Birds
Long-Eared Owl
Asio otus · also called long-eared owls
Startled on its daytime roost, a long-eared owl stretches upright into a narrow, rigid shape, closing its eyes to slits until it looks less like a bird and more like a splintered stub of branch clinging to the same tree.
Overview
The long-eared owl, Asio otus, is a forest edge owl found across a broad range of North America, Europe, and Asia. Its prominent feather ear tufts, communal winter roosting behaviour, and remarkable branch-mimicking camouflage display make it one of the more visually and behaviourally distinctive owls in the Northern Hemisphere.
Camouflage as a full-body transformation
Rather than simply freezing in place, the long-eared owl actively reshapes its own silhouette when threatened, stretching and compressing itself into something that genuinely stops reading as a bird at all to a passing predator’s eye.
Status
Least Concern — widespread across its broad Northern Hemisphere range, though some regional populations face pressure from habitat loss.
Long-Eared Owl: common questions
Are the long-eared owl's ear tufts actually ears?
No, a long-eared owl's prominent ear tufts are made entirely of feathers and have nothing to do with hearing, functioning instead purely as a visual display feature, while the owl's actual ears are hidden openings on the sides of its head positioned asymmetrically to aid in precisely locating sound.
Why do long-eared owls roost together in winter?
Long-eared owls often roost communally in dense conifer stands during winter, sometimes in groups of a dozen or more, a social behaviour thought to help conserve warmth and improve collective vigilance against predators during the colder months.
How does a long-eared owl disguise itself when threatened?
When alarmed, a long-eared owl stretches its body tall and narrow while compressing its feathers tightly against its body, transforming its silhouette into something closely resembling a broken tree branch, a camouflage posture that can make the owl remarkably difficult to spot even at close range.
Does the long-eared owl build its own nest?
No, a long-eared owl does not build its own nest, instead reusing the old abandoned nests of other birds such as crows, hawks, or magpies, a strategy that saves the owl the effort of nest construction entirely.