General Description: Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) are large, streaked-and-mottled brownish owls with long ear tufts, an orange facial disk, and a white V between eyes. The mottling on the breast reaches all the way to the chin (contrast with white chin on Great Horned Owls).

Taxonomy: Strigiformes, Strigidae.

Favored Habitat: These owls breed in northern forests where they nest in dense trees and hunt at night in open areas. During winter, they migrate south, and a few spend the winter in the Mojave Desert.

Where to Find: Around Las Vegas, don't look for Long-eared Owls; however, during winter keep an eye out in trees in the desert. Spring Mountain Ranch and Corn Creek, and upper Grapevine Canyon are places to consider. This species sometimes nests at Corn Creek.

Comments: Owls are hard to find, but listen for them at night. The main call of male Long-eared Owls is a low-pitched, even "hooo" or "hoot," repeated every 2-4 seconds and sometimes carried on for a long time, although this might just be a breeding call.