All About Owl Species Characteristics and Owl Facts
# Owl Characteristics and Owl Facts
There are well over two hundred owl species in the world, and new types of owls are still being identified each year. Not a lot is known about owls compared to many other birds and animals. Part of the reason is that owls are nocturnal and not easy to follow around. Many people have heard the cry of an owl, particularly at night, but they have not ever seen an owl. Here are Owl Characteristics and Owl Facts.
Because owls live just about everywhere in the world unless you live in Antarctica, the chances are pretty good an owl species are living in your area. Some people are afraid of owls that they are no threat to humans. They help all of us and especially farmers by keeping rodent populations down.
Owl species are birds in the Order of Strigiformes, and there are two different families: the typical owls (Strigidae) and barn owls (Tytonidae). These species tend to be very hard to identify, even for scientists. One of the first items they consider is the shape of the face and whether or not the owl has ear tufts.
Size and weight are also a consideration. For instance, the typical owl species is in the five to the twenty-eight-inch range, and weights range from 1.5 ounces to around nine pounds. The barn owl species can be from nine to twenty-one inches tall and weigh anywhere from eight ounces to three pounds.
Owls can live to be over twenty years old. Some of the most well-known owl species are the horned owl, mottled owl, snowy owl, northern and southern white-faced owl, Rufous-banded owl, and the eastern screech owl.
# Owl Breeding
Owls tend to be very solitary and even mating within the same owl species is not easy in the beginning. The female is naturally afraid of the male owl, and it will take a while for him to convince her that this is all meant to be. The male will often bring food and drop it near his intended mate to show her that there is nothing to fear. Still, it can take many hours before she responds positively.
Owls lay their eggs over the course of one to three days. This is to assure the survival of the chicks in case food is not plentiful. The female has a lower (2-3) or higher (5-6) number of eggs depending on how available food is in any given year. Owls are one of the kinds of birds where the father takes an active role in their lives, from bringing them food to eat to sitting on the eggs. In three months the baby owls can fly and hunt on their own.
# Owl Diet
Owl food is one of the most exciting subjects of the owl. This is because owls are carnivorous predators, just like hawks and eagles. They hunt mostly at night and eat a variety of mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects. It depends on the species of an owl as to what he will probably eat in a day.
If you take a look at two different types of food, you will see that the owl-eagle feeds you with very large prey, including small foxes, hares, voles, and shrews. They also eat birds, and some of them can be quite big, such as game birds and ducks. Other owls, such as Barn Owls, eat different species of smaller animals, such as mice, voles, and shrews.
# Owl Hunting Prey
Some owls can be fishing in the water. These include African and Asian fishing owls. An owl will take everything; Because they have wings that can be silent, they can sneak into their meals. Their excellent hearing also aids them to locate their eyes, which is their sight.
Owl Hunting Prey Video:
While some people like to hunt for a meal, others are happy to catch their dinner just in the air. They have high heels, which are specially designed to grip a perch, with two toes forward and two toes pointing back. These heels are also created to help the bird.
Some species of owls eat frogs and snakes. Many times, small prey will be washed away, but they are held on their heels until they find a suitable place to eat. Owls will often try to protect them from their wings that.
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Studying the owl species which live near you can be a fascinating activity. In many places, you can take a workshop on which owl species live near you and how to recognize them. You might even find an owl pellet while on a field trip and analyze for yourself what he or she has been eating.