What are Owls?
Only Carnivores
Owls are known to eat tiny insects such as moths and beetles and larger birds such as Ospreys. Certain species of owl eat mostly fish, such as Ketupat (fish-owl) as well as Scotopelia species which are located within Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Owls spend a lot of their time searching for food. The Snowy Owl, for instance, could be forced to hunt quite several times, but it can catch three to five lemmings a day.
Owls Cannot Chew
Owl, unlike other birds, do not have teeth to chew food. Their sharp, hooked bills can be used to cut away prey, and sometimes crush skulls and other bones. They can also swallow small prey in one go, usually head-first. Anything that the can’t be digested by owls digest, like fur and bones, are then reabsorbed after a few hours in the form of pellets.
It is not the only way to get HTML0. Owls are night-time feeders.
Although we usually associate them with night, some owl can be active during the day even though they are typically thought of as night-time creatures. Snowy Owl and other northern species should be able to hunt during the bright summer days. Northern Pygmy Owls hunt small birds in the western mountain forests. While they hunt mostly in the evening, Burrowing Owls are often seen out of their burrows in daylight hours. Other species are crepuscular and active in the early periods between dawn and dusk.
Guided by Sound
Owls are mostly nocturnal and rely on their incredible hearing capabilities to find their prey in the darkness. Barn Owls, for instance can spot tiny animals hidden in the trees using their auditory sense alone. The Great Gray Owl (in the video below) can find prey under almost one foot of snow. Owl’ faces are flat and function as dish antennas- the feathers around the face direct soundwaves to their ears, which are hidden on the sides. Some species of owls also have a slight dissimilarity in their ear positions which aids them in determining the distance they want to travel.
The Bountiful Years Bring Many Chicks
The quantity of food available can affect the reproduction rate of owl. Barn Owls usually lay between four to seven eggs. However, during times that have high populations of rodents, they can lay up to 12 eggs. In years of food scarcity however, some owl might not breed at all.
Stealthy Hunters
Owl fly in silence, which makes it possible for them to quickly approach unsuspecting targets. They can fly slower than other birds due to the fact that their wings are larger in surface area than other birds. This allows them to avoid stalling and falling to the ground. Their feathers play an important role – their shape and soft texture helps to muffle the sound of an owl’s flight.
Owls Water is a requirement
Although owl drink water, they receive most of their water from the animals they eat. The hydrogen in animal fats is converted into oxygen during metabolism. This produces about one gram of water per Gram. Owls can consume snow during winter’s northern winters.
