Owls
By
Dena Baber
Introduction
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Owls are a group of birds of prey.
Most are solitary and nocturnal,
with some exceptions (e.g. the
Burrowing Owl).
Owls mostly hunt small mammals,
insects, and other birds, though a
few species specialize in hunting
fish.
They are found in all regions of
the Earth except Antarctica, most
of Greenland, and some remote
islands.
Though owls are typically solitary,
the literary collective noun for a
group of owls is a parliament.
Owl Eyes
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Owls have large forward-facing eyes
and ears, a hawk-like beak, and
usually a conspicuous circle of
feathers around each eye called a
facial disc.
Although owls have binocular vision,
their large eyes are fixed in their
sockets, as with other birds, and they
must turn their entire head to change
views.
Owls are far-sighted, and are unable
to clearly see anything within a few
inches of their eyes.
Their far vision, particularly in low light,
is incredibly good, and they can turn
their head 135 degrees in either
direction; they can look behind their
own shoulders. It is not correct,
however, that they can turn the head
so far around to face completely
backwards.
How many licks?
• Do you know how many licks it
takes to get to the center of a
tootsie roll pop?
A group of engineering students
from Purdue University
recorded that their licking
machine, modeled after a
human tongue, took an
average of 364 licks to get to
the center of a Tootsie Pop.
They tried the same licking test
on 20 volunteers and found
that the average licks to the
center were 252 licks.
Owl Pellets
• Like all birds, owls have no teeth to chew their food. Their food is
usually swallowed whole, or in large chunks. In the stomach, the
indigestible bones, fur and insect exoskeletons are formed into ovalshaped masses, called pellets.
• Here is a student doing a dissection of an owl pellet.
Did You Know?
• Some owls like the barn owl hiss instead of hooting.
• Owls have facial discs that work like feathery satellite dishes to pick
up the sounds of rustling leaves hundreds of yards away.
• They can hunt down a mouse without any light at all, just by sound.
• They have a special comblike toe for cleaning their feathers.
• What do you get when you put a bee in front of an owl? A bowl