You may think that owls are boring but after you read this report you may change your mind. Do you know why owls can turn their heads all the way around? Well, they do this so can they can see from different points of view. Scientist say that an owls eyesight is a lot like a camera. They say this because they can get close ups, and can see in the dark. Most owls hunt small mammals, insects, and many other birds. They live everywhere except for Antarctica and have there own specific call. Owls have facial discs around each eye which allows them to hear rodents that we humans can’t hear.

 

Did you know that owls tear their prey into pieces before eating them? Scientists have found that an owls diet is helped by disgorging indigestible parts of their prey in the form of a pellet. A use of owls is to collect owl pellets for use in school. Students can study these owl pellets and dissect them in a lesson of biology and ecology. Owls are classified into a kingdom called Animalia; their class is Aves. Did you know that in Japan owls are known as a symbol of death and seeing one is considered a bad omen. Also, the sound of an owl predicts the death of someone living in the neighborhood. In most countries the sound or even seeing one was considered bad luck. I consider them as looking cute and small.

 

The smallest owls are called pygmy some of which are only 13cm. (5.1in.) long. They also have a 32-cm. wingspan, and weigh only 50g. The largest owls are the eagle owls, the Eurasian Eagle Owl and Verreaux’s Eagle Owl which may reach 71cm. long, and have a wingspan of just over 2m, and weigh about 4kg. Owl eggs are white and almost spherical and range from a few to a dozen dependent on the species. Their nests are crudely built and may be in trees, in underground burrows or in barns and caves. Owls were once classified with the hawks because of the hooked beaks and curved talons. An owl keeps a good grip on it’s prey because of their beaks are curved down so it’s easier to grab a hold of it’s prey. Their muffled wings and dull feathers allow them to fly practically silent and unseen. To me now that I learned about owls I don’t think that there are so harmful or scary because they’re just like regular birds. I hope you learned a lot about the owls as much as I have and I hope you don’t think they are scary.

 

Author: Franco B.

Date Published: May 2006

Sources: www.Google.com www. AskJeeves.com The birds Of the Califorina State series