Northern Hawk Owls

Wallpaper Description:

Northern Hawk Owls in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Sam Wilson / Audubon Photography Awards

The northern hawk-owl (Surnia ulula) is a non-migratory owl that usually stays within its breeding range, though it sometimes irrupts southward. It is one of the few owls that is neither nocturnal nor crepuscular, being active only during the day. This is the only living species in the genus Surnia of the family Strigidae, the "typical" owls (as opposed to barn owls, Tytonidae). The species is sometimes called simply the hawk owl; however, many species of owls in the genus Ninox are also called "hawk owls".