Montecasino - Bird Show - Part 4

So many of these owl shots came out nice that I could not decide which to post and so ended up with all of them...

The Cape Eagle Owl can be seen in many parts of southern Africa, but nowhere is it common. It lives in rocky, sometimes mountainous areas, in various vegetation types. Most of its diet consists of mammals, but it also feeds on birds and invertebrates. Amazingly, it can carry prey that is 4,5 kg, or 4 times its weight! It lays 1-3 eggs, and incubation lasts for 34-38 days, the female doing most of it, with the male sometimes taking over while the female feeds. After fledging, juveniles stay dependent on their parents for 2-3 months, before leaving completely.

It has an extremely fragmented range, and they are no places where you can see it easily. It prefers mountainous areas with cliffs, outcrops and gorges, and can live as high as 2500m above sea level.

Its diet consists mostly of mammals, although it varies between regions. It also eats a number of birds species, as well as invertebrates. It hunts at night, searching for prey on low perches.

It uses scrapes in the ground as nests, often on ledges, hidden by trees or rocks, in cliff recesses, regularly near streams or rivers. Females often lie in the scrape for days before laying their eggs.

It sometimes uses the same nest site repeatedly, but not every year.