The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) is a master of the night, its haunting hoots echoing across New Mexico’s deserts, forests, and urban edges. With their piercing yellow eyes, formidable talons, and distinctive ear tufts, these raptors are both revered and feared—a symbol of wisdom in folklore and a relentless predator in reality.
Breeding and Behavior
Great Horned Owls are among the earliest breeders in North America, often claiming nests as early as December or January. They don’t build their own nests but instead repurpose abandoned hawk, crow, or squirrel nests—or even crevices in cliffs and buildings. Their adaptability extends to their diet, which includes rabbits, rodents, skunks, birds, and even other owls. Their silent flight, thanks to extremely soft feathers, allows them to ambush prey with deadly precision and their relatively short 5-foot wingspan helps them navigate densely wooded forests.
If you’re caught in their razor sharp talons, good luck escaping! Great Horned Owls have a grip strength of 500 psi. This dwarfs the highest recorded grip strength in humans, about 100 psi, and even eclipses the Bald Eagle’s grip of 400 psi. Their talons lock in like a ratchet, allowing them to swoop up prey larger than they are. Even though the greatest of the Great Horned Owls weigh in at just 4 pounds, their talons allow them to carry prey two to three times their body weight. In the air, they will keep steady with slow, deep wing beats and dangle their prey vertically to reduce wind resistance. This dangling trick also lets them shift their center of gravity, using their prey like a pendulum. In New Mexico, Great Horned Owls have been known to cart off jack rabbits, skunks, and porcupines.
These owls are fiercely territorial, with pairs maintaining their domain year-round. Their deep, resonant hoots—“hoo-hoo-hoo, hoo hoo”—serve as both a mating call and a warning to rivals. Despite their solitary nature, owl parents are devoted caregivers: the female incubates the eggs while the male hunts, and both raise their fledglings for months before the young owls strike out on their own.
Scientific Insights
Recent studies have shed light on the Great Horned Owl’s remarkable adaptability. A 2022 study published in the journal The Auk: Ornithological Advances, found that urban-dwelling owls exhibit higher stress hormone levels than their rural counterparts, yet they thrive by exploiting human-altered landscapes. Their ability to hunt in fragmented habitats makes them a keystone species for studying urban wildlife resilience.
Another study, conducted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2023, explored owls’ roles in controlling rodent populations. By analyzing pellet remains, researchers confirmed that a single owl can consume over 1,000 rodents annually—a boon for farmers and ecosystems alike.
Great Horned Owls in New Mexico
Among New Mexico’s Pueblo tribes and the Diné (Navajo), Great Horned Owls hold deep spiritual meaning. Many Pueblo peoples view owls as messengers between worlds. The Zuni associate them with the underworld and consider their calls to be omens. Some Pueblo stories describe owls as guardians of sacred knowledge or enforcers of ceremonial secrecy. In Diné culture, owls are often linked to warnings and the supernatural. Their nighttime calls are sometimes interpreted as signs of impending misfortune, yet their feathers are carefully used in certain healing rituals.
In New Mexico, these owls are a constant presence, from the cottonwood groves along the Rio Grande to the ponderosa pine forests of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. They’re particularly abundant in the Orilla Verde area, where their hoots mingle with the calls of Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks. Birders in the Enchanted Circle might spot them perched atop fence posts or gliding through moonlit meadows. If you hang around empty fields around dusk, keep an open ear for their screeching: a sign that an owl is struggling with carrying their load.
Despite their adaptability, Great Horned Owls face threats from rodenticides, vehicle collisions, and habitat loss. Organizations like Audubon Southwest advocate for “owl-friendly” practices, such as reducing pesticide use, preserving old-growth trees for nesting, and limiting outdoor light use at night.
A Legacy of Shadows and Light
From ancient Puebloan legends to modern scientific fascination, the Great Horned Owl embodies the wild spirit of the southwest. Their eerie calls remind us that even in the quietest hours, nature’s drama unfolds—a testament to survival, stealth, and the enduring mystery of the night.
Listen for them after dusk. You may not see them, but they’re watching you.
