Owl
Owls play an important role in nature. They help to control the population of mice, rats, and rabbits, which might otherwise overrun the earth.
Owls are birds of prey. They means that they hunt for food. Birds of prey, owls, hawks, eagles and falcons are called raptors. Raptors have talons (sharp claws) on their feet for catching prey and hooked beaks for tearing it apart.
Most owls are nocturnal. This means that they are very active after dark. The nighttime makes it easier for them to hunt mice and other small animals that are also active a night. An owl's eyes are huge so that they can gather more light. An owls eyes are very similar to a humans. They can see objects in 3-D. This makes it easier for them to hunt. An owls eyes cannot turn from side to side like a humans. An owl has to turn his head to see to the side.
Owls have extremely sharp hearing. The ear openings face forward just like the eyes. They are located on the facial disc. Some people think the ear tufts (feathers on top of the head) are the owls ears! They have nothing to do with hearing. The facial disc focuses sound waves into the ears. The ear opening on the right side of the facial disc is higher than the one on the left side of the facial disc. This provides 3-D hearing for the owl.
Owls can be very small like the 5 inch elf owl or pretty big like the 2-foot tall great gray owl. Whether large or small, they all look stocky with large head and soft feathers.
Owls are content to just hang out. They are not very active unless they are hunting or feeding their young. Some owls do have strange behaviors. If a sleeping owl is disturbed during the day, it will try to pretend to be a part of the tree it is resting on. The blend almost completely into the branches fooling enemies. Another behavior appears when an owl is threatened. It will fluffy out its feathers making it look twice as big as it really is.
Owls are birds of prey. They means that they hunt for food. Birds of prey, owls, hawks, eagles and falcons are called raptors. Raptors have talons (sharp claws) on their feet for catching prey and hooked beaks for tearing it apart.
Most owls are nocturnal. This means that they are very active after dark. The nighttime makes it easier for them to hunt mice and other small animals that are also active a night. An owl's eyes are huge so that they can gather more light. An owls eyes are very similar to a humans. They can see objects in 3-D. This makes it easier for them to hunt. An owls eyes cannot turn from side to side like a humans. An owl has to turn his head to see to the side.
Owls have extremely sharp hearing. The ear openings face forward just like the eyes. They are located on the facial disc. Some people think the ear tufts (feathers on top of the head) are the owls ears! They have nothing to do with hearing. The facial disc focuses sound waves into the ears. The ear opening on the right side of the facial disc is higher than the one on the left side of the facial disc. This provides 3-D hearing for the owl.
Owls can be very small like the 5 inch elf owl or pretty big like the 2-foot tall great gray owl. Whether large or small, they all look stocky with large head and soft feathers.
Owls are content to just hang out. They are not very active unless they are hunting or feeding their young. Some owls do have strange behaviors. If a sleeping owl is disturbed during the day, it will try to pretend to be a part of the tree it is resting on. The blend almost completely into the branches fooling enemies. Another behavior appears when an owl is threatened. It will fluffy out its feathers making it look twice as big as it really is.
