Eurasian Eagle Owl

Eurasian eagle owls are found in Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, and the Middle East and Asia. It is the world's largest owl; it grows up to: 58-73 cm in length, 150-200 cm in wingspan, and 1600-4200 g in weight. They usually hunt at dusk and into the night; they hunt small birds of prey such as buzzards and Tawny Owls. They prefer mammals but they will grab a duck or crow while in flight. They can live in a wide range of habitats: cold pine forests, cooler forests and pastures in middle Europe, and hot deserts such as the Sahara. They are a very successful bird and have few natural enemies but numbers continue to decline. Birds raised in captivity are easy to breed and then released into areas where there once were many of them living. They usually live in the wild (if the babies can survive the first winter.) up to 20 years. The longest wild lived Eagle Owl recorded was 26 years and 7 months, this was in Finland; and the longest lived Eagle Owl in captivity was over 80 years.

http://www.pauldfrost.co.uk/eeagleowl.html (information).

http://wildlifeandheritage.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/eagle_owl.315120222_std.jpg (picture).