---
title: "What the sources say about the Great Horned Owl | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "6 claims from the Great Horned Owl profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/great-horned-owl-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/great-horned-owl/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Great Horned Owl (*Bubo virginianus*)

> 6 claims from the Great Horned Owl profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Great Horned Owl](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/great-horned-owl/)

## Artuso et al. (2020). Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). Birds of the World.

https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.grhowl.01

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Talons that take a force of 13 kg to open, strong enough to sever the spinal column of prey larger than itself. | Its strong talons, which take a force of 13 kg to open, allow it to sever the spinal column of prey even larger than itself. (note: stats.superpower, settled in #241. Replaces the unsourced '300+ PSI talons capable of severing the spine of large prey', a grip figure that was the only support for the super-bite-force tag. The 'zero sense of smell' clause had no cached source and was cut.) |
| Its talons take a force of 13 kg to open, and can sever the spinal column of prey larger than itself. | Its strong talons, which take a force of 13 kg to open, allow it to sever the spinal column of prey even larger than itself. (note: Fun Facts; replaces 'over 300 pounds per square inch of crushing force' (#241)) |
| exceptionally soft feathers insulate it and allow for silent flight | Its feathers are exceptionally soft, providing superb insulation and allowing for silent flight. (note: vibe.reason (women artists)) |
| its talons take a force of 13 kg to open | Its strong talons, which take a force of 13 kg to open (note: vibe.reason (women artists)) |

## Great Horned Owl. Hinterland Who's Who, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Canadian Wildlife Federation, 1991.

https://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/birds/great-horned-owl.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It defends its nest hard: many bird banders have had clothing torn or suffered severe lacerations, so biologists working at a nest wear heavy jackets and industrial hard hats. | Bird banders often witness the aggressiveness of these owls in defending their nests. Indeed, many have had clothing torn or suffered severe lacerations during repeated attacks. So risky is it to work with these birds under such circumstances that biologists wear heavy jackets and industrial hard hats for protection. (note: Fun Facts; the sentence stats.dangerLevel: High rests on (#241). The HWW text is Crown copyright 1977, 1991: old, but nest-defence behaviour is not a figure that dates.) |

## Living with wildlife: Owls. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/owls

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Attacks on people are generally rare, though, and an owl may hoot repeatedly first to warn a person away. | Owl attacks are generally rare, and the birds may hoot repeatedly before an attack to warn a person away from their territory or nesting area. (note: Fun Facts; the provoked half of stats.dangerLevel: High, so the page says what the tier rests on (#241)) |