Any of various owls with characteristic ear tufts that resemble horns. Any owl of the genus Bubo (family Strigidae), with hornlike tufts of feathers, especially the great horned owl. Other horned owls, all birds of prey, are found in Europe, Asia, and northern Africa (the eagle owl, or Eurasian eagle owl) and in Africa, India, Myanmar (Burma), and the Indonesian archipelago. They typically prey on rodents
A large North American owl (Bubo virginianus) having prominent ear tufts and brownish plumage with a white throat. Horned owl species (Bubo virginianus) that ranges from Arctic tree limits south to the Strait of Magellan. A powerful, mottled-brown predator, it is often more than 2 ft (60 cm) long, with a wingspan often approaching 80 in. (200 cm). It usually eats small rodents and birds, but has been known to carry off larger prey. Adapted to desert and forest, the species migrates only when food is scarce