Ashley and Crippen Photographers, Toronto|Corporate Headshots/Executive Headshots 

Birds

Great Grey Owl

The largest owl in North America, the Great Gray Owl inhabits dense forest and wooded bogs and in the north is relatively uncommon. It is not quite as large as it may appear, since its body is surrounded by a large mass of feathers that provide insulation in the cold climate it lives in. It does not build a nest, but lays 2-5 white eggs in the nest of another bird, usually in a tall tree or on a cliff. These are incubated by the female for around 4-5 weeks, and the chicks are ready to leave the nest about five weeks after hatching. The adult has a large head, with big, pale gray facial discs patterned in concentric dark gray circles, yellow eyes and bill and quite a long tail. Its plumage is mottled gray-brown above, with muted gray vertical streaking below: a black chin spot and two white neck marks may be evident. Although it is mainly nocturnal, the Great Gray Owl also hunts at dawn and dusk and sometimes during the day in the far north. It feeds mainly on mice, but will also take small mammals and birds.