<P> The young weigh around 34.7 g (1.22 oz) at birth on average and can gain an average of about 33.3 g (1.17 oz) a day for the first four weeks of life, with typical weights in the range of 800 or 1,000 g (1.8 or 2.2 lb) by 25--29 days for males and females, respectively . When first hatched the young are covered in whitish gray down, with some brownish about the wings . Gradually the soft juvenal downy plumage comes through the down, being typically a cinnamon - buff color, but with variable hues predicting the eventual color of the mature owls . The extent of down gradually diminishes, developing mature - looking plumage by late summer, although many first year birds still have scattered bits of down into autumn . By late autumn, first - year birds look similar to adults but with a slightly warmer, reddish tinge, less well developed ear tufts and a smaller white throat patch . The nestling owls develop mostly in behavior between two weeks and two months of age, in which time they adapt the ability to defend themselves, grasp foods and climb . Vocally, the young are able to exert weak chips while still in the egg, developing into a raspy chirp shortly after hatching . The calls of the young increase rapidly in intensity, pitch and character, some juvenile males mimicking their father's hooting in fall but usually they conclude with various odd gurgling notes . The earliest competent hooting by juvenile owls is not until January . Young owls move onto nearby branches at 6 weeks and start to fly about a week later . However, the young are not usually competent fliers until they are about 10 to 12 weeks old . The age at which the young leave the nest is variable based on the abundance of food . </P> <P> The young birds stay in an area ranging from 13.1 to 52 ha from the nest into fall, but will usually disperse up to several thousand hectares by the end of fall . The offspring have been seen still begging for food in late October (5 months after leaving the nest) and most do not fully leave their parents territory until right before the parents start to reproduce for the next clutch (usually December to January). Birds may not breed for another year or two, and are often vagrants ("floaters") until they establish their own territories . Based on the development of the bursa, great horned owls reach sexual maturity at two years of age . </P> <P> Great horned owls seem to be the most long - living owl in North America . Among all owls, they may outrank even the larger Eurasian eagle owl in known longevity records from the wild, with almost 29 years being the highest age for an owl recorded in North America . A more typical top lifespan of a great horned owl is approximately 13 years old . In general, great horned owls are most vulnerable in the early stages of life, although few species press attacks on the owl's nests due to the ferocious defensive abilities of the parents . Occasionally, nestlings and fledglings will fall from the nest too early to escape or to competently defend themselves and have then fallen prey to foxes, bobcat, coyotes, or wild or feral cats . Occasionally raccoons and American black bears consume eggs and nestlings from tree nests and Virginia opossum may take the rare unguarded egg . Crows and ravens have been reported eating eggs and small nestlings . This can normally only happen when owls are driven from the nest by human activity or are forced to leave the nest to forage by low food resources but on occasion huge flocks of crows have been able to displace owls by harassing them endlessly . In general, great horned owls rarely engage in siblicide, unlike many other raptorial birds . Siblicide occurred at 9 of 2,711 nests in Saskatchewan . Most cases where young owls are killed and / or consumed by their siblings or parents appear to occur when the nestling is diseased, impaired or starving or is inadvertently crushed . Adults generally have no natural predators, excepting both North American eagles and other owls of their own species . </P> <P> Occasionally, great horned owls may be killed by their own prey . Although typically able to kill skunks without ill effect, five owls were found blind after getting sprayed in their eyes by skunks . Cases where the quills of porcupines have killed or functionally disabled them have been observed as well . Violent fights have been observed between great horned owls after attempts to capture rat snakes and black racers . When a peregrine falcon repeatedly attacked a great horned owl near its nest along the Hudson River, it was apparently unable to dispatch the larger raptor despite several powerful strikes . During their initial dispersal in fall, juvenile owls have a high mortality rate, frequently more than 50% . For owls in the Yukon Territory, juvenile survival in the 9 weeks after dispersal has dropped from 80% to 23.2% in a span of three years in response of instability of food supply . In the Yukon, adults on territory had an average annual survival rate of 90.5% . Anemia, caused by Leucocytozoon ziemanni and the drinking of blood by swarming, blood - drinking blackflies (Simulium ssp .), was a leading cause of juvenile mortality in the Yukon . </P>

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