🦉 Eurasian eagle-owl vs Great horned owl 🦉
The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the great horned owl. The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the great horned owl.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦉 Eurasian eagle-owl | 🦉 Great horned owl |
|---|---|---|
| Size The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the great horned owl. | 23 to 28 in58 to 71 cm1 | 18 to 25 in46 to 63 cm2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the great horned owl. | 3.5 to 9.3 lb1.6 to 4.2 kg1 | 2.2 to 3.8 lb998 g to 1.7 kg3 |
| Lives They are about the same. | 10 to 20 years10 to 20 years1 | 13 to 15 years13 to 15 years3 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rats, mice, voles and beetles, and sometimes larger animals and other birds | mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | forests, mountains, deserts, riverbeds and farmland across Europe, Asia and North Africa | forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America |
Which one? Eurasian eagle-owl or great horned owl
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the eurasian eagle-owl or 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. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Eurasian eagle-owl vs Great horned owl
- The eurasian eagle-owl: A huge owl with orange eyes and ear tufts.
- The great horned owl: Its "horns" are just feathers, and it can turn its head far around.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the great horned owl: 1 against 2.
- The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the great horned owl. That is 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 3 for the great horned owl.
- They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 3 for the great horned owl.
- Both eat meat. The eurasian eagle-owl eats rats, mice, voles and beetles, and sometimes larger animals and other birds; the great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks.
- The eurasian eagle-owl lives in forests, mountains, deserts, riverbeds and farmland across Europe, Asia and North Africa. The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The eurasian eagle-owl: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The great horned owl: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🦉 Eurasian eagle-owl
- A Eurasian eagle-owl lives in forests, deserts and mountains.
- Females are bigger than males.
- It eats almost anything it can catch.
🦉 Great horned owl
- Its wings make almost no sound.
- It coughs up a pellet of fur and bones after a meal.
- It often nests in an old nest that a hawk or crow built.
Questions kids ask about Eurasian eagle-owl and Great horned owl
Which is bigger, eurasian eagle-owl or great horned owl?
The eurasian eagle-owl is a bit bigger than the great horned owl: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, eurasian eagle-owl or great horned owl?
The eurasian eagle-owl weighs about twice as much as the great horned owl. That is 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 3 for the great horned owl.
Which lives longer, eurasian eagle-owl or great horned owl?
They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the eurasian eagle-owl and 3 for the great horned owl.
What do eurasian eagle-owl and great horned owl eat?
Both eat meat. The eurasian eagle-owl eats rats, mice, voles and beetles, and sometimes larger animals and other birds; the great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks.
Where do eurasian eagle-owl and great horned owl live?
The eurasian eagle-owl lives in forests, mountains, deserts, riverbeds and farmland across Europe, Asia and North Africa. The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do eurasian eagle-owls eat great horned owls?
The eurasian eagle-owl eats rats, mice, voles and beetles, and sometimes larger animals and other birds. Great horned owls are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do great horned owls eat eurasian eagle-owls?
The great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks. Eurasian eagle-owls are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the eurasian eagle-owl is a bit more than as long as the great horned owl.
Who would win, eurasian eagle-owl or great horned owl?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/eurasian-eagle-owl-vs-great-horned-owl
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Bubo bubo (Eurasian eagle-owl), checked 10 November 2026.
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Golden Spike, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.