Owl large-duke

The owl large-duke also called large-duke of Europe is one of the night raptors most powerful of Europe.

Description

With his 70 cm in height, the large-duke is tallest of the night raptors of Europe : he makes the double of his congeneric Hibou means-duke. Qualified aristocratic , its silhouette is massive, Its head, pricked of 2 large orange red eyes is surmounted brushes of 8 cm approx. (normally horizontal and folded up a little backwards), whether the bird draws up vertically if it excited or is disturbed. Let us recall that these brushes do not play any part in hearing.

Mimetic with the branches, its plumage is brown-reddish top, stained and striped brown black. The lower part is clearer, fawn-coloured with longitudinal scratches and transverse stripes of color brown dark.
Weights and measures:

Weight: 2 to 2,5 kg for the male, and 2,5 to 3,3 kg for the femelle ;
Length: 65 to 70 cm;
Scale: 160 to 180 cm.

Voice: a “bouhou” or one “ouhouhou-or-ouhouhouhouhou” (from where its Latin name, Bubo bubo ) audible by far, like all kinds of other noises.
Longevity: more than 20 years in freedom.

Manners

Food, its food is varied: rodents, rabbits, hares, hedgehogs, birds (marine corbels, pigeons, partridges, birds…, and even of other diurnal and night raptors). With this intention he does not hesitate the night fallen to traverse hundred miles: from where the expression “to make the round of the large dukes” generally applied to merry night birds.

Ball of rejection: 10 cm length.

Habitat: spread in all the Europe apart from the part more occidentale ; in France, rock zones of the east, center and south. One meets it as well in the plains as in the mountains. He likes particularly the cliff S, close to the water levels.

Very discrete, it is installed on rock cornices, the ramparts of an old castle or to same the ground, sometimes in the areas of north, a hole of tree but without any doubt, its preference goes to large cliffs close to a water level.

Reproduction: at the end of March, at the beginning of April, it builds a nest simply furnished with remainders of hairs or feathers torn off with its preys.

the female lays there 2 to 4 eggs which it only broods during 32 to 37 days, while the male brings food to him. Once hatched, the small ones are protected by the mother from the bad weather, of the sun. One month and half later approximately, the small ones leave the nest but remain in the vicinity. In three months, they can fly perfectly.

Egg: 51 to 73 X 42 to 54 mm

Threats

In Europe he was pursued a long time like bird of ill omen or because one believed to protect oneself by nailing it on the doors from barns, before one realizes his great ecological and agronomic utility and that he is protected by the law. The causes of its disappearance are the retreat, degradation or the ecological Fragmentation of its habitat, the agricultural Pesticide S, the poisons used against the rodents (Bromadiolone in particular), and the Roadkill and the luminous Pollution because it is very sensitive to the dazzling of the headlights of cars.

It seems, like other raptors capacity being vulnerable to the virus highly pathogenic H5N1 of the Avian flu.

See too

Large-duke (title)
Owl small-duke
Owl means-duke

Taxonomic references

External bonds

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