served. In the usual method of preparing jambalaya, a rich stock is created from vegetables, meat, and seafood; raw rice is then added to the broth and the flavor is absorbed by the grains as the rice cooks. Creole jambalaya originates from


title: Jambalaya content: the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the original European sector. It was an attempt by the Spanish to make paella in the New World, where saffron was not readily available due to import costs. Tomatoes became the substitute for saffron. As time went on, French influence became strong in New Orleans, and spices from the Caribbean changed this New World paella into a unique dish. In modern Louisiana, the dish has evolved along a variety of different lines. Creole jambalaya, or red jambalaya, is found primarily in and around New Orleans, where it is simply known as "jambalaya". Creole


title: Jambalaya content: jambalaya includes tomatoes, whereas Cajun jambalaya does not. Cajun jambalaya originates from Louisiana's rural, low-lying swamp country where crawfish, shrimp, oysters, alligator, duck, turtle, boar, venison, nutria and other game were readily available. Any variety or combination of meats, including chicken or turkey, may be used to make jambalaya. Cajun jambalaya is known as "brown jambalaya" in the New Orleans area; to Cajuns it is simply known as "jambalaya". Cajun jambalaya has more of a smoky and spicy flavor than its Creole cousin. The first appearance in print of any variant of the word 'jambalaya' in any language occurred in


title: Jambalaya content: "Leis amours de Vanus; vo, Lou paysan oou théâtré", by Fortuné (Fortunat) Chailan, first published in Provençal dialect in 1837. The earliest appearance of the word in print in English occurs in the May 1849 issue of the "American Agriculturalist", page 161, where Solon Robinson refers to a recipe for 'Hopping Johnny (jambalaya)'. Jambalaya did not appear in a cookbook until 1878, when The Gulf City Cook Book, by the ladies of the St. Francis Street Methodist Episcopal Church, was printed in South Mobile, Alabama. It contains a recipe for "JAM BOLAYA". Jambalaya experienced a brief jump in popularity during


title: Jambalaya content: the 1920s and 1930s because of its flexible recipe. The dish was little more than the rice and vegetables the populace could afford, but the recipe grew from humble roots. In 1968, Louisiana Governor John J. McKeithen proclaimed Gonzales, Louisiana, "the Jambalaya capital of the world". Every spring, the annual Jambalaya Festival is held in Gonzales. The "Oxford English Dictionary" indicates that comes from the Provençal word 'jambalaia', meaning a mish mash, or mixup, and also meaning a pilaf (pilau) of rice. This is supported by the fact that the first printed appearance of the word is in a Provençal


title: Jambalaya content: poem published in 1837. A folkloric interpretation of the word suggests that it is the fusion of two Spanish words: ("ham") + (a rice dish). However, the evidence for this idea is thin. Ham is not a featured element of the dish, and Spanish speakers would call a ham paella , not . The Atakapa tribe states the origin of the name. The original word "Sham, pal ha! Ya!" means "Be full, not skinny! Eat Up!" with a French equivalent of "Bon appétit!". Spanish influence resulted in the current spelling of the name. Similar dishes: Jambalaya Jambalaya ( , )


title: "Great grey owl" content: Great grey owl The great grey owl or great gray owl ("Strix nebulosa") is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus "Strix" found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In some areas it is also called Phantom of the North, cinereous owl, spectral owl, Lapland owl, spruce owl, bearded owl, and sooty owl. Adults have a large rounded head with a grey face and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark


title: "Great grey owl" content: streaks; the upper parts are grey with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor. There is a white collar or "bow tie" just below the beak. The long tail tapers to a rounded end. 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


title: "Great grey owl" content: 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 , averaging for females and for males. The wingspan can exceed , but averages for females and for males. The adult weight ranges from , averaging for females and for males. The males are usually smaller than females, as with most owl species. The call of the adult is a series of very deep, rhythmic "whoo"s, which is usually given in correlation to their territories or in interactions with their offspring. At other times,


title: "Great grey owl" content: adults are normally silent. The young may chatter, shriek or hiss. Tame owls may produce higher-pitched hoots when given food by humans. There are two recognized subspecies of the great grey owl spread across North America and Eurasia. In northern areas their breeding habitat is often the dense coniferous forests of the taiga, near open areas, such as meadows or bogs. In Oregon and California this owl has been found nesting in mixed oak woodlands. Once believed to require a cold climate, it is now known that this bird survives in a few areas where summer temperatures regularly exceed .


title: "Great grey owl" content: They breed in North America from as far east as Quebec to the Pacific coast and Alaska, and from Finland and Estonia across northern Asia. They are permanent residents, although northerly populations may move south and southeast when food is scarce. In Europe they are found breeding in Norway and Sweden and more numerously through Finland and Russia. Even though the species occurs in Europe, the first great grey owl recognized by science was found in Canada in the late 18th century. There are sedentary populations in the Pacific states of California, Oregon, and Washington. The great grey owl in


title: "Great grey owl" content: this region is found in disjunct areas of appropriate habitat. In winter these birds do not move far but may go downslope to escape deep snow as they must capture their prey on the ground. In Oregon, the great grey owl breeding range is scattered from the Siskiyou Mountains in the southwest to the Blue Mountains in the northeast. Two bird festivals each May feature field trips to try to see the species: the Ladd Marsh Festival in La Grande, OR and the Mountain Bird Festival in Ashland, OR. A 2015 study in California estimated there were fewer than 300


title: "Great grey owl" content: birds in the state at the time. The species is listed as Endangered under the California Endangered Species Act. The California range for the species includes a small extension of the Oregon population, north of Alturas. In addition breeding has been confirmed in the Tahoe National Forest east of Nevada City; in the Sierra Nevada foothills south of I-80 at around elevation; and for the population clustered around Yosemite. In Yosemite is where the first nest south of Canada was found in 1914. A study of the Yosemite owls shows that this population has been genetically isolated from populations in


title: "Great grey owl" content: Oregon and farther north for over 25,000 years. Biologists working on that study suggest that the Yosemite population should be considered a separate sub-species ("Strix nebulosa yosemitensis"). Nearby populations at lower elevations were not tested. In Washington state, great grey owls are found in the southeast where mountains extend up from Oregon and in the Colville National Forest. Only a handful of great gray owl nests have ever been found in Washington state. Farther east in the western United States, great grey owls breed in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, as far south as the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.


title: "Great grey owl" content: In northeastern North America, the owls are found year-round in southern Quebec and Ontario, but individuals will sometimes move further south in winter into New York and New England, apparently in pursuit of more abundant prey. Great grey owls are rarely sighted as far south as Pennsylvania and Long Island, New York. In winter 2017, the birds were recorded in northern New York in Robert Moses State Park and central Maine. Great grey owls do not build nests, so they typically use nests previously used by a large bird, such as a raptor. They will also nest in broken-topped trees


title: "Great grey owl" content: and cavities in large trees. In southwestern and northeastern Oregon, the great grey owl has been using man-made platforms for nest sites since the 1980s. The erection of nest platforms for great grey owls was pioneered by Robert Nero in central Canada in the 1970s. Nesting may occur from March to May. Unlike, for example, osprey or white storks, the great grey owl does not predictably re-use nest sites over consecutive years. Four eggs are the usual clutch size. Eggs average wide and long. The incubation period is about 30 days, ranging from 28 to 36 days. Brooding lasts 2


title: "Great grey owl" content: to 3 weeks, after which the female starts roosting on a tree near nests. The young jump or fall from the nest at 3 to 4 weeks, and start to fly 1 to 2 weeks after this. Immediately after fledging, the white, fuzzy young must use beak and feet to climb back into trees. The female is on guard at this time and may be aggressive toward potential predators. Most offspring remain near their natal sites for many months after fledging. Normally the male hunts for his mate and the young throughout the nesting period. Once the young begin the


title: "Great grey owl" content: fly, the female typically withdraws and the male continues to feed the young until they can hunt on their own in the autumn. The young owls go off on their own by winter. The abundance of food in the area usually affects the number of eggs a female lays, a feature quite common in northern owl species. In years when small mammal populations are very low the great grey owl may not attempt nesting; thus their reproduction is connected to the sometimes extreme fluctuations of small mammal populations. Also, great grey owls may not nest in years of drought. If


title: "Great grey owl" content: food is scarce, they may travel a fair distance to find more prey, with considerable movements by large numbers in some years of particularly scarce prey. Though they do not migrate, many are at least somewhat nomadic. One alert landowner in northeast Oregon, Andy Huber, helped a female great gray owl raise her four nestlings after a great horned owl killed the male. Huber live-trapped small mammals and then released them at the nest site, and the female took these to the nestlings. As the owlets matured and began flying they came for the prey on their own. Huber and


title: "Great grey owl" content: the mother owl raised all four owlets successfully. These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. They frequently hunt from a low listening post which can be a stump, low tree limb, fence post, or road sign. Their large facial disks, also known as "ruffs", focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and


title: "Great grey owl" content: near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night. They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. They then can crash to a snow depth roughly equal to their own body size to grab their prey. Only this species and, more infrequently, other fairly large owls from the genus "Strix" are known to "snow-plunge" for prey, a habit that is thought to require superb hearing not possessed by all types of owls. Unlike the more versatile eagle and horned


title: "Great grey owl" content: owls, great grey owls rely almost fully upon small rodents. What species they eat depends on which small mammals are most abundant and available. In northern Canada they eat lemmings primarily. In dry parts of California's Sierra Nevada they eat mostly pocket gophers. In some areas voles are the predominant prey. Locally, alternative prey animals (usually comprising less than 20% of prey intake) include hares, moles, shrews, weasels, thrushes, grouse, grey jays, mountain quail, small hawks and ducks. This species is not known to scavenge or steal from other predators. In mated pairs, the male is the primary hunter who


title: "Great grey owl" content: provides food for the entire family while the female guards and broods the eggs, nestlings, and flightless fledglings. The harvest of timber from the great grey owl's habitat is, perhaps, the greatest threat to this species. Intensified timber management typically reduces live and dead large-diameter trees used for nesting, leaning trees used by juveniles for roosting before they can fly, and dense canopy closures in stands used by juveniles for cover and protection. If perches are not left in clearcuts, great grey owls cannot readily hunt in them. Although human-made structures (made specifically for use by this species) have been


title: "Great grey owl" content: utilized by these owls, the species is far more common in areas protected from logging. Livestock grazing in meadows also adversely affects great grey owls, by reducing habitat for preferred prey species. Other dangers to great grey owls include rodenticides, collisions with vehicles, and West Nile Virus. West Nile Virus is likely to become more prevalent with climate change. In Ontario and northeastern Oregon there are confirmed great grey owl deaths from West Nile Virus. Testing of owls in the Yosemite area since 2005 has found evidence of West Nile Virus in that population. Due to their large size, great


title: "Great grey owl" content: grey owls have few natural predators. Great horned owls, various small carnivores, and black bears have been documented preying on young, but such predators rarely threaten adults, and owls have been known to fend off animals as large as black bears when defending their nests. The only known predator of adult great grey owls is the Eurasian eagle-owl ("Bubo bubo"), which occasionally preys on the former in parts of Europe. The great grey owl is not as aggressive as most other alpha predators. They are less likely to attack each other or potential threats than are other large predatory birds.


title: "Great grey owl" content: They do not protect a large nesting territory, nor do they defend hunting territories through aggression. As an exception, the female is aggressive in protecting eggs and owlets. She is especially alert and aggressive when fledglings first leave the nest but cannot yet fly, and thus are extremely vulnerable. This lack of territorial aggressiveness makes the great grey owl difficult to find in the field. Most owls respond to their own species calls if played back in a nesting territory. Great grey owls will often ignore such calls. They also do not flush every time a human approaches or drives


title: "Great grey owl" content: past. The great grey owl often remains still even if a human is nearby and therefore they are often overlooked or unnoticed. The great grey owl is the provincial bird of Manitoba. As of 2016, there are four captive great grey owls in Oregon and California. Two live at Blue Mountain Wildlife near Pendleton, Oregon, a third lives at Lindsay Museum in Walnut Creek, California, and the fourth lives at CuriOdyssey in San Mateo, California. A captive wild injured great grey owl, Boris, resides at the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka, Alaska. Boris was found north of Anchorage with a


title: "Great grey owl" content: trauma to his right wrist, leaving him flightless. The Eurasian subspecies of the grey owl is very commonly kept in European zoos. Great grey owl The great grey owl or great gray owl ("Strix nebulosa") is a very large owl, documented as the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus "Strix" found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In some areas it is also called Phantom of the North, cinereous owl, spectral owl, Lapland owl, spruce owl, bearded owl, and sooty owl. Adults have


title: "Ostankino Tower" content: Ostankino Tower Ostankino Tower (, "Ostankinskaya telebashnya") is a television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia, owned by the Moscow branch of unitary enterprise Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network. Standing tall, Ostankino was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. It is currently the tallest free-standing structure in Europe and 11th tallest in the world. The tower was the first free-standing structure to exceed in height. Ostankino was built to mark the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It is named after the Ostankino district of Moscow in which it is located. Construction began in 1963 and was completed in 1967. Extensive


title: "Ostankino Tower" content: use of prestressed concrete resulted in a simple and sturdy structure. It surpassed the Empire State Building to become the tallest free-standing structure in the world. It held this record for eight years until it was overtaken by the CN Tower in 1975, which surpassed its height by . The Ostankino Tower remained the second-tallest free-standing structure in the world for another 32 years until the Burj Khalifa surpassed both it and the CN Tower in height in 2007. The Ostankino Tower has remained the tallest structure in Europe for over 50 years. A 1994 plan to increase the tower's


title: "Ostankino Tower" content: height to by adding an antenna was not implemented for lack of funding. None The tower caught fire on 27 August 2000, killing four people. Three firefighters died in the attempt to extinguish the fire, and one lift operator died when her elevator cabin crashed to the ground level due to the fire. In addition, television and radio signals were disrupted around Moscow. The fire broke out at a height of about , or approximately above the observation platform and the Seventh Heaven restaurant, after a short-circuit in wiring belonging to a paging company. The fire necessitated an evacuation of


title: "Ostankino Tower" content: all visitors and staff from those locations. According to Russian news agencies, the evacuation was complete 90 minutes after the start of the fire. The loss was substantial due to the age and poor maintenance of the electronic equipment, much of which was installed in the 1960s. In addition, the tower had become increasingly packed with equipment. The failure of the fire suppression systems allowed the fire to destroy most of the tower's interior. Although more than 300 firefighters and other emergency workers were called in, firemen were forced to haul heavy equipment, including chemical fire extinguishers, by hand up


title: "Ostankino Tower" content: the tower to halt the fire. Temporary firewalls of asbestos placed up stopped further spread. The fire knocked out virtually all television broadcasts in Moscow and the surrounding regions. The only television station unaffected was the private NTV station, but the government decreed that state channels took priority, and as such, the RTR TV channel began transmitting to several Moscow districts. The fire caused the tower's upper spire to tilt slightly, triggering fears the tower might collapse. Subsequent inspection determined that although the structure sustained heavy damage, the tower was not in danger of collapse. Efforts began immediately to rebuild


title: "Ostankino Tower" content: the tower, which proved to be a long and expensive task. The fire was the third disaster in Russia in a month, following an explosion in a Moscow underground passage that killed 12 people and the sinking of submarine "Kursk" in the Barents Sea, in which 118 died. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that "This latest accident shows the shape of our vital installations and the overall state of our country. We should not fail to see major problems in the country behind this accident, and we should not forget the economy. Whether or not such accidents happen again in