Owls are fascinating birds.
Unlike the everyday songbirds, crows, and pigeons you see everywhere, owls are elusive.
You really have to go looking for them!
You'll recognize their big head, large eyes and flat face.
Owls are also known for their unique "hooting."
Many birds chirp and caw but owls "hoot hoot"!
They also have unusual ways of hunting for their prey.
Owls can be found all over the world except Antarctica.
It's too cold there!
Let's learn more incredible facts about owls.
Also we have a game for you!
This is Bertie, Socratica Kids' mascot, who's an owl!
Keep an eye out for him during the video.
You might just see him hiding in the background...
There are over 200 species of owls that are broken down into two families.
The families are Tytonidae, commonly known as barn-owls, and Strigidae, which is commonly
referred to as true or typical owls.
Most owls are true owls.
Only 20 species of owls are barn-owls.
Barn owls can be spotted by their long, heart-shaped faces.
They also have long legs and small eyes.
Their plumage is pale, and lacks strong markings compared with true-owls.
Owls have powerful claws called "talons" that are used for catching and killing prey.
When most owls hunt, they quietly hide and wait for their potential dinner.
Their large eyes let them see far distances at night.
When they spot their prey, they swiftly swoop in and grab their meal with their sharp talons.
Their swooping attack is silent, so their prey doesn't know they're in danger until
it's too late.
Most owls are nocturnal, but others are diurnal.
Nocturnal means active during the night.
Diurnal means active during the day.
And then there are even owls that are crepuscular, meaning they are still active at dawn or dusk.
Owls that are diurnal have different hunting tactics than nocturnal owls, who hide and
wait for their prey.
Diurnal owls are active hunters.
During the day, they silently fly slow and low to the ground, listening and looking for
prey.
When they spot their prey, they swoop in and grab it!
Their long legs let them grab prey that may be hiding in tall grass.
Owls can turn their head 270 degrees.
That's almost a full circle!
Most humans can turn their head only 90 degrees.
Owls have long flexible necks.
It's hard to see an owl's long neck because of their plumage, but you can see how long
owl's necks are by looking at an owl skeleton.
It's a good thing owls can turn their heads this far, because their big eyes are unable
to move easily within their eye socket.
Their eye structure includes a large retina that allows owls to see better at night.
However, their eye shape does not allow them to glance from side to side.
So being able to turn their head almost full circle is very helpful!
Most owls have piercing yellow eyes.
They have telescopic vision like humans meaning they can see detail at far distances.
This makes up for owl's poor colour vision.
We also say owls are "far sighted," meaning they cannot clearly see objects close to their
eyes.
This helps them hunt, since their dinner has no intention of walking right up to them.Their
eyes are better at detecting movement at far distances because of changes in the amount
of light.
So at night they can spot a mouse moving in tall grass.
Look out, little mousey!
Actually, owls' superpower is not their eyesight but their hearing!
The shape of their head makes them very sensitive to sounds.
Their ear openings are on each side of their head and are asymmetrical, meaning they are
uneven or not aligned with one another.
Mammals, like humans, have symmetrical or evenly placed ears.
The asymmetry of owls' ear openings allows the owl to know exactly where a sound comes
from.
This is because the sound-wave will hit one ear before the other.
This allows an owl to pounce on its prey without even needing to look at it!
Pretty incredible, huh?
This explains why owls are very quiet flyers compared to other birds.
They must fly silently so they can listen for prey.
What's on the menu?
Owls eat mostly insects, small mammals, and birds.
A few owl species eat fish.
The beak of an owl is short, curved and downward-facing.
The upper beak is usually hooked at the tip.
This makes it great for tearing into its prey.
Having a small beak helps the owl have excellent hearing because it doesn't block any soundwaves
from reaching the owl's ears.
The color of owls' feathers help them blend in with their environment as camouflage.
This is perfect for their hunting technique of hiding and quietly waiting for their dinner
to come near them.
Owls' coloration tend to match their environment.
For instance, the snowy owl is typically all white, allowing them to blend in with the
snow.
Owls tend to be solitary.
When owls are ready to mate, a male owl will hold a territory and sing to attract a female
owl.
If a female thinks the male's territory is a good place to raise babies, she will
join the male owl.
Together, they will sing a duet, alerting other owls to know they are taken and not
looking for a mate.
Most female owls are larger than the males.
When she lays eggs, she will stay at the nest to protect the eggs and chicks when they hatch.
The male owl will hunt and bring food back to the nest for the female owl and their babies.
Eventually the chicks get too big and hungry for the male to provide for on his own, so
his mate will hunt too.
By this time, it is less risky for her to leave the nest.
Owls are very loyal to their nests and often use the same nest for many years.
They can be very territorial and will become aggressive towards intruders.
So if you find an owl nest, admire from afar.
A group of owls is called a parliament.
You might have already known this if you watched our video "Animal Group Names"- click on the link!
There are many different myths and symbolism that revolve around owls.
For instance, in Western culture, owls are seen as wise.
This dates back to Ancient Greece when Athena, goddess of wisdom, had the owl as her symbol.
Owls are smart, but are actually not as intelligent as some other birds like crows, parrots and
gulls.
Owls are more creatures of habit.
In Africa and Native North American folklore, owls are seen as bad omens for death.
There are many stories parents would tell their kids warning them to come inside at
night or else the owls will get you.
Yikes!
In Japan, owls are seen as lucky; and some cultures see owls as protectors against evil
and are great spiritual leaders.
So how you view owls may very well depend on where you grew up.
All owls are listed as endangered.
Owls are often poached for their meat and feathers.
Humans have also torn down forests where owls live, to take resources like wood and to build
towns and cities.
We do need to think about how to take care of our friends the owls.
Oh hello there, Bertie!
"Hello.
Hoot hoot!"
Those are some super cool facts about owls!
What did you find the most fascinating about owls?
Also, did you spot our friend Bertie?
Let us know in the comments section below.
We want to where he's hiding and what you liked and disliked most about owls.
Now it's time to watch another Socratica Kids video all about animals.
You get to decide!
If you like birds, we recommend checking out "Animal Group Names" there are a lot of
birds in that video.
Birds are cool!
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