Long-eared Owls are lanky owls that often seem to wear a surprised expression thanks to long ear tufts that typically point straight up like exclamation marks. (I called him the rabbit owl while drawing his surprised expression). These nocturnal hunters are secretive and well-camouflaged, roosting and perching in dense stands of trees. This is another owl with asymmetrical ear cavities, allowing for precise location and capture of prey. Similar to other owls, they forage over grasslands for small mammals.

Like other owls, the Long-eared has a body adapted for silent flight and precision hunting. Flight feathers with fringed edges and downy surfaces mute the sound of the owl’s passage through the air. They eat mostly small mammals, including voles, many kinds of mice, kangaroo rats, shrews, pocket gophers, and young rats or rabbits. They hunt over open ground or below the canopy in sparsely forested areas.