The Story
This Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) was at Hato Mata de Palma in Casanare, Colombia when I photographed it. The Great Horned Owl is an extremely adaptable bird and the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. It hunts mainly rabbits, hares, rats, mice and voles, along with birds, reptiles and amphibians. Hato Mata de Palma is one of three ranches, with Altamira and Montana, that make up El Encanto de Guanapalo, a reserve of almost 9,000 hectares of flooded savanna and gallery forest in San Luis de Palenque. IUCN lists the Great Horned Owl as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. The families who run its ranches work to keep the savanna from being cleared, burned or plowed, and to keep llanero culture alive for the next generation.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) belongs to the family Strigidae (Owls) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List