The Great Horned Owl (GHO) is a large, powerful raptor found across the Americas and is one of the most widespread avian predators. This adaptable hunter consumes nearly any small-to-medium-sized animal it can overpower. Squirrels are a frequent and regular food source for the Great Horned Owl. Its broad distribution allows it to regularly take various prey, making the squirrel a common target in its nightly foraging.
Squirrels as a Primary Food Source
Squirrels, including both tree and ground species, often constitute a significant portion of the Great Horned Owl’s localized diet. These small mammals provide a dense source of protein and fat, offering high nutritional value that is particularly important during the winter months or nesting season. Squirrel remains are commonly observed in the regurgitated pellets that owls produce after a meal, indicating their consistent inclusion in the diet.
Most squirrel species are active during the day, but the Great Horned Owl primarily hunts at night, including the crepuscular periods of dusk and dawn. This timing allows the owl to target squirrels as they settle into their nests or begin to stir in the early morning. Owls may also ambush squirrels by extracting them from sleeping cavities or nests, where the squirrel’s diurnal habit offers no defense.
Nocturnal Hunting Tactics
The Great Horned Owl is an efficient hunter due to physical adaptations that enable stealth in darkness. Its silent flight is attributed to specialized feather structures, including a comb-like fringe of stiff, serrated feathers along the wing’s leading edge. These serrations disrupt the turbulent air that produces noise, allowing the owl to glide silently toward its target.
The owl’s facial disc funnels faint sounds to its highly acute and often asymmetrically placed ears, allowing for precise auditory triangulation of prey location. Once a target is identified, the GHO executes a swift ambush from a high perch, capturing the prey with its curved talons. The grip strength of these talons delivers a crushing force, measured at approximately 200 to 300 pounds per square inch, which is often enough to subdue a squirrel instantly upon impact.
The Apex Predator’s Diverse Diet
Squirrels represent one component of the Great Horned Owl’s diverse menu, which is considered the most varied of any raptor in the Americas. This owl is an opportunistic and generalized predator, consuming nearly any living creature it can catch that is not a large mammal. Its wide-ranging diet allows it to thrive across various habitats, including dense forests, deserts, and suburban areas.
Other common prey items include rabbits, hares, rats, mice, and voles, which form the staples of the diet in many regions. The Great Horned Owl also preys on other birds, taking species up to the size of geese, ducks, and even other raptors. The GHO is notably one of the few regular predators of skunks, demonstrating indifference to the mammal’s chemical defense, likely due to a poor sense of smell.