Female Great Horned Owl Spreads Wings Wide In Threatening Display – Feb. 22, 2022

In a striking display, the female Great Horned Owl covers up her nestling and exhibits a defensive, threatening posture as a warning to an encroaching passerby. Great Horned Owls respond to intruders and other threats with bill-clapping, hisses, screams, and guttural noises, eventually spreading their wings and striking with their feet if the threat escalates. That’s one protective mama! For those wondering about the female’s different-sized pupils, it’s thought that the bird may have had some previous trauma to the left eye (before the current breeding season). We reached out to Cornell wildlife veterinarians at the beginning of the breeding season, and they noted that since it looks clear and comfortable, it is likely inactive and probably no longer a concern. It is thought that nocturnal owls can function just fine in the wild with only one good eye, since they rely primarily on their hearing to find prey in the dark, and there is ongoing research to understand how eye injuries might