Bird

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Lives in Florida all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 25 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 25

Male Great Horned Owl, whole bird — **Male**. no rights reserved. CC0. iNaturalist photo 353833538. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 25
Habitat models: Year-round

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Florida 25

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 25

Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationNamed place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier; South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshRegional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundFlorida Dry PrairieLimestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; South Florida Bayhead Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; South Florida Cypress Dome; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress DomeRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach; Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Southeast Florida Beach; Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation; Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach; Southwest Florida Beach; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland; Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland; East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Year-roundSouth Florida Hardwood Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock; Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

Year-round

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

Year-roundCentral Florida Herbaceous Pondshore; Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Year-round

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Florida scrub

Evergreen scrub oaks, sand pine and rosemary on deep, white, drought-prone sand ridges, burned rarely but intensely; distinct from the longleaf and turkey oak sandhills.

Year-round

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

Year-roundFlorida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Year-roundSouthwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock; Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock; East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; South Florida Pine Flatwoods; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods; Central Florida Pine Flatwoods; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Year-roundDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh; Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

Year-roundFlorida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

Year-roundOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

Year-roundDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Year-roundBeside its main habitat.Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Year-roundBeside its main habitat.East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Other habitats in its models (207)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida.

Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
Quarries, Mines, Gravel Pits and Oil Wells Year-round.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Year-round.
Barren Land Year-round.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Year-round.
Unconsolidated Shore Year-round.
Upper Texas Coast Beach Year-round.
Louisiana Beach Year-round.
Texas Coastal Bend Beach Year-round.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Year-round.
Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Year-round.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Year-round.
North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Cliff Year-round.
Southern Interior Acid Cliff Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Year-round.
Southern Interior Calcareous Cliff Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Rocky Summit Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Granitic Dome Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Granite Flatrock Year-round.
Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Year-round.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Year-round.
Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round.
South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Year-round.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Year-round.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round.
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Appalachian Shale Barrens Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Year-round.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Year-round.
Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Year-round.
Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Year-round.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Year-round.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round, beside its main habitat.
Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Year-round.
Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Year-round.
Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Year-round.
Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Year-round.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Year-round.
North-Central Oak Barrens Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Year-round.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Year-round.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Year-round.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Year-round.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Year-round.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Year-round.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Year-round.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Year-round.
Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Year-round.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round.
Recently Burned Grassland Year-round.
Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Year-round.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round.
Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Year-round.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Year-round.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Year-round.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round.
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Year-round.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Year-round.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Year-round.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Year-round.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Year-round.
Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Year-round.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Year-round.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Year-round.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Year-round.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Year-round.
Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Year-round.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Year-round.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
Cumberland Riverscour Year-round.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Year-round.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Year-round.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Year-round.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.