Owl Central: Northern Hawk-Owls

Northern Hawk-Owls
Northern Hawk-Owls are called Northern Hawk-Owls for a reason! They live in North America and Eurasia, but most of them live way up north. So high north, in fact, that there's "midnight suns" and long nights. The Northern Hawk-Owl is able to survive, however, because it is very good at hunting in both daylight and darkness!
However, some northern species move down south. And there are some southern species. But these still live in cold habitats... one known set of these owls lives in the end of the Rockies!
During the breeding season, Northern Hawk-Owls like different areas. Some choices are open areas with plenty of nest sites, coniferous forests, and (better yet for these guys) a combo of a coniferous-and-deciduous tree forests. However, during the non-breeding season, Northern Hawk-Owls prefer pretty open areas with trees nearby. There's a variety of these spots, but one example is farmland with trees growing along the edge.
The breeding is around April to early May. Like usual, the actual starting point depends on the climatic conditions. Climatic range also plays with this date.
Northern Hawk-Owls can lay the usual egg-amount of 3 eggs. However, these owls can also give off very big clutches, especially for birds! Northern Hawk-Owls can lay up to ten eggs in a clutch!!!
Like usual, incubation begins when Egg 1 is laid. Momma does it all at this point. When the eggs hatch, however, things go slightly off-track. It is said that Dada incubates the chicks sometimes. But it's Momma most of the time, and Dada concetrates (sp?) on getting food for Momma, the chicks, and even himself!
Northern Hawk-Owl chicks do a lot. They eat a ton of food, and gain weight at an enormous rate... probably because Dada can hunt day and night. They leave the nest pretty quickly, but they stay nearby. The chicks can soon fly, but they stay in vinicity (sp?) of the nest. Despite being very active and growing up very quickly, the chicks are not fully independent until they are 2 months old.
Northern Hawk-Owls use a few different calls. Most of them sound like whistles. But the kind of whistle can be different... a bubbling whistle (or a trilled whistle) is what's usually used for getting a mate while doing display flights. Prolonged whistles done in a series is for territorial calls. But the call is not always a whistle... whenever the Northern Hawk-Owl feels alarmed, or are trying to intimidate something, they let loose repeated shriek-calls that last for a long time. Humans often get this shriek-call treatment.
Northern Hawk-Owls are predators, like every other owl. They go after the usual small mammals like voles, shrews, mice and whatnot. They also eat birds, like grouse. In fact, they'll eat any mammal or bird that can be subdued!
Northern Hawk-Owls have many similarities to hawks. They have calls which go "kee kee kee", which is similar to a hawk's call. The Northern Hawk-Owl's low hunting flights are also like a hawk's.  Also, when perched on a treetop, the Northern Hawk-Owl resembles a broad-winged hawk.
What does the Northern Hawk-Owl look like? The Northern Hawk-Owl has chocolate-brown feathers with white barring on the undersides. It has white "eyebrows" over its lemon-yellow pupil eyes. There are white semi-circles around these eyes as well. The beak is yellow, though its hue is softer. The feet are light-brown, and the claws are black.