Owl Facts
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See if you know any of these owl facts:
Owls are raptors, birds of prey, in the same family as hawks and eagles.
Owls are carnivores, meat-eaters, and they swallow their prey whole.
Owls eat mammals, especially rodents, reptiles, insects and other birds.
Owls are nocturnal, meaning that they are active at night.
Some people think that owls can turn their heads completely around in a 360-degree circle. When you study owl facts, however, you will see that this is false. Owls can turn their heads only three-fourths of the way around.
Owls are in the Order Strigiformes. There are two families of owls, the Tytonidae family consisting of barn owls, and the Strigidae family, which is made up of typical owls.
One of the reasons an owl needs to be able to rotate his head is because his eyes cannot move around in their sockets. In order to see in any direction, the owl must turn his entire head.
Because owls swallow their prey whole, they regurgitate pellets which contain all of the parts of the animal which could not be digested. These can include fur, bones, and feathers.
There are over 200 different types of owls.
Owls live everywhere in the world except Antarctica.
The smallest owl is the Elf Owl, which is 4.5 inches tall.
The largest owl is the Eurasian Eagle Owl, which is 28 inches tall.
Owls have special wings that allow them to fly without making a sound.
A parliament is a group of owls.
One of the most interesting owl facts is that owls can turn their heads upside down.
In North America, you will find nineteen different species of owls.
Owls are monogamous, having the same mate for life.
Some owls remain in the same area their entire lives. Some owls travel long distances but they do not migrate each year.
An owl has zygodactyl feet, which means that when perched, each foot has two toes facing forwards and two toes facing backwards.
Owls have three eyelids. They also have the best vision of all birds.
Owls have little tufts of feathers on their heads. These are called ear tufts but have nothing to do with ears or hearing.
Owls live in old buildings, barns, caves, burrows, where they pick a sheltered place in which to reside.
Owls, like other raptors, have a long, hooked bill. This helps them to tear apart large prey before eating them.
Female owls are larger than males.
Females lay eggs over three days so that the baby owls are not all born at the same time.
Owls are said to hoot, but they make many different sounds to communicate with one another.
The name of the owl comes from Old English, "ule," which means "to howl."
You can build a backyard nest box that will attract an owl.
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