how much weight can a great horned owl lift
Great horned owl Prey can vary greatly based on opportunity. According to one author, "Almost any living creature that walks, crawls, flies, or swims, except the large mammals, is the great horned owl's legitimate prey".[18] In fact, the great horned owl has the most diverse prey profile of any raptor in the Americas.[4] Over 500 species have been identified as great horned owl prey, with dozens more identified only to genus or general type (especially numerous invertebrates) and presumably several more unknown from their relatively little-studied populations in the neotropics. Mammals (more than 200 species) and birds (nearly 300 species) make up the majority of their diet.[4][73] Their diet in North America is made up of 87.6% mammals, 6.1% birds, 1.6% reptiles and amphibians with the remaining 4.7% being made up by insects, other assorted invertebrates and fish.[4] Estimated mass of individual prey for the owls has ranged from as little as 0.4 g (0.014 oz) to as much as 6.8 kg (15 lb)[77][78] Most prey is the range of 4 g (0.14 oz) (shrews) to 2,300 g (5.1 lb) (jackrabbits).[77][79] A single owl requires about 50 to 100 g (1.8 to 3.5 oz) of food per day and can subsist on a large kill over several days.[80] Despite the great diversity of prey taken by these predators, in most of the Continental United States from the East to the Midwest as well as Canada and Alaska, great horned owls largely live off just a handful of prey species: three species of lagomorph: the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) and the black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus); two species of New World mice: the white-footed mouse and the North American deermouse (Peromyscus leucopus & maniculatus), approximately three species of vole: the meadow, prairie and woodland voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus, ochrogaster & pinetorum) and one introduced pest, the brown rat.[10][73][77]