158-452: This is a list of Guardians of Ga'Hoole characters . The St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls is an organization that portrays itself as an orphanage, but secretly seek to dominate the owl world through moon-blinking. They are defeated by the Pure Ones, who recruit, enslave or kill most of its members. Under construction Guardians of Ga%27Hoole Guardians of Ga'Hoole
316-400: A brainwashing technique caused by sleeping under the full moon and also marching under the light of the full moon and endlessly repeating their true names to forget them so as to lose a sense of self and will. Soren befriends a young elf owl named Gylfie (from the desert kingdom of Kuneer). Together, under the guise of being moon-blinked, they plot both to discover as much as possible about
474-432: A spotted owl , Primrose , a northern pygmy owl , Martin, a northern saw-whet owl , and learn many secrets such as colliering, navigation, search and rescue and weather navigation. Ezylryb , the old whiskered screech owl weather chaw ryb, or teacher , becomes good friends with Soren. After a long period of time passes, hundreds of owlets are found abandoned in the middle of an uninhabited forest, all of them "babbling of
632-535: A King —are about the legendary young king Hoole the spotted owl , and his mentor (the first collier) Grank the older spotted owl (an old friend of Hoole's parents), along with the pacifist Theo the great horned owl , the first owl blacksmith. Grank was the first to find the Ember of Hoole, and King Hoole was the first to find the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Hoole came under the protection of Grank because his mother, Queen Siv,
790-400: A Pure Ones attack, has become friends with Eglantine and Primrose, despite her still harboring their brutal ways (such as when she is caught toying with a mouse ). In the aftermath, Eglantine begins to experience strange dreams of her mother, Marella, though she looks different and forgets things about Eglantine's past. A page from a mysterious book entitled 'Flecks' is given to Otulissa, and it
948-520: A deal with a jealous clan of wolves who want the ember for themselves and maim their own pups in the hope they will be chosen as guardians. Coryn then uses his firesight to see his mother is near and to see the Ember of Hoole, which many believe makes him the rightful heir to the Great Tree. He then realizes his destiny and dives into the volcano to retrieve the Ember. He succeeds and through much enjoyment of owls and wolves, Nyra enacts her plan to steal
1106-487: A deformed paw, in accordance with wolf law. He is saved from death by a female grizzly bear known as Thunderheart, who had just lost her most recent cub to cougars . She teaches him to use his misshapen footpaw so that it cannot be regarded as a weakness, but a unique strength. The young wolf is reared by Thunderheart for the first year of his life, until they become separated in an earthquake. While searching for his foster mother (or "second Milk Giver"), he meets Gywnneth for
1264-517: A diurnal ecological equivalent. The great horned owl is one of the earliest nesting birds in North America , often laying eggs weeks or even months before other raptorial birds. The great horned owl was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus 's Systema Naturae . He placed it with the other owls in
1422-424: A face scarred from a wildfire (making the face furless and "the skin crinkled up in ugly ridges"), is stationed on a promontory just ahead of Faolan, and using the memories of his past life—the legendary ancient dire wolf named Fengo who led the dire wolves on a similar quest—he discovers that this horse also has reincarnated memories of a past life of its own, as the equine recalls Fengo from the past, and acknowledges
1580-434: A female bald eagle named Tenyak, a female mason bee named Grace, and a young male nameless coyote who later names himself Hope. Hope is the son of an evil coyote trickster, sometimes called First Angry, who often antagonizes the herd, but Hope is not sinister like his father. During their journey, they attempt to avoid and defeat a greedy and arrogant conquistador human going by the pseudonym El Miedo (his Christian name
1738-469: 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
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#17327827855971896-443: 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 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
2054-573: 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 & pinetorum ); and one introduced pest,
2212-562: A large head, and broad wings. Its size can vary considerably across its range, with populations in interior Alaska and Ontario being largest and populations in California and Texas being smallest, though those from the Yucatán Peninsula and Baja California appear to be even smaller. Adult great horned owls range in length from 43 to 64 cm (17 to 25 in), with an average of 55 cm (22 in), and possess
2370-404: A local spotted owl named Hortense brings a flying snake named Slynella , who has venom that can heal illness. After Soren regains his health, Mist reveals that she is the original Hortense and that the Pure Ones were planning to attack the Great Tree. The Chaw flies off towards the Great Tree to warn them of the impending attack and realize the true size of the Pure Ones' forces, which number in
2528-423: 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
2686-505: A 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 irrupt south during times of food shortage, but there
2844-633: A neverending winter ushers in famine, and many wolves are driven mad by starvation, forsaking their clan history and sense of self under the thrall of a death cult that offers to speed them to the Cave of Souls (heaven). To further decimate the failing wolf population, both the Beyond and much of the Owl Kingdoms are mostly destroyed by a cataclysmic earthquake, flattening the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes, and ending
3002-508: A pacifist, has to kill him to defend herself. She then flies to the Great Tree and reports what had happened. Soren, Coryn, the Band and Otulissa plan an extraction for the ember. They devise a plan where a few skilled owls from the tree take botkins to the Palace of Mists and Bess, her eyes closed, drops the ember into one of them. The fliers take different routes, not knowing which botkin the ember
3160-705: A party in Moss's hollow and is shocked to discover he is shy. The two become fast friends and later meet Thora, who would later become the rogue smith of Silverveil, but who was then a runaway who could not stand her stepmother and wants to become the first female smith in the Northern Kingdoms. When Lyze is taken to observe the Kielian snakes, he befriends one named Hoke. Later, when observing the ice harvesters, he watches enemy owls engage them in battle. Lyze, Moss, and Thora become cadets, their early days punctuated by
3318-480: A poem of the impending war with the Pure Ones. Taking place immediately after the end of The Rescue , Kludd/Metal Beak has his mask still ablaze and he crashes into a pond near the hollow of Simon , a brown fish owl and a pilgrim from the Glauxian Brothers' Retreat. After Simon nurses Kludd back to health, Kludd murders Simon and flies up to a branch with another local owl on it. However, the other owl
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#17327827855973476-454: A polar bear named Svenka, but the hagsfiends catch up and kill Myrrthe. While Lord Arrin is focused on Siv, the real egg, which is Hoole, the first king of Ga'Hoole, hatches while being kept by Grank and his apprentice Theo. In the present, Coryn realizes Nyra is a hagsfiend. The story follows the hatching and the early life of Hoole. Hoole grows up with Grank, Theo, and his best friend, a young pygmy owl named Phineas. When Hoole and Siv meet for
3634-507: A post-apocalyptic world where humans are extinct, the geography changed, and certain new species evolved.) Also, just before the prologue of the same book, there is a quote from To Be a King . At the end of the third book, Wild Blood , when the crowd of animals finally reaches the legendary Valley of the Dawn, after being led the whole time by the spirits of an Eohippus , a human girl called First Girl, and Tijo's deceased wise stepmother Haru of
3792-438: A predominantly rod retina . The great horned owl's eye contains both rods and cones like most species that see in color, but the vision of a great horned owl closely resembles that of many other nocturnal species. The peak wavelengths that are observed by the cones is 555 nm and the research suggests that the great horned owl has relatively weak color vision, especially compared to other bird species. Despite (or perhaps as
3950-566: A preserved specimen, and another specimen formed part of the Leverian collection . The great horned owl is now placed in the genus Bubo that was introduced in 1805 by André Duméril . The great horned owl represents one of the one or two radiations of the genus across the Bering land bridge to the Americas . Whereas the lesser horned owl clearly divided once the owl had spread through
4108-478: A prison hollow being built in the Tree, which escapes Otulissa's knowledge until she is arrested for hiding a precious teacup Madame Plonk asked her to keep. Meanwhile, Coryn and the Band seek 'The Book of Kreeth', a book of magic practiced by an ancient arch-hagsfiend. A powerful sect of evil wolves known as 'vyrrwolves' impede their quest. However, the book is eventually recovered by a maimed pup called Cody, who dies in
4266-543: A result of) the poorer sense of color vision, the owl manages to have excellent night vision. Instead of turning its eyes, an owl must turn its whole head, and the great horned owl can rotate its neck 270°. The iris is yellow, except in the amber-eyed South American great horned owl ( B. v. nacurutu ). The great horned owl's song is normally a low-pitched but loud ho-ho-hoo hoo hoo (or also transcribed as bu-bubu booh , who-hoo-ho-oo or who-ho-o-o , whoo-hoo-o-o , whoo ) and can last for four or five syllables. The call
4424-426: A retreat, but the owls there are under a mind-controlling spell, forcing them to flee. Grank arrives and breaks the spell by throwing an ice splinter through the gizzard of their superior. Just as Grank and Siv reunite and plot to give Grank the egg, Lord Arrin's hagsfiend (monstrous owl/crow-like birds who have mastered evil magic) comrades arrive and Siv draws them away with a fake egg. Siv and Myrrthe seek shelter with
4582-562: A snag, pole or other high perch. During hunting forays, they often fly about 50 to 100 m (160 to 330 ft) 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 90 m (300 ft). 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
4740-688: A territory, and leave regions with little food in winter. In most aspects of their behavior, great horned owls are typical of owls and most birds of prey. Like most owls, the great horned owl makes great use of secrecy and stealth. Due to its natural-colored plumage, it is well camouflaged both while active at night and while roosting during the day. During the daytime it roosts usually in large trees (including snags & large hollows but usually thick branches) but may occasionally be in crevices or small caves in rocks or in dense shrubbery. Pine and other coniferous trees may be preferred where available since they are particularly dense and provide cover throughout
4898-555: A tool but now as an idol, this cult abducts cubs and forces them to work inside the giant clock's gears, turning it until they either die or lose one body part without dying - these enslaved cubs are referred to by the cultists as Tick Tocks. Escaping the rude and secretly cannibalistic Taaka, their first cousin once removed (she is their mother's first cousin, who even Svenna barely knows), First and Second (both born with special psychic powers) journey to find their long-lost father Svern, later joined by their second cousins Third and Froya. At
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5056-456: A traitorous cadet kidnapping Orf, a famous blacksmith, and their rescue of him. Lyze later meets a spirited female cadet named Lillium (Lil). Once allowed to go home, Lyze witnesses the hatching of his sister, Lysa, and instantly takes to her. However, she dies in a forest fire and their next sibling, Ifghar, does not captivate Lyze and often teases him. While at the academy, Lyze develops the idea of flying with Kielian snakes, using snow leopards on
5214-400: A true Pure One, which it turns out is the murder of his dearest friend, which he must perform himself. When Nyroc refuses to kill Phillip, Nyra does it herself, making her son declare his hatred of her and flee. While refusing to kill Phillip, Nyroc is given a scar on his face similar to Nyra's, causing others to fear him on sight. A rabbit who can see visions in spiderwebs tells him to go to
5372-698: A valley somewhere along the western side of the Rocky Mountains called the Valley of the Dawn. Estrella is orphaned when her mother Perlina is devoured by a great white shark after being thrown off the ship (thrown overboard to make room for gold by the command of Hernán Cortés , who the horses call the Seeker) in the Caribbean Sea . Following the North Star , they travel far and wide up through
5530-439: A wingspan of 91 to 153 cm (3 ft 0 in to 5 ft 0 in), with an average of 122 cm (48 in). Females are somewhat larger than males. Mean body weight is 1,608 g (3.545 lb) for females and 1,224 g (2.698 lb) for males. Depending on subspecies, maximum weight can reach 2,503 g (5.518 lb). The wing chord length is 297–400 mm (11.7–15.7 in). The wing loading ,
5688-459: Is Ignatio de Cristobal), a competitor of Cortes, briefly allied with an egotistical Andalusian stallion named Pegasus (Pego for short). In the second book, Star Rise , it is referenced that this series takes place long before Guardians of Ga'hoole for there is an oracular barn owl (a species the natives call the omo owl) featured that mentions to Tijo that things called Ga' and Hoole have not happened yet. ( Guardians of Ga'hoole takes place in
5846-570: Is Lyze spelled backward) and has personal relationships with the Rogue Smith of Silverveil. Then, during the time of copper-rose rain (the name for Autumn at the Great Tree), the band sneaks away during a week-long festival to go talk to the Rogue Smith in hopes they will not be noticed missing. When speaking with the Smith, they discover that the famous singer at the Great Tree, Madame Plonk,
6004-404: Is a fantasy book series written by Kathryn Lasky and published by Scholastic . The series contains a total of 16 books and although originally intended to conclude with the 2008 publication of The War of the Ember , a prequel, The Rise of a Legend , was published in 2013. Apart from the main series there are a few more books and spin-offs set in the same universe. The first three books of
6162-516: Is a reincarnation of a heroic grizzly bear named Eo and a female snowy owl gadfeather named Fionula, an old friend of Madame Brunwella Plonk. After a series of bloody battles with Heep, the travelers vanquish the outclanners and reach the Distant Blue, where the weather is fair and wildlife is plentiful. A passing horse welcomes Faolan, the "star wolf," back to the land. This series has a minor connection to Guardians of Ga'Hoole and Wolves of
6320-462: Is a spotted owl named Mist and is practically invisible. At The Great Tree, Dewlap , the burrowing owl Ga'Hoolology ryb declares the topic of Higher Magnetics and the book Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard "spronk", or banned knowledge, although it is crucial for the understanding of flecks and their effect on owls. Soon after, The Chaw of Chaws is contracted to the task of infiltrating
6478-538: Is almost shattered but uses a piece of amber to clean the flecks from her nest. During a battle in a burning forest, Eglantine and Primrose snatch the Sacred Orb, but Eglantine, still in her confused state, falls into a trance and comes dangerously close to being burned alive, accidentally destroying the egg in the process. Eglantine recovers and the Guardians return to the Great Tree. The Guardians seek help from
List of Guardians of Ga'Hoole characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
6636-548: Is in the range of 4 g (0.14 oz) ( shrews ) to 2,300 g (5.1 lb) ( jackrabbits ). A single owl requires about 50 to 100 g (1.8 to 3.5 oz) of food per day and can subsist on 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
6794-583: Is in, and are tracked in the high cloud cover by the band. Tracking the Barn Owl Wensel from the cloud cover, Soren, using his extremely elusive auditory skills as a Barn Owl, then finds out that Wensel was about half a league off from his course, obviously thinking his botkin was the one with the ember. Soren also devises that he is flying towards the entrance of St. Aggies Academy. Wensel, Soren and Gylfie are then cornered by three owls flying straight towards them, sent by Nyra, but two Great Grays fight off
6952-432: 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 key role in controlling a highly destructive pest. Great horned owls living in
7110-442: Is later killed by his eldest mate, who grew tired of his abuse and left his clan to form her own, and Hoole retrieves the Ember of Hoole during a battle which claims the life of Siv. In the present, Coryn and the Band realize that a "rip" in the fabric of the owl universe initially allowed magic to infect the hagsfiends, and it has allowed them to return from presumed extinction. This book tells of Hoole's early days as king. Back in
7268-579: Is later revealed that Soren was pushed by Kludd, who performed the deed (or Tupsi) to become a member of the Pure Ones, an evil organisation which believes Tyto owls to be pure and should be positioned in a place of ascendancy. Soren is then found and snatched by a patrol of the evil owls from the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, or St. Aggie's. Soren and other snatched owlets are enslaved into tasks such as sorting eggs and pellets , for reasons they do not quite understand. Owls at St. Aggie's are "moon-blinked",
7426-638: Is less common in the more extreme areas of the Americas. In the Mojave and Sonora Deserts , they are absent from the heart of the deserts and are only found on the vegetated or rocky fringes. Even in North America, they are rare in landscapes including more than 70% old-growth forest, such as the aspen forest of the Rockies. They have only been recorded a handful of times in true rainforests such as
7584-594: Is no annual migration even at the northern limits of the great horned owl's range. Hunting tends to peak between 8:30 pm and midnight and then can resume from 4:30 am to sunrise. Hunting 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 are building their leaf nests and chuckawallas ( Sauromalus ater ) sunning themselves on desert rocks. Owls hunt mainly by watching from
7742-457: Is not fully understood, but the hypothesis that they serve as a visual cue in territorial and sociosexual interactions with other owls is generally accepted. The great horned owl is the heaviest extant owl in Central and South America and is the second-heaviest owl in North America, after the closely related but very different-looking snowy owl. It is heavily built, with a barrel-shaped body,
7900-486: Is not supported by genetic evidence, which places them in separate clades of their genus. Genetic testing indicates that the lesser horned owl, and then the snowy owl, not the Eurasian eagle-owl, are the most closely related living species. Pleistocene era fossils have been found of Bubo owls in North America, which may either be distinct species or paleosubspecies , from as far east as Georgia , but predominantly in
8058-550: Is performed by males, but females frequently assist their partners in hooting contests with neighbors or intruders, even during incubation. 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
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#17327827855978216-602: Is resonant and has warranted descriptions as varied as "solemn" and "terrifying". The female's call is higher and rises in pitch at the end of the call. Female vocalizations are higher in pitch because of a smaller syrinx in the larger sex. Calling seems to peak after rather than before midnight. Usually, territorial hooting decreases in February or March at the onset of egg laying. On occasion, this species exhibits "an indescribable assemblage of hoots, chuckles, screeches, and squawks, given so rapidly and disconnectedly that
8374-419: Is revealed that Ezylryb was kidnapped. When Ezylryb goes to investigate the area of The Great Downing and doesn't return, the Great Tree is unsettled. After a long while, the band goes to investigate the disappearance and seeks information of what could have happened. Octavia, Ezylryb's personal nest-maid Kielian snake and friend, gives them information that Ezylryb was also the famous warrior, Lyze of Kiel (Ezyl
8532-411: Is revealed that exposure to flecks can confuse an owl into believing fantasies, a condition called "shattering", leading the Band to discover that Ginger has slipped flecks into Eglantine's nest. In the meantime, Nyra has laid her and Kludd's first egg, referred to as 'The Sacred Orb'. Both Eglantine and Primrose, who followed her on one of her "dream" flights, end up in captivity of the Pure Ones. Primrose
8690-477: Is seen on the throat. The white throat may continue as a streak running down the middle of the breast even when the birds are not displaying, which in particularly pale individuals can widen at the belly into a large white area. South American great horned owls typically have a smaller white throat patch, often unseen unless actively displaying, and rarely display the white area on the chest. Individual and regional variations in overall color occur, with birds from
8848-412: Is shocked to find Bell go missing after a weather chawlet practice. Eglantine and Primrose, the aunt and godmother for the three B's, respectively, search for her for many nights, but they are unsuccessful in their search. At the Palace of Mists, Bess is relieved to find the Band there, but she is surprised to find Coryn there too, as she is not fond of much company and enjoys her solitude. For a few nights,
9006-565: Is sometimes attacked as prey by great horned owls, the North American porcupine ( Erethizon dorsatum ), in which average adults range from 4,500 to 9,000 g (9.9 to 19.8 lb). 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 bloodied kill sites. Other rodents recorded as secondary prey in North America include flying squirrels ( Glaucomys ssp.),
9164-581: Is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Streak and Zan) out of the Beyond. The travelers are helped along their way by some common puffins , narwhals, and banded woolly bears across a massive ice bridge over the sea, to a land called the Distant Blue to begin a new life. At the same time, they are being pursued by an evil rout of rogue dire wolves (or outclanners) led by the evil yellow dire wolf Heep. Faolan and Edme also discover that they are reincarnations of two great dire wolves from ancient times, lovers Fengo and Stormfast. Faolan finds that he, alongside Fengo,
9322-468: Is the sister to the Smith and that there is a group of terrible owls known as The Pure Ones led by Metal Beak. Soon later, Eglantine begins remembering where she was at the time she was missing and tells the band that she remembers being in a castle during the imprisonment. Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, Digger, Eglantine, and Otulissa, called the "Chaw of Chaws", go out to find the castle in hopes that Ezylryb's disappearance might be answered. After nearly giving up,
9480-406: Is the way owls fly while making almost no discernable noise, despite their large size. This is made possible thanks to three main components of the owl's wing structure. The leading edge of their feathers have serrations that help to disrupt the turbulence generated by wing flapping, then the softer feathers help deaden the sound, and finally the trailing fringe of the feathers works to finish cutting
9638-475: Is then thrown from a cliff, later being saved by the eagles and switching names to Mist, because the flecks in Ambala make her transparent at old age. Soren and Gylfie also find a partly moon-blinked boreal owl named Grimble and plan to escape with Grimble teaching them how to fly. Grimble is murdered the night Soren and Gylfie escape by St. Aggie's leader Skench the great horned owl and her lieutenant Spoorn
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#17327827855979796-678: Is thrown into a pile of 'bonk' embers kept by Bubo. Otulissa learns from Bess, the Knower, that there is a sixth kingdom in the world of owls. This discovery would mean much to owlkind. She rushes off to tell the Band about this new kingdom, which they come to know that it is known as Jouzhenkyn, or the Middle Kingdom. After they read Bess' letter, they all decide they should tell no one of this discovery yet except Coryn, their king. Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, Digger, and Otulissa, go to Coryn's hollow and tell him of this news. Coryn grows excited when
9954-430: Is typical in most writings. Fifteen subspecies are currently recognised: The great horned owl is generally colored for camouflage. The underparts of the species are usually light with some brown horizontal barring; the upper parts and upper wings are generally a mottled brown usually bearing heavy, complex, darker markings. All subspecies are darkly barred to some extent along the sides. A variable-sized white patch
10112-404: 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 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
10270-854: The Amazon rainforest . In the Appalachian Mountains , they appear to use old-growth forest but in Arkansas are actually often found near temporary agricultural openings in the midst of large areas of woodland. Similarly in south-central Pennsylvania , the owls use cropland and pasture more than deciduous and total forest cover, indicating preference for fragmented landscapes. In prairies, grasslands and deserts, they can successfully live year round as long as there are rocky canyons, steep gullies and/or wooded coulees with shade-giving trees to provide them shelter and nesting sites. In mountainous areas of North America, they are usually absent above
10428-532: 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 0.4 g (0.014 oz) to as much as 6.8 kg (15 lb) Most prey
10586-543: The Rocky Mountains and to the west of them. Almost all fossils indicate these owls were larger than modern great horned owls. A large number of subspecies , more than 20 altogether, have been named. However, many of these are not true subspecies and only examples of individual or clinal variation. Subspecies differences are mainly in color and size and generally follow Gloger's and Bergmann's rules : The most conservative treatments of great horned owl subspecies may describe as few as 10, although an intermediate number
10744-439: The culmen , the exposed bill portion as measured along the top of the beak, is only 2.1 to 3.3 cm (0.83 to 1.30 in). The outer ear openings, which are concealed by feathers on the sides of the head, are relatively smaller than those of the Eurasian eagle owl, being 2.3 cm (0.91 in) in vertical axis, with the left ear slightly larger than the right. Like most exclusively (or near exclusively) nocturnal species,
10902-508: The genus Strix and coined the binomial name Strix virginia . Gmelin based his description on that of English naturalist George Edwards who had described and illustrated the great horned owl in 1747 in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds . Edwards had seen a live specimen from Virginia at the house of the Earl of Burlington in Chiswick . Edwards also owned
11060-416: The giant kangaroo rat ( Dipodomys ingens ) averaging at 152 g (5.4 oz), 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
11218-448: The great grey owl . Great horned owls can apply at least 300 psi (2,100 kPa) of crushing power in their talons, a pressure considerably greater than the human hand is capable of exerting. In some big females, the gripping power of the great horned owl may be comparable to much larger raptor species such as the golden eagle . The hard, inflexible bill of the great horned owl is 3.3–5.2 cm (1.3–2.0 in) long, although
11376-456: 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 and hares , rats and mice , and voles , although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, including rodents and other small mammals, larger mid-sized mammals , birds , reptiles , amphibians , and invertebrates . In ornithological study,
11534-425: The library , where all of the flecks at St. Aggie's are kept. Due to Otulissa's ability to confuse one of the suspected infiltrators, she is brought up to the library to explain what Higher Magnetics is and from that, learns that one of the suspects is actually a double-agent for St. Aggie's. Meanwhile, at the Pure Ones' castle, the Rogue Smith of Silverveil is hired to make battle claws for the Pure Ones' army and from
11692-507: The paraspecies . Overall coloration is similar, but the Magellanic is markedly smaller with smaller feet and a smaller head, with finer, but more numerous brownish bars on the underside, rather than the blotchy, irregular barring typical of great horned owls. Other eagle-owls may superficially be somewhat similar, but the species is generically allopatric with the exception of wintering snowy owls. More tropical species with ear tufts,
11850-776: The stygian owl ( A. stygius ) and striped owl ( A. clamator ), are much smaller. Other large owls lack ear tufts. The breeding habitat of the great horned owl extends high into the subarctic of North America, where they are found up to the northwestern and southern Mackenzie Mountains , Keewatin, Ontario , northern Manitoba , Fort Chimo in Ungava , Okak, Newfoundland and Labrador , Anticosti Island and Prince Edward Island . They are distributed throughout most of North America and very spottily in Central America and then down into South America south to upland regions of Argentina , Bolivia and Peru , before they give way to
12008-479: The subarctic showing a washed-out, light-buff color, while those from the Pacific Coast of North America, Central America, and much of South America can be a dark brownish color overlaid with blackish blotching. The skin of the feet and legs, though almost entirely obscured by feathers, is black. Even tropical great horned owls have feathered legs and feet. The feathers on the feet of the great horned owl are
12166-710: The tree line , but great horned owls can be found up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft) in California and 3,300 m (10,800 ft) in the Rockies. In the Andean Mountains, on the other hand, they have adapted to being a true montane species, often found at least 3,300 m (10,800 ft) above sea level and are regularly recorded in treeless Puna grassland zones at 4,100 to 4,500 m (13,500 to 14,800 ft) in Ecuador and Peru . They are generally rare in non-tidal wetland habitat, and are replaced in
12324-491: The western screech owl . After escaping, they then meet Twilight , an orphan great gray owl who learned his survival instincts from the "Orphan School of Tough Learning", Digger , a burrowing owl , who lost his family to the St. Aggie's marauders and is extremely sensitive and philosophical , and the old Mrs. Plithiver , Soren's former nest-maid western blind snake . With the help of Hortense's two bald eagle friends Streak and Zan , they kill two of St. Aggie's patrols,
12482-690: The 159 g (5.6 oz) 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 and Merriam's kangaroo rats ( Dipodomys ordii & merriami ), both being widespread, numerous and relatively diminutive (at 42 and 48 g (1.5 and 1.7 oz)). Eight known larger species of kangaroo rats, including
12640-671: The Americas, its ability to colonize islands apparently being considerably less than those of barn owls and short-eared owls . Since the division into two species, the great horned owl is the second most widely distributed owl in the Americas, just after the barn owl. The great horned owl is among the world's most adaptable owls or even bird species in terms of habitat. The great horned owl can take up residence in trees that border all manner of deciduous , coniferous , and mixed forests, tropical rainforests , pampas , prairie , mountainous areas, deserts , subarctic tundra , rocky coasts, mangrove swamp forests, and some urban areas . It
12798-550: The Americas, the consensus seems to be that the snowy owl and the great horned owl divided back in Eurasia and the snowy then spread back over the Arctic through northernmost North America separately from the radiation of the greater and lesser horned owls. One older study suggested that great horned and Eurasian eagle-owls may be conspecific, based on similarities in life history, geographic distribution, and appearance, though this
12956-458: The Band and the others get word of the ambush plan, so they learn the way of Danyar, noble gentleness. They ultimately defeat Nyra and the Striga kills by spilling blood, against the way of Danyar, but since he saved Bell, the Guardians are indebted to him, so they take him back to the great tree where the Band and Coryn are welcomed back to the tree as heroes. The Striga, a mysterious blue owl from
13114-472: The Band plus Otulissa and Coryn search the documents for any information for how to get to the Middle Kingdom, and what the place is like, and Otulissa also becomes quite fluent in the native language, Jouzhen. After finding a weather map that shows how to get across the Unnamed Sea (Sea of Vastness), they bid farewell to Bess and take off with very little supplies as a "river of wind" will carry them across
13272-401: The Band tells him that they get to go to the Palace of Mists (Bess' secret location) first, a place very few owls know about, and even fewer have gone there. Soren's elderly nest-maid snake pleads the Band to let her travel with them, and they agree, so The Band, Otulissa, Coryn and Mrs. Plithiver leave the tree without notice to go to the Palace of Mists. While they are gone, Pelli, Soren's mate,
13430-659: The Band to read the Legends hidden in a secret room before dying in his hollow—so as to tie the books together with the main series. The reading of the Legends later becomes important, as they play a crucial part in Soren's mentality in The Golden Tree (the first book released right after the three Legends, which resumes the adventures of Soren and the Band). The three books— The First Collier , The Coming of Hoole , and To Be
13588-546: The Beyond as a standalone prequel and a historical fiction . Set during the Age of Discovery (specifically the early 1520s), it is a trilogy about a group of domestic horses who escape a human Spanish galleon leaving Cuba , led by a young filly named Estrella, who become feral . The herd must fight to stay alive in the new land of North America and seek out a new home of sweet-smelling grass that only Estrella herself can smell, where their ancestors evolutionarily originated,
13746-614: The Burnt River Clan People, a connection is established to the ending of the sixth book in Wolves of the Beyond: Star Wolf , where Faolan, now back in his kind's (the dire wolves ) original homeland, tentatively called the Distant Blue, with his team of fellow dire wolves and other animals, finds a narrow green valley inhabited by American bison and horses. One of these horses, a creamy white individual with
13904-619: The Chaw of Chaws finds a Devil's Triangle , a triangle made up of large caches of magnetic particles, or "flecks", meant to discombobulate an owl's sense of direction and trap Ezylryb inside. The chaw realizes that these caches can be destroyed by fire and destroys the Devil's Triangle. Just as they free Ezylryb, a group of Barn owls , part of the regime The Pure Ones, attacks the Chaw, led by Metal Beak. The chaw picks up branches and sets them alight so that they can fight with fire, and part way through
14062-594: The Grand Patek, worshipping a mighty constructed clock (put together by owls and a few sophisticated bears), known as the Ice Clock, upon a tall glacier, thus they are obsessed with time in a more humanlike sense. This great-sized clock was originally only meant to help predict the second happening of a past glacial-melting event called the Great Melting. With the great mechanism no longer being treated as
14220-544: The Magellanic horned owl, which thence ranges all the way to Tierra del Fuego , the southern tip of the continent. It is absent or rare from southern Guatemala , El Salvador , Nicaragua , and Costa Rica to Panama (where only two records) in Central America and the mangrove forests of northwestern South America. The species is also absent from the West Indies , the Haida Gwaii and almost all off-shore islands in
14378-469: The Middle Kingdom, an escaped dragon owl called Orlando, but he tells Bell to call him Striga and lies about his origins. The Striga is being watched by some Pure Ones, who capture both Bell and Striga and take them to the Desert of Kuneer. There, with the help of a herbalist, they escape to the great tree and tell Doc Finebeak to get ready for an ambush in the Middle Kingdom, led by Nyra. In the Middle Kingdom,
14536-401: The Middle Kingdom, gains control over young Coryn's mind. And then the unthinkable happens. The Band is banished from the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. The Striga institutes a harsh new regime that will not stop until learning itself- the very foundation of the tree- becomes suspect and books are burnt. Somehow the Band must open Coryn's eyes to the Striga's influence. Dumpy, a puffin, discovers Nyra and
14694-576: The Northern Kingdoms, Ezylryb's hatching place, to defeat the Pure Ones once and for all. After brushes with pirate owls and polar bears , and most dangerously Ezylryb's treacherous younger brother Ifghar, the Guardians return to the Southern Kingdoms and Twilight kills Kludd in battle. After Kludd's death, Nyra, blinded by vengeance, raises their only hatchling, Nyroc, to take his place, and brainwashes him to hate Soren, blaming him for Kludd's death. During Nyroc's Final Ceremony, which entails
14852-479: The Owl Kingdoms since his death. It is also revealed that Svarr and Svenka, a clever polar bear from the time of Hoole (featured in The Coming of Hoole and To Be a King ) who knew how to eavesdrop on others by listening through smee holes (natural steam vents ), were Stellan and Jytte's ancestors. A 3D computer-animated film adaptation of the book was released by Warner Bros. in 2010. Zack Snyder directed
15010-518: The Panqua Court would not pay her any heed. Meanwhile, Coryn, back at the tree, dispatches Otulissa and Cleve to the location provided by Dumpy, and Tengshu to the Middle Kingdom to ask the H'ryth for sanctuary to the Ember of Hoole. Otulissa and Cleve find a great massacre undertaken by the Blue Owls working with Nyra and the Striga. Another band of Haggish owls working with the Striga arrive at
15168-557: The St. Aegolious Academy for Orphaned Owls on the speculation that the Pure Ones have infiltrated the academy for its large supply of flecks, and in the same meeting, Ezylryb gives Otulissa Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard . Before alighting from the island, Dewlap finds Otulissa reading Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard and sentences her to the Flint mops, which is the Great Tree's way of punishment. Otulissa goes with
15326-594: The Striga working together in an ice cave to bring back the Hagsfiends. Scared, he tries to inform someone of this conspiracy but cannot, as all the other puffins he knows are as stupid as a rock. He then seeks out a polar bear known as Sveep and blurts out everything he saw. Sveep travels to Namara, the leader of the MacNamara clan of the Wolves of the Beyond, and informs her of what Dumpy had said. Namara then howls to
15484-502: The Whistler, but his superior carving skills set him against Heep, a tailless gnaw wolf with a thirst for power. Faolan eventually earns a place as a Watch wolf of the Ring of Sacred Volcanos, where special dire wolves guard the Ember of Hoole (the sacred coal that determines the ruler of owls), along with Edme. Faolan eventually meets his wolf mother and discovers he has two sisters who were not abandoned, Mhairie and Dearlea. A year later,
15642-561: The ancient wolf is now reincarnated as Faolan. This series is set during a time in the main series of Guardians of Ga'Hoole . Set in a faraway northern Arctic land north of the Northern Owl Kingdoms called the Nunquivik, a mother polar bear named Svenna is forced to leave her two cubs, temporarily named First and Second before they get proper names, to take their place in a twisted cult of polar bears, led by one called
15800-400: The attempt. During a battle with the Pure Ones, Coryn feels a strange power overcome him. At the same moment, the ember's glow dims at the moment Primrose performs the ceremony of removing the ashes, leading to her arrest on a false charge of blasphemy. When the Band return, they are horrified at the display and immediately rip down the trappings (which Gylfie notes look like a church). The ember
15958-490: The battle, Martin, and Ruby , a short-eared owl , arrive. As the battle reaches its end, Metal Beak reveals his identity to the Chaw, now including Martin and Ruby, as being Kludd, Soren's evil brother. Soren, out of desperation, sets Kludd's mask on fire made of Mu metal, a soft metal that negates the magnetic powers of flecks, and he screams off as the metal melts on his face. Ezylryb and the Chaw of Chaws fly home and are met with cheering, and as daylight sets in, Ezylryb writes
16116-862: 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 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
16274-419: The books were not published as a new spin-off series; instead the books were moved to the original Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, with the titles unchanged. They were numbered as books 9, 10, and 11 of the series. The advance copy editions show the subtitle on the covers, although the final editions were not released with this feature. A prologue and an epilogue were added to each book—in which Ezylryb instructs
16432-558: The brown rat. Small rodents form the great majority of great horned owl prey by number. Weighing a mere 14 to 31.5 g (0.49 to 1.11 oz) and 20 to 58 g (0.71 to 2.05 oz) 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
16590-429: The burning of his bones, the smith owl Gwyndor discovers that Nyroc has firesight (the ability to see visions in fire). This gives Nyroc the ability to see who actually killed his father. Despite being their leader's heir, Nyroc has only one real friend: a sooty owl named Dustytuft. However, Nyroc helps him recover his old name, Phillip. During the early parts of the book, Nyroc awaits the tupsi ceremony that will make him
16748-886: The corvids. Typically, great horned owls are highly sedentary, often capable of utilizing a single territory throughout their mature lives. Although some species such 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 16 km (6.2 sq mi) in Yukon to an average of 2.1 km (0.81 sq mi) in Wyoming . Most territorial defense
16906-552: The cousins Jatt and Jutt the long-eared owls , and then the newly-formed band decide to head to the Guardians of Ga'hoole and inform them of the monstrosity of St. Aggie's. The four owls form a band and fly away in search of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, where legend says the great knight-owls live who are dedicated to doing good deeds and eventually find it. Soon after the band arrives at the tree, they begin their training as guardians and soon are proficient in their selected chaws, or classes. They also meet other owls, such as Otulissa ,
17064-415: The effect is both startling and amusing". Descriptions of some of these odd sounds including a growling krrooo-ooo note pair, a laughing whar, whah, wha-a-a-a-ah , a high-pitched ank, ank, ank ; a weak, soft erk, erk , a cat -like meee-owwwwww , a hawk -like note of ke-yah, ke-yah , and a nighthawk -like peent . These vocalizations may be variously uttered when the birds are disturbed and angered at
17222-454: The ember and kill her son. Many of her old enemies return to save Coryn and try to push her into a rabid wolf, but she escapes. The maimed wolves receive their wish of new life, all wishing to remain alive as wolves but with healed bodies. After goodbyes, Coryn flies to the Great Tree to meet his family and be named king. On his deathbed, Ezylryb tells the Band to read the three legends hidden in his hollow. The first of them, this book, follows
17380-460: The ember, receiving a wish of new life after their life of service. Back in Hoole, rumors spread of Nyra's death, which she uses to her advantage and kills the rogue smith of Silverveil, stealing her things and impersonating her, which gains her valuable bargaining chips for one of her plans from a gullible magpie. She then flies to the Beyond to try to recruit owls and dire wolves for her army, striking
17538-411: The film as an animation debut with Jim Sturgess , Geoffrey Rush , Emily Barclay , Helen Mirren , Ryan Kwanten , Anthony LaPaglia , and David Wenham voicing the characters. Great horned owl About 12, see text 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
17696-519: The final battle he will later drop the ember in the Sacred Ring of Volcanoes and fight the Striga and Nyra with Soren at his side. A prequel telling Ezylryb's backstory. In the time of Ezylryb's hatching, the Northern Kingdoms were torn apart by war, which had already killed his older brother and taken one of his mother's eyes. While still young, Lyze becomes jealous of a young snowy owl named Moss, due to him making milestones before Lyze, but attends
17854-566: The first time, a hagsfiend attack forces them to separate, but Hoole realizes Siv is his mother from his firesight. The four travel to Beyond the Beyond, where the disgruntled wolf chieftain Dunleavy MacHeath leaves to betray Hoole to Lord Arrin. Meanwhile, the arch-hagsfiend Kreeth asks Lord Arrin's lieutenants, a hagsfiend named Ygryk and her owl mate Pleek, to find Hoole so she can use him to make hagsfiends immune to saltwater (they have no oil in their feathers to protect them). MacHeath
18012-516: The first time, who convinces him that despite the hardships he will face, he must return to the other wolves and join a clan. Faolan is not well-received, and is often regarded with suspicion and fear because of his bearish ways and an odd marking on his deformed paw, a spiral, that further sets him apart from his fellows. He begins clan life in the lowliest possible position, a gnaw wolf, and is subjected to verbal and physical abuse, along with minimal shares of food. He befriends fellow gnaw wolves Edme and
18170-423: The great horned owl has asymmetrical ear holes that allow for the triangulation of sounds when hunting in the dark. The different-height holes, while still close together, are differentiated enough that the owl is able to use the timing and direction of the sound waves hitting each hole to precisely locate prey even if the prey is located under cover such as snow. The disc-like shape of their faces also helps to direct
18328-508: The great horned owl is often compared to the Eurasian eagle-owl ( Bubo bubo ), a closely related species, which occupies the same ecological niche in Eurasia despite its notably larger size. The great horned owl is also compared to the red-tailed hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ), with which it often shares similar habitat, prey, and nesting habits by day; thus the red-tailed hawk is something of
18486-593: 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 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
18644-500: The ground, and using a special launcher to shoot burning metal spikes, though they abandon this last idea when they accidentally shoot a snow leopard. The war is hard-won, with Lil's death and Lyze breaking one of his talons, which leads to him biting it off, and one eye damaged so that it squints, leading to his distinctive appearance in the earlier books. The legends are a part of the Band's experiences. A spin-off series of three books were planned, titled Legends of Ga’Hoole . However,
18802-519: The group, which includes Tarn, a Burrowing Owl working for the Pure Ones. In the Middle Kingdom, an alert page discovers a chamber littered with plucked feathers of the Blue Owls and realises that some owls of the Panqua Palace are defecting from the Middle Kingdom, learning to fly by plucking their extremely long tail-feathers. She reports this to the H'ryth on the Mountain of Time, knowing that
18960-413: The hidden scholarly retreat. Bess attends to him. The owl whispers that he has been poisoned and that he wants to be sung to Glaumora. Without questioning him, she sings to him, then retreats to the maparium to sleep. Just as she is about to doze off, she hears a loud bang and peers out to see the supposedly 'dying' owl, now wearing deadly battle claws, obviously searching for the hidden Ember of Hoole. Bess,
19118-707: The high Arctic tundra by snowy owls. They prefer areas where open habitats, which they often hunt in, and woods, where they tend to roost and nest, are juxtaposed. Thus lightly populated rural regions can be ideal. This species can occasionally be found in urban or suburban areas. However, they seem to prefer areas with less human activity and are most likely to be found in park-like settings in such developed areas, unlike eastern and western screech owls ( Megascops asio & M. kennicottii ) which may regularly occur in busy suburban settings. All mated great horned owls are permanent residents of their territories, but unmated and younger birds move freely in search of company and
19276-442: The information blabbed out by one of their generals , she learns that the Pure Ones are planning to launch an attack on the Great Tree and goes to tell Mist. At St. Aggie's, The Chaw of Chaws devise a plan to make the workers and the spies doubt each other to make them fight. During the commotion, Soren is struck in the rear, damaging his rudder feathers and on the way back to the Great Tree, he became gravely ill. As Soren nears death,
19434-547: 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 from establishing a territory live a silent existence as "floaters". Radio-telemetry revealed that such floaters concentrate along boundaries of established territories. At Kluane Lake in Yukon , incursions into neighboring territories were observed only twice—by females when
19592-407: 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 presumably several more unknown from their relatively little-studied populations in
19750-428: The largest eyes of all terrestrial vertebrates. The great horned owl has cylindrical eyes which creates more distance from the lens of the eye to the retina, which allows it to act more like a telephoto lens for farther distance sight compared to that possible from round eyes. They are visually highly adapted for nocturnal hunting and provide a wide, almost completely binocular field of view, a large corneal surface and
19908-416: The measured wing area compared to weight, is high, meaning the wings are relatively small in surface area for the bird's weight; the species' wing loading has been described as proportionately the highest among raptors. The tail , being relatively short as is typical of most owls, is 175 to 252 mm (6.9 to 9.9 in) long. Like other owl species, the great horned owl is capable of "silent flight", which
20066-425: The morning or in the late afternoon and approximately 35 species have been successfully predated by these owls. In general larger sized than other rodent families, the species hunting range from the 62 g (2.2 oz) gray-collared chipmunk ( Tamias cinereicollis ) to the 5,775 g (12.732 lb) hoary marmot ( Marmota caligata ); thus, squirrels can provide a very fulfilling meal. An even larger rodent
20224-1124: The nest (frequently preceding an attack on an interloping human or other animal), represent the vocal development of young owls, or are given during courtship and during territorial disputes with other owls. Young owls still in the care of their parents make loud, persistent hissing or loud, piercing screeching sounds that are often confused with the calls of the barn owl. Common/eastern great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus virginianus ) South American great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus nacurutu ) Northern/sub-Arctic great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus subarcticus ) California great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus pacificus ) Coastal great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus saturatus ) North Andean great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus nigrescens ) Desert great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus pallescens ) Yucatán great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus mayensis ) Baja California great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus elachistus ) Northeastern great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus heterocnemis ) Rocky Mountains great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus pinorum ) The combination of
20382-417: The new king. He then leaves to Beyond the Beyond to learn about teaching the young Coryn, and learns about the dire wolves . After one wolf hunt, he eats at the carcass with a grizzly bear and allows the wolves to join only if they send the deformed wolf Hamish to eat first. He and Hamish become friends and he learns about the order of wolves that guard the Ember of Hoole and how only deformed wolves can guard
20540-439: The new name Coryn. On his way to Hoole he hears that a burrowing owl family has had their egg stolen by the Pure Ones and is determined to return the egg to them. Disguising himself as his mother's scroom, he rescues the egg and returns it to the family, in return they name the hatchling after Coryn. He then believes that with his firesight and the returned hatchling that he is to be the teacher of young Coryn, who he believes will be
20698-665: The northern weighs from 90 to 120 g (3.2 to 4.2 oz), other pocket gophers hunted average from 95 to 545 g (0.209 to 1.202 lb) in mass. From Washington to Baja California 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 22 g (0.78 oz), other hunted pocket mice (which may include both Perognathus and Chaetodipus ssp.) can average nearly as light as 8 g (0.28 oz). In East Texas ,
20856-472: The other books, following the story of Hoole , the first king of the Ga'Hoole Tree. Soren, a Barn Owl, or a Tyto Alba, lives in a nest in a hollow of a fir tree with his parents Noctus and Marella and siblings Kludd and Eglantine , who is newly hatched, in a forest kingdom called Tyto. Soren falls out of the nest and onto the bottom of the forest, a dangerous place for an owlet, an easy prey for raccoons . It
21014-595: The other clans about the grave danger, and all the wolf clans of the Beyond participate to relay this message to the rest of the kingdoms. Gwyndor, father of the Rogue Smith Gwynneth and one himself, hears the relay and flies to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree to inform them of this imminent danger to the Hoolian world. Meanwhile, in the Palace of the Mists, Bess is about to sleep when a dying Boreal Owl comes flying to
21172-446: The place his firesight visions showed him: Beyond the Beyond. Nyroc casts off his old name and his old life, vowing to use his free will despite his father's scroom telling him otherwise. He is then found and brought to Mist, the old seeing owl once known as Hortense. From her, he learns to read and write and is told the stories of Hoole and the wolves of the Beyond, and even renames himself by turning his old name backward, giving himself
21330-646: The point, and with Otulissa no match for them, Cleve surprisingly reveals his Danyar learning and immediately kills the Hagsfiend-like owls. Coryn and nest-maid Olivia travel to the Northern Kingdom to recruit other animals. The H'ryth, however, does not allow the ember to be kept in the Middle Kingdoms as he believes it will deceive Theo's teachings. Coryn decides to use the ember as bait for the Pure Ones and lure them to they beyond, where in
21488-492: The present, once the Ember of Hoole has been placed in the Tree, the Tree falls under a perpetual spell of golden-ness (which normally only happens in summer). The owls fall into a much more insidious fascination with the Ember and begin to worship it (to the chagrin of sensible owls like Otulissa and Bubo, the tree's blacksmith), constantly making up more and more ridiculous rituals for its adoration (such as flying around it and dipping their wingtips in its ashes). This culminates in
21646-435: The punishment but eventually flies away to join the Chaw and as a result, Dewlap, "out of futile desperation", flings the book into the sea. Upon reaching St. Aggies, they are put through moon-blinking sessions, but each of the owls has memorized a part of the Ga'Hoolian cycle, such as the fire cycle, the war cycle, and the star cycle, in order to resist. Not long after their arrival, they discover barn owls sneaking flecks out of
21804-413: The purity of Tyto". Among these downed owlets, later called "The Great Downing", is Eglantine, Soren's lost sister. When she and the others regain full consciousness, they have no memory of what had happened, where they were from and why they were in the literal middle of nowhere. At the end of the book, Soren, along with his friends and his chaw, help fight a mysterious forest fire. After they put it out, it
21962-438: The renowned rogue smith Gwyndor (an Australian masked owl ), as a main character, as well as Hamish, friend of King Coryn, clan leader Duncan MacDuncan of the dire wolves , and Soren. Legends and series history are frequently mentioned, including the stories of the ending battle of the first series, Guardians of Ga'hoole . This sequel of Guardians of Ga'hoole tells the story of Faolan, a dire wolf abandoned at birth because of
22120-518: The same location where the prey was consumed. Great horned owl pellets are dark gray or brown in color and very large, 7.6 to 10.2 cm (3.0 to 4.0 in) long and 3.8 cm (1.5 in) thick, and have been known to contain skulls up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in width inside them. However, not all prey can be swallowed at once, and owls will also fly with prey 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
22278-437: The same time, the Grand Patek (the leader of the clock-worshipping bears) devises a master plan to even enslave the lands beyond the Nunquivik, even the Northern Owl Kingdoms. Svenna and Svern were both originally born and raised in the Northern Owl Kingdoms and thus know how to read and write. At one point in the first book it is revealed that Svenna knows the deceased Lyze of Kiel, or Ezylryb, and wonders what has happened back in
22436-435: The second-longest known in any owl (after the snowy owl ). The bill is dark gunmetal-gray, as are the talons. All great horned owls have a facial disc . This can be reddish, brown, or gray in color (depending on geographical and racial variation) and is demarked by a dark rim culminating in bold, blackish side brackets. This species' eyebrow-like "horns" are tufts of feathers , called plumicorns. The purpose of plumicorns
22594-410: The series and has no relation to the Legends. Two guidebooks were released to give readers more insight into the world of Hoole. They are narrated by Otulissa. Wolves of the Beyond is a spin-off series that tells the story of the "dire wolf" Faolan, his life and events in and around the territory known as the Beyond. Some returning characters from the original series include Gwynneth, the daughter of
22752-561: The series were adapted into the 2010 animated 3D film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole , directed by Zack Snyder . This series follows the adventures of Soren , a young barn owl , for the first six books, but follows Nyroc , Soren's nephew, later renamed Coryn , for books seven through eight, and twelve through fifteen are books describing the Reign of King Coryn. Books nine through eleven are half-prequels to
22910-507: The service of the Watch Wolves, whose natural deformities are miraculously healed. Guided by the presence of a spirit connected to his spiral mark, Faolan leads his friends Edme, the Whistler, two grizzly bear brother cubs named Toby and Burney, a mother wolf named Caila and her pup Abban, an abandoned wolf pup named Myrrglosch, former Watch wolf Banja and her new pup Maudie, and two mated bald eagles named Eelon and Zanouche (the latter
23068-559: The sounds made by flight. The structure of the great horned owl wing also allows it to fly at a very low speed for the size of the species, as slow as 2 miles per hour when they are gliding on breezes. The legs, feet, and talons are large and powerful. Tarsal length is 54–80 mm (2.1–3.1 in). The average foot span of a fully spread foot, from talon to talon, is around 20 cm (7.9 in), as compared to 8 cm (3.1 in) in long-eared owls , 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) in barn owls , and 18 cm (7.1 in) in
23226-450: The sounds they hear toward their ears. While the true nature/purpose of the ear tufts that are present on the great horned owl is unknown, researchers agree that the tufts do not play any role in the hearing ability of the owl. It is estimated that their hearing is up to ten times that of a human being. The great horned owl's eyes, just slightly smaller than the eyes of a human being , are large even for an owl and rank proportionately among
23384-773: The southern part of the continent - finding Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Peninsula , Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico (witnessing La Noche Triste ), the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests of migrating monarch butterflies , and even abandoned Puebloan cliff dwellings . They become known as the First Herd. They are later joined by an orphaned 12-year-old Native American human boy named Tijo (who learns how to speak to equines ), some escaped mules and donkeys ,
23542-417: The species' bulk, prominent ear tufts and barred plumage distinguishes it through much of the range, but it may be easily confused with the lesser horned owl ( B. magellanicus ), which may overlap in range. The Magellanic horned owl was once considered a subspecies of the great horned, but is now almost universally considered a distinct species, as is supported by genetic materials, with the great horned being
23700-517: The story of Grank the First Collier, how he met Fengo, and how he found the Ember of Hoole. At first, the ember puts Grank into such a deep trance that after receiving visions of Hoole's parents, King H'rath and Queen Siv, in danger from Lord Arrin, a traitorous owl seeking to steal their egg and raise their hatchling, he does not go to help. Fengo breaks the trance and sends Grank to help them. Siv and Myrrthe, her faithful servant, seek shelter at
23858-466: The tall-thin position. Outside of the nesting season, great horned owls may roost wherever their foraging path ends at dawn. Generally great horned owls are active at night, although in some areas they may be active in the late afternoon or early morning. At dusk, the owl utters a few calls before flying to a more open sing-post, i.e. large bare branch or large rocks to deliver song. Normally several perches are used to mark occupied territory or to attract
24016-410: The thousands. The story tells of Kludd's initiation into the Pure Ones, as it is learned that he maimed a Non-Tyto, killed a nest maid snake and attempted to kill his younger brother by pushing him out of the nest. At the Great Tree, Ezylryb gives a speech, and the tree gets prep on the Pure Ones. The situation at the Great Tree has become ever more complicated. Ginger, a reddish barn owl taken in during
24174-644: 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
24332-408: The tomorrow line. Along the way, they find frightening carcasses of dead birds caught in tornadoes which remind them to be cautious. When they find a qui line, a piece of red ribbon, they follow it and the night suddenly becomes the morning. They swiftly make their way to the Middle Kingdom, where a blue Long-eared owl named Tengshu greets them. Meanwhile, Bell is being tended to by another blue owl from
24490-415: The true purpose behind St. Aggie's and to escape. Gylfie suspects that a spotted owl named Hortense is not moon-blinked. Soren and Gylfie then befriend her, and find out that Hortense is sneaking out eggs stolen by the owls of St. Aggie's and is returning them back to their parents with the help of two eagles , Zan and Streak. Hortense's intention is then discovered by the owls of St. Aggie's, and Hortense
24648-468: The wing, they also sometimes hunt by flying low over openings on the ground, scanning below for prey activity. Great horned owls can fly at speeds of more than 65 km/h (40 mph) 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) has been described, especially in windy areas. On occasion owls may actually walk on
24806-507: The year. Typically, males have a favorite roosting site not far from the nest, sometimes used over successive years. While roosting, great horned owls may rest in the "tall-thin" position, where they sit as erect and hold themselves as slim as is possible. The kind of posture is well known as a further method of camouflage for other owls, like long-eared owls or great grey owls, especially if humans or other potential mammalian carnivores approach them. The Eurasian eagle owl rarely, if ever, assumes
24964-470: Was a close childhood friend of Grank's. Hoole also works to stop the tyranny of these demonic birds of prey called Hagsfiends (resembling a haggish-looking cross between owls and crows ). It is possible that the Legends of Ga'Hoole served as inspiration for the title of the movie adaptation Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole , although the movie loosely covered only the first three books of
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