The Order Strigiformes contains two families, the Strigidae (true owls) and the Tytonidae (barn owls) containing over 130 recognised species.
These birds of prey have an upright stance, hooked bill, sharp talons and a reversible outer toe. The large eyes are adapted for nocturnal. Forward-facing, the eyes of these noctrunalpredators give the owls good binocular vision but are vritually fixed. This is made up for by a very flexible neck which allows the head to be truned through up to 180 degrees. Owls can hunt in lighting conditions which would seem pitch-blackness to the human eye. Owls also have large external ear openings which are straggered for excellent direction finding and acute hearing.
|
| | | Some species have feathers arranged at the top of the head giving the appearance of "ears". The ears of owls are at the sides of their faces and the arrangement of feathers is only for display.
|
| |
| | |
Unlike other bird raptors, owls are capable of silent flight due to their plumage is soft and fluffy at the tips. The plumage is generally patterned (cryptic) to camouflage the birds during diurnal (daytime) roosting.
Owls prey mainly on small mammals but they also take fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and sometimes large insects. Their prey is swallowed whole and the indigestible parts are regurgitated in the form of pellets which can be used to study their feeding habits.
Owls are monogamous (mate for life) and the number of eggs may vary with the availability of prey.
The order contains only two familes and over 130 species;-
These owls have have a rounder facial disks than the barn owls with a semicircle on each side. They also have no "comb" in the middle claw. Their legs are relatively short.
The clavicles ("wish bone") are fused to the sternum (breastbone).
The facial disk of barn owls is heart-shaped and completely encircles the face. They have a longer and narrower skull than the true owls.
The legs are relatively long and the middle claw bears a serrated "comb". The clavicles ("wish bone") are separate and not fused to the sternum (brestbone).
The facial disk is a roughly circular feather pattern on the head of owls. This arrangement of the feathers helps to focus sounds by funneling them to the ears contributing to the owls' acute hearing.
Six species of owls breed in the British Isles, the most numerous being the tawny or brown owl (Strix aluco) which is often heard in the late autumn as the birds establish their territories. Although the barn owl (Tyto alba) is spread throughout the British Isles, it is less numerous.
owls spend the day roosting and are only seen at dawn and dusk when they hunt small mammals such as mice, shrews and voles.
|
| | | Links to Other Pages on this Site
|
| |
| | |
|
| | | Links to Other Sites
|
| |
| | |
|
| | | Links to Other Pages on this Site
|
| |
| | |
Hits on this page since December 6th| Jan | | |  | | Feb | | | | | Mar | | | | | Apr | | | | | May | | | | | Jun | | | | | Jul | | | | | Aug | | | | | Sep | | | | | Oct | | | | | Nov | | | | | Dec | | |  |
| current year: | | previous year: |
No messages posted on this page Only Members of the Site can post messages in this section. Signing in is easy from our Home Page. DISCLAIMER: Whilst we endeavour to ensure the content of this site is correct, we cannot undertake that information you find here, is, or will remain accurate and complete. We do not warrant that any information contained on this site is fit for any purpose. If you wish to place reliance on any such information you must check its accuracy by some other means before doing so. MEMBERS get aditional features on our pages and will soon be able to interact with the site and add their views and informastion. Sign up, from the Home-Page, is simple and involves typing in your email address and a password of your choice. If you are in any way connected with any location or interested in the subject mentioned on this page and have an hour or two a month to spare, we would welcome you as a local moderator - please email the webmaster by CLICKING HERE. Privacy Policy
|
| 
