Great Horned Owl and Raven
Owls, like this Great Horned Owl, do not construct their own nests, but use natural cavities, rock ledges or nests from other birds such as Common Ravens which they usurp for their own. Female owls are larger than their male counterparts, which is true of all raptors, and will solely incubate the eggs while the male does the hunting until the chicks are old enough (feathered and fledged) to be left alone. Great Horned Owls can be found from the tip of South America all the way north to the Arctic Circle and color variation is correlated with prevailing regional humidity where the darkest populations occur in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Photo by Russell Namitz, BLM