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OWL - MARVEL OF NATURE.


a nocturnal bird of prey with large eyes, a facial disc, a hooked beak, and typically a loud hooting call.

Far from fearing them, we should appreciate owls as competent predators that hunt mice and other rodents, helping to maintain a balance in nature.

Everything about an owl’s body makes it the ideal bird for night living. An owl has the best night vision of any animal, and its hearing is nearly as acute.

Hearing:

Did you know that an owl can hear a mouse stepping on a twig from 75 feet (23 meters) away?

Every owl has two huge holes in its skull for ears, along with a facial disc that channels sound into the ear openings. Owl ears don’t look like our ears, but they are incredibly good at picking up sounds.

Vision:

Animals that are active at night usually have large eyes that let them make use of any available light. With owls, the eyes are so big in comparison to the head that there is little room for eye muscles, meaning owls can’t move their eyes. Instead, owls must move their entire head to follow the movement of prey.

However, having fixed eyes gives owls better focus, with both eyes looking in the same direction. And even though it seems that owls can twist their head completely around, most owls turn their head no more than 270 degrees in either direction.

Feathers:

Another important adaptation for owls is silent flight. Where other birds have stiff feathers that make a whooshing sound when they fly, owl feathers have soft edges that allow the birds to fly silently. This is important for owls, as they can swoop down on prey without being heard. The only exceptions are the fishing owls, because hunting over water does not require them to fly silently.



Credit: San Diego Zoo
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