🦅 Bald eagle vs Great horned owl 🦉
The bald eagle is about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl. The bald eagle weighs about 4 times as much as the great horned owl.
| Row | 🦅 Bald eagle | 🦉 Great horned owl |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the great horned owl yet. | 35 to 40 mph56 to 64 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The bald eagle weighs about 4 times as much as the great horned owl. | 7 to 14 lb3.2 to 6.4 kg2 | 2.2 to 3.8 lb998 g to 1.7 kg3 |
| Lives The bald eagle usually lives about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl. | 20 years20 years4 | 13 to 15 years13 to 15 years3 |
| Eats The bald eagle eats fish; the great horned owl eats meat. | mostly fish, plus ducks and dead animals | mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | near lakes, rivers and coasts across North America | forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America |
Which one? Bald eagle or great horned owl
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the great horned owl yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
Compare two more
Getting the animals ready…
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/bald-eagle-vs-great-horned-owl
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Upper Delaware, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Golden Spike, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service (North American bald eagle), checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon, checked 30 October 2026.