FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Great Horned Owl (Greene Co., TN)

["Donald Miller" <pandion@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

January 2, 2007

Greene County

Between 7:00 and 8:00 this evening, I heard a Great Horned Owl calling at 
Tusculum College.  GHOW has been known to nest on campus for over a decade, so 
I wasn't surprised to hear an owl calling, but I was surprised by this 
particular call--one of the infrequently heard screams that the species gives.  
 The call was somewhat nasal, more so than some of the GHOW screams I've heard 
before.  (It was not comparable to any Barn Owl call that I've ever heard, 
though, and I'm quite confident that the sound was not made by a member of this 
species.  Both my own experience and the literature I've consulted bear out 
this conclusion.)  Considerable variation has been documented in the scream 
calls of GHOW, so the call I heard is probably within the range of expectable 
occurrences.  

Some sources suggest that these scream calls tend to be given by juveniles or 
immatures.  If this is the case, then the possibility of a young GHOW in early 
January is more intriguing.  The species nests very early, around this time of 
year or a little later, so last year's young should be well past the juvenile 
stage now.  Perhaps calls associated with the juvenile stage tend to persist in 
somewhat older birds.  

I would appreciate feedback on this.  Any thoughts?     

Don Miller
Greeneville, Greene Co., TN

pandion@xxxxxxxxxxxxx