Interesting fun facts about Owls
There are 220 species of owls in the world
Owls can almost turn their heads all the way around, but
it's not quite a 360 turn. They can turn their necks 135 degrees in either
direction, which gives them 270 degrees total movement
Owls are able to turn their heads without injury or cutting
off blood to their brain because they have a blood-pooling system that powers
their brain and eyes during a dramatic neck twist
An owl's eyes are so well-developed that they are not balls
but rather tubes that are held into place by a bony structure. This means an
owl can only look straight ahead. An owl must turn its head to look side to
side
Owls ears are placed asymmetrically and are different sizes.
This allows them to receive sounds at different times and pinpoint the exact
location of the sound.
An owl's eyes account for 1-5% percent of the owl's body
weight
An owl's flattened face funnels sound to their ears so that
they can detect even the slightest noise
The smallest owl in the world is the elf owl, which is 5–6
inches tall and weighs just 1.5 ounces
The largest North American owl is the great gray owl, which
can reach up to 32 inches tall
The northern hawk owl is able to hear prey as much as 12
inches under the snow
Owls are found on all continents except Antarctica
Not all owls hoot, and those that do also make other noises,
such as chirps, whistles, screeches, barks, growls, and shrieks. The "hoo
hooo" sound usually associated with owls is a great-horned owl call
On average, female owls are larger than male owls
While owls are depicted as extremely intelligent, they are
notoriously difficult to train. Birds as diverse as parrots, hawks, and even
pigeons can be taught more easily than owls
Barn owls eat over 1,000 mice per year. The owls swallow
their prey whole—skin, bones, and all.
Owl-like birds, like Berruornis and Ogygoptynx, lived 60
million years ago. Owls are one of the most ancient types of bird, along with
chickens, turkeys, and pheasants
The great horned owl can curl its talons with a force of about 300 pounds per square inch, which is
about the same strength as the
strongest human bite
While owls are cute, it is illegal in the United States and
most other countries for private individuals to keep owls as pets
In ancient Greece, owls represented Athena, the goddess of
wisdom. However, the Romans were terrified of the bird and thought it was the
bearer of bad omens
In order for owls to turn their heads 270 degrees, they have
14 vertebrae, rather than the usual seven found in most birds
The Aztecs and Mayans feared and hated the owl and believed
the wide-eyed birds were symbols of death and destruction
If a human were to turn their head like an owl, they would
suffer traumatic arterial injuries and blood flow interruptions
The Egyptians believed that owls protected the spirits of
the dead as they journeyed to the underworld
While most birds of prey don't hunt owls, owls have been
know to hunt and eat smaller owls
The Eurasian eagle owl is one of the largest species of owl
in the world. They will also eat anything, including large prey such as
full-grown foxes or young deer
In Australia, the Wardaman tribe believes that Gordol the
owl created the world
The Ainu people of northeastern Japan have revered the
Blakiston's fish owl as "the Emperor of the Night" or the "God
that Protects the Village
The great grey owl or great gray owl is the world's largest
species of owl by length
The great gray owl has the largest facial disc of any raptor
In Kazakhstan, there is a tribe where only female shamans
attempt to connect with the spirit of the owl
In South Africa, owls are associated with witchcraft and bad
luck. To call someone an "owl" is the highest insult
Owls are divided into two families: Tytonidae (heart-faced
barn owls) and Strigidae (typical or true owls, round-faced owls).
An owl has the best
night vision of any animal
Owls have zygodactyl feet, which means two toes point
forward and two toes point backward. This gives owls the ability to crush
wounded prey between their talons.
Approximately 1/3 of the world's owl species are either
endangered or at risk
While some owls seem to have a talent for swimming, experts
point out that swimming is actually the last resort for these birds. They have
no way to defend themselves once they are in the water, and they can only take
off from land
Owl eyes have more black-and-white detecting rods than color
cones, allowing them to see in the dark.
Some owls are diurnal, meaning they hurt during the day.
This includes the great gray owl, northern hawk owl, and northern pygmy owl
The largest owl on record is Cuba's extinct giant owl. If
the 3.6-foot-tall owl could fly, it would have been one of the largest flighted
birds in the world
Owls mooch other birds' nests; they don't build their own,
but instead use nests or tree cavities left behind by other birds, such as
woodpeckers or northern flickers. Even burrowing owls don't dig their own
burrows
While owls are usually considered birds of prey, they are
closer to kingfishers, hummingbirds, and songbirds than they are to hawks,
eagles, and falcons
An owl's eye color indicates when it prefers to hunt. Owls
with orange eyes are crepuscular (active during twilight); owls with dark brown
or black eyes are nocturnal; and yellow eyes indicate owls that are diurnal
An owl has three eyelids: one for blinking, one for
sleeping, and one for keeping the eyes healthy and clean
Owls are the primary means of communication between wizards
in Harry Potter's world
Harry Potter’s pet snowy owl, Hedwig, shares her name with
two famous saints. One is Saint Hedwig of Andechs (1174-1243), a former duchess
noted for her benevolence and compassionate nature. The other is Saint Hedwig,
Queen of Poland (1373-1399). The death of Hedwig in Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows represents Harry’s loss of innocence and coming of age
Seven different owls played Hedwig in the Harry Potter
movies; their names are Gizmo, Kasper, Oops, Swoops, Oh Oh, Elmo, and Bandit
One of the earliest depictions of owls in art is a
long-eared owl that was etched in a cave in France over 30,000 years ago
In 2300 BC, the Sumerians depicted Lilitu, the goddess of
death, as a winged woman with feet like an owl's, a crown similar to an owl's
ear tuft, and two owls for companions. Her name is derived from an ancient word
meaning "night."
A group of owls is called a parliament, wisdom, bazaar, or
study. A group of baby owls is called owlets
The Jewish Tanakh (the Old Testament in Christianity)
includes the Hebrew word lilith, which is translated as "screech
owl." According to legend, Lilith was Adam's first wife. She refused to
submit to Adam, so God replaced her with Eve
Some ancient Roman carvings depict Jews as owls being mobbed
by flocks of doves or sparrows symbolizing Christians
In Macbeth, Shakespeare describes an owl as "a fatal
bellman, which gives the stern'st good-night
An owl's eyes take up so much space inside its skull that
there is not much room for its brain
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