The beautiful and graceful owl bird has been familiar to many from an early age from cartoons and fairy tales, for some it still remains a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. In fact, the behavior of an owl in nature is very calm - it sleeps most of the time, and hunts and is active at night.
She prefers to sit on a branch for a long time, staring at one point - this behavior reminds many of the manners of a wise old man immersed in his meditation ... So the owl is considered to be wise not because the bird has any characteristic features or intelligence, but because for behavior.
Interestingly, the owl is the only bird whose head does not look like a bird at all, but rather resembles a human face, and it’s rather intelligent.
If you love birds and you are interested in learning something new about them, adding new facts to your piggy bank - be sure to pay attention to our article about owls.
10. Owls do not have eyeballs, but there are 3 centuries
Perhaps this fact will amaze you, however owls have no eyeballs (or rather have a different structure). It would be more correct to call their organs of vision eye tubes. The bird’s eye is not round at all, but elongated.
Owls' eyeballs are motionless, thanks to which they can accurately determine the distance to the object (most often to prey), because the birds cannot move them, then they turn their heads.
Besides, owls of the 3rd century, each of which performs its function: one is for blinking, the other is for keeping clean, and the third is for bliss - sleep.
9. Different species have different hours of activity.
Most of us are used to thinking that owls are only active at night, however different species of this bird have different hours of activity. In North and South America, a cave owl is widespread - it is active during the day.
Hawk bird - a species isolated from other owls, hunts in the daytime, preferring early morning or evening for hunting.
The white owl has a snowy color with brownish streaks, is common in the Arctic and Subarctic. This beauty is not strictly a nocturnal bird, but mainly hunts in the evening or early in the morning, sometimes doing it right on the fly.
8. Try to hide from prying eyes
An owl examines passers-by with interest ... You can hear her bewitching sound, causing fabulous pictures in the imagination, but she will not appear. Man for an owl is stress.
Of course, after the fantasy film “Harry Potter” (the young wizard has an owl in the film), many people want to get to know this fabulous character of our planet, but owls avoid areas that are dangerous for life. Do not forget that the owl is a bird of prey, so when you meet it, it is better not to disturb it.
For reference: the owl never lets himself in, moreover, if you catch it by force, it can bite.
7. Eurasian Eagle Owl - the largest representative
Experts call the Eurasian Eagle Owl the largest representative of the Soviets: the body size of a bird, sometimes, reaches 75 cm, and the wings unfold up to 2 meters. It is almost impossible to discern a bird when it quietly sits on a tree.
It can live in all regions except the tundra; it prefers woodlands more. There are very few of these beautiful owls in nature; the species has long been listed in the Red Book. The number of Eurasian owls is falling due to the destruction of its permanent habitat - forests.
6. Females are larger and more aggressive than males
In most species of owls, females win in size and brightness of the color, in addition, they behave more aggressively than males. One can only guess why so. Perhaps the female, due to the protected offspring, is inclined to show aggression, including in relation to other females.
An adult owl is about 20-25% heavier than a male. By the way, he shows very interesting courtship. A man performs flights to attract an owl, flying in an exaggerated wave-like pattern above the female when she is on the ground.
5. Barn Owls rely on hearing only
Barn Owls, like most nocturnal birds, have excellent night vision, but, when hunting, rely more on their clear hearing, which, as was established by the experiment, is four times superior to the auditory capabilities of other animals.
Due to this feature, achieved by the structure of the ears, in which they are located at different levels asymmetrically, owls can hunt in pitch darkness.
Barn owls are very susceptible and, when a loud sound occurs, cover the ear holes with small feather plugs.
4. Fish owls are on the verge of extinction
Fish eagle owl - a bird that is enduring frosts. Among the abundance of birds, undoubtedly, this endangered species stands out, but meeting it is a huge rarity!
This species is listed in the Red Book, the number of fish owl is very small, and is on the verge of extinction. From the usual eagle owl it is distinguished by ears - they are covered with down and large. Despite the fact that these two species are similar as two drops of water, they do not like to contact.
Most of this species lives in the north of China, Korea, Japan. It prefers densely dotted forests, with rivers rich in wildlife, where it feeds. The fish owl has remarkable eyes - yellow, bright, and equipped with almost eagle eyesight!
3. Turning the head 360 degrees is a myth
As far as you already know from point 10, owl, because of the peculiarities of the structure of the eyes, cannot move them, so it has to turn its head. However, 360-degree rotation of an owl’s head is nothing more than a myth.
But, of course, nature rewarded these charming birds with the ability - they can turn their heads 270 degrees without harm to themselves. This can be considered compensation for the immobility of the eyeballs and the location of the eyes themselves. Due to the fact that the owl twists its head - this helps her not to miss the prey from view.
2. Not all owls are prone to migration
Winter is a difficult time for animals and birds. Particularly difficult this time is experienced by birds, in particular owls. Those who do not migrate have to use all their dexterity and skills. It is especially difficult for our owls to get food: owl, owl and owl. The main difficulty for them is the snow cover, because it complicates the production of rodents.
In the northern part of the range, eared owls are widespread, which make long-distance migrations - in some areas there is a very high number of flying birds.
Polar owls fly to the West, to the mountains, and birds of central Russia hibernate at home in hollows. As a rule, they remain in their habitat, but select other places for nesting.
1. The only birds whose outer ear consists of folds of skin
And finally, we will tell you about another interesting feature of owls. These are the only birds whose outer ears consist of folds of skin and are surrounded by radiant feathers.. The ears are located a little asymmetrically, and precisely because of this, owls accurately determine where the sound comes from.
You will probably be surprised, but if you look into the ears of an owl, you can see the "soul mirror" of the bird - its unusual eyes from the back! Like all birds, owls do not have external ear structures. In them, they look like holes in turtles, tightly covered with feathers.