I refound both the female and male Great Horned Owls north of Tucson two mornings ago (travelled home to Duluth yesterday). I waited for almost an hour, and finally the female with her beautiful grayish white plumage decided to perch out in the open for a few minutes! While not a Sub-Arctic or Western Taiga Phase Great Horned Owl, these owls with their gorgeous lighter color morph plumage are in fact recognized as a subspecies of Great Horned Owls in the Desert Southwest.

Desert Southwest Phase Great Horned Owl (female)

Great Horned Owl (male … non desert phase … he didn’t seem to happy to see me!)