The long-eared owl occurs in multiple competitive environments of the temperate zone alongside other birds of prey.
A wide variety of owls are especially likely to be encountered both in terms of shared nocturnality and a shared preference for rodent prey, which is favored by about 75% of owls found in North America and about 85% of the owls found in Europe and occasionally favored by nearly all owls in both continents.
Much study has gone into contrasting the ecology of long-eared owls against other owls and also occasionally diurnal birds of prey, especially in terms of differences in dietary habits and habitat preferences.
In Europe, arguably the most populous owl is likely the tawny owl, which has therefore warranted a considerable number of comparisons with long-eared owls.
While tawny owls overlap in prey preferences with the long-eared owl, it tends to show greater dietary flexibility, with larger contributions of secondary prey such as birds, reptiles and amphibians and insects.
For example, in southern Sweden, the food niche breadth of tawny owls was roughly three times greater than that of long-eared owls.
Generally tawny owls prefer more extensively wooded environments than long-eared owls but can adapt as well as the long-eared to forest fragmentation and peri-urbanisation, thus often competing rather directly over foods.
While the tawny owl usually selects slightly larger prey on average than long-eared owls, often over 30 g (1.1 oz) mean prey mass, studied size of common voles hunted in central Lithuania showed that both long-eared and tawny owls selected larger than average voles, with average caught estimated at 21.45 g (0.757 oz) against the average weight surveyed by humans at 16.42 g (0.579 oz).
Surprisingly, especially in the non-breeding season in this study, long-eared owls in Lithuania tended to select larger voles on average (at 21.56 g (0.761 oz)) than did tawny owls (19.56 g (0.690 oz)).
Despite the potential for competition and mortality (for long-eared owls) in the interspecific relationship between the tawny and long-eared owls, the proximity of tawny owls in a study from Switzerland appeared to have no deleterious effect on the breeding on the long-eared species.
A few studies have examined the habits of the little owl, probably the next most common European owl and just ahead of the long-eared owl in third, and the long-eared owl in areas where their somewhat overlapping habitat preferences draw them into similar areas.
However, the long-eared owl takes larger prey on average usually than little owls, since it focuses more on rodents rather than invertebrates like insects and earthworms and, especially during winter, varies its prey compositions less so than the smaller species.
Also, the long-eared owl requires some timbered spots for roosting purposes while little owls can adapt to both treeless and partially treed areas as well as, in Spain at least, more heavily modified areas by humans.
Many diurnal raptors in Europe broadly overlap in dietary habits, largely taking voles where they are available, including most species of harrier, buzzards and some falcons, especially common kestrels (Falco tinniculus).
Other than occasional predatory interactions, competition is limited with most of these diurnal birds of prey due to the temporal differences of their habits.
In Europe, several other owls, from ones much smaller than to a few species much larger than a long-eared owl, prefer voles and/or lemmings as prey but often differ considerably in their habitat preferences, distributions, nesting habits and/or hunting habits so the long-eared owls are largely naturally partitioned from competing directly with them.

On a broader scale, both short-eared owls and barn owls potentially compete for resources with long-eared owls.
Despite considerable overlap in both range and diet, long-eared owls are largely buffered from considerable competition with short-eared owls by habitat preferences, as the short-eared owls always venture to more open habitats, generally roosting and nesting in tall grasses
The long-eared owl occurs in multiple competitive environments of the temperate zone alongside other birds of prey. A wide variety of owls are especially likely to be encountered both in terms of shared nocturnality and a shared preference for rodent prey, which is favored by about 75% of owls found in North America and about 85% of the owls found in Europe and occasionally favored by nearly all owls in both continents. Much study has gone into contrasting the ecology of long-eared owls against other owls and also occasionally diurnal birds of prey, especially in terms of differences in dietary habits and habitat preferences. In Europe, arguably the most populous owl is likely the tawny owl, which has therefore warranted a considerable number of comparisons with long-eared owls. While tawny owls overlap in prey preferences with the long-eared owl, it tends to show greater dietary flexibility, with larger contributions of secondary prey such as birds, reptiles and amphibians and insects. For example, in southern Sweden, the food niche breadth of tawny owls was roughly three times greater than that of long-eared owls. Generally tawny owls prefer more extensively wooded environments than long-eared owls but can adapt as well as the long-eared to forest fragmentation and peri-urbanisation, thus often competing rather directly over foods. While the tawny owl usually selects slightly larger prey on average than long-eared owls, often over 30 g (1.1 oz) mean prey mass, studied size of common voles hunted in central Lithuania showed that both long-eared and tawny owls selected larger than average voles, with average caught estimated at 21.45 g (0.757 oz) against the average weight surveyed by humans at 16.42 g (0.579 oz). Surprisingly, especially in the non-breeding season in this study, long-eared owls in Lithuania tended to select larger voles on average (at 21.56 g (0.761 oz)) than did tawny owls (19.56 g (0.690 oz)). Despite the potential for competition and mortality (for long-eared owls) in the interspecific relationship between the tawny and long-eared owls, the proximity of tawny owls in a study from Switzerland appeared to have no deleterious effect on the breeding on the long-eared species. A few studies have examined the habits of the little owl, probably the next most common European owl and just ahead of the long-eared owl in third, and the long-eared owl in areas where their somewhat overlapping habitat preferences draw them into similar areas. However, the long-eared owl takes larger prey on average usually than little owls, since it focuses more on rodents rather than invertebrates like insects and earthworms and, especially during winter, varies its prey compositions less so than the smaller species. Also, the long-eared owl requires some timbered spots for roosting purposes while little owls can adapt to both treeless and partially treed areas as well as, in Spain at least, more heavily modified areas by humans. Many diurnal raptors in Europe broadly overlap in dietary habits, largely taking voles where they are available, including most species of harrier, buzzards and some falcons, especially common kestrels (Falco tinniculus). Other than occasional predatory interactions, competition is limited with most of these diurnal birds of prey due to the temporal differences of their habits. In Europe, several other owls, from ones much smaller than to a few species much larger than a long-eared owl, prefer voles and/or lemmings as prey but often differ considerably in their habitat preferences, distributions, nesting habits and/or hunting habits so the long-eared owls are largely naturally partitioned from competing directly with them.
On a broader scale, both short-eared owls and barn owls potentially compete for resources with long-eared owls. Despite considerable overlap in both range and diet, long-eared owls are largely buffered from considerable competition with short-eared owls by habitat preferences, as the short-eared owls always venture to more open habitats, generally roosting and nesting in tall grasses 
Long-eared owl