It’s a bird…It’s a plane…no, actually, it’s a bird. More specifically, the wisest bird of them all, THE OWL! Want to know more about these awesome predators? Here are 25 Awesome Owl Facts You’ll Want To Know!
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- Owls are nocturnal birds of prey with large eyes, a facial disc, a hooked beak, and typically a loud hooting call.
- Owls belong to a group of birds that includes about 205 species. These species are sorted into two basic groups, the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae; and the barn owls, Tytonidae.
- Baby owls—or as you may now call them, owlets—are born without flight feathers. That means, at a young age, these weird-looking cotton balls with eyes and beaks are stuck on the ground.
- Barn owls have a heart-shaped face, long legs, and powerful talons. There are 16 species of barn owls.
- Typical owls are more diverse than barn owls, with nearly 190 species in about 23 genera. True owls have around the facial disc, a short tail and a large head.
- An owl’s enormous eyes might be capable of amazing vision, but it’s his flexible neck that gives him a full view of his surroundings.
- A typical owl is from 13 to 71 centimeters (5 to 28 inches) tall; Barn owl is from 23 to 53 centimeters (9 to 21 inches) tall.
- The largest are Eurasian eagle-owl [pic. below] and Blakiston’s fish owl (Bubo blakistoni), they can reach the weight of around 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) and a wingspan of 2 meters (6.6 feet).
- The smallest is elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi) reaches the weight of only 40 grams (1.4 ounces) and length of 14 centimeters (5.5 inches).
- Captive owls have been known to live as long as 20 years with the larger species.
- Owls are found across all continents except Antarctica.
- Owls live in a variety of habitats, including coniferous forests, mountains, deserts, and plains. The snowy owl lives in the cold tundra of the north.
- Owls vary on their color due to environmental changes. They change their color to match or camouflage into their environment.
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