Expert: Julia Booth - 11/1/2010

Question
Saw your recent answer about an LA owl. I have two who frequently my
home in Benedict Canyon. Tonight one has sat on my house, hooting for
over 40 mins. The hoots are really low and soft sounding but certainly
carry throughout the house.  After about 10 mins there were return calls.  
The owl has tufted ears, and what appears to be a white collar. The owl's
chest has spots of white. Is this a Western Screech?  Because the photos
I've seen online don't really look like what I can see here. The owl looks
more like a horned owl. Is that possible or am I just seeing a variation of
the screech?  The time was 9:15 until 10:00 pm.  The owl sat on the
corner of my house roof.  The owl was 12-15 inches tall.  Thank you!

Answer
That is way too large to be a screech. They don't usually exceed nine inches and they tend to be quite loud.

The only other owl found in LA that has prominent ear tufts would be the long-eared owl. But based on what you told me here, I don't think that's what you saw.

The white collar you mentioned is actually a field mark, indicative of the great horned owl.

The sounds and behavior you've described here are typical of horned owls. It is about the right time of the year for owls to start mating. Horned owls will serenade one another for hours (and I do mean HOURS) as a part of their courting ritual. They typically do this during the very time slot that you mentioned.

They also use these calls to defend their territory and warn nearby fauna that the space they are currently occupying is already spoken for.

As for the size, 12-15 inches is too small to be a horned owl. My explanation for that would be that you probably misjudged the size of these birds, as a result of the distance that was between you. Just so you know, this is a common mistake that even seasoned birders will sometimes make.

Hope this helps you,

Julia