Great Horned Owl Egg
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Great horned owl egg. In some cases however an egg may not hatch because it wasn t fertilized or because the embryo didn t develop properly. A female great horned owl is incubating two eggs. Great horned owls typically lay an egg every couple days until their clutch is complete. A light snow falls on her back as her mate roosts unseen in a nearby conifer.
Since december this pair has been hooting back and forth regularly at night. Prominent among the great horned owl predators are medium sized to large land mammals including coyotes feral cats bobcat virginia opossum foxes and foxes. The eggs laid first have a head start and hatch sooner than the ones laid last. For owls as with other birds the period during which nesting and rearing young occurs is the most important part of the annual cycle.
All these predators will steal eggs from the great horned owl s nest and occasionally baby owls too. The time when the eggs are laid by the female great horned owls vary from region to region. For instance the females will lay eggs anywhere between late november and early january in southern florida. Atop the nest sits a large dark shape its broad head sporting two ear like tufts suggesting a cat s ears.