Bulky, large nocturnal raptor (about 75 cm or 2.5 ft), with large head and a crest of feathers that look like ears. Orange and large eyes. Large wings (wingspan approx 190 cm or 6 ft), powerful claws and fawn brown plumage in general, very cryptic, a little lighter and striated in the underparts. Feathered claws and tarsi (lower legs).
Rocky environments
Very adaptable species that occupies almost all types of habitats. Present in forest areas, rocky cliffs, ravines, screes, mountain areas, tree crops and even in steppe and semi-desert areas.
Frequent species and resident all year round in Malaga. The breeding begins in January with a single laying of two to five eggs. It nests in rocky walls, ledges and crevices, but also takes advantage of nests of other raptors or tree holes. The Eurasian Eagle-Owl is an apex predator that feeds on a great variety of mammals, all kinds of birds and even other raptors. Its favorite prey are rabbits and corvids and in periurban environments it is a voracious predator of cats.
Difficult to see and easier to hear, especially during the mating season in the middle of the winter, due to its characteristic long-distance audible and deep complaints. In the Great Path it is present in many stages, especially in those of rocky habitats. For example, in stages 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32 and 33.
Eurasian eagle-owls have experienced a great population boom in the last decades, being abundant at present. They act as a controller of populations of other predators, both raptors and carnivores.
- Altos de Hondonero
- El Cerro de Santi Petri
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 09. Periana - Riogordo
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 05. Nerja - Frigiliana
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 06. Frigiliana - Cómpeta
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 10. Riogordo - Alfarnate
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 11. Alfarnate - Villanueva del Rosario
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 13. Archidona - Villanueva de Tapia
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 14. Villanueva de Tapia - Villanueva de Algaidas
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 16. Cuevas Bajas - Alameda
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 18. Fuente de Piedra - Campillos
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 21. Estación de El Chorro (Álora) - Carratraca - Ardales
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 22. Ardales - El Burgo
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 23. El Burgo - Ronda
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 25. Estación de Benaoján - Jimera de Líbar
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 26. Jimera de Líbar - Benalauría
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 27. Benalauría - Genalguacil
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 29. Casares - Estepona
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 31. Marbella - Ojén
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 32. Ojén - Mijas
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 33. Mijas - Benalmádena
- Hoz de Marín
- Paraje Natural El Torcal
- Río Jorox
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