Owls Overhead

Owls Overhead written by Karen Mokler

《头顶的猫头鹰》 凯伦·莫克勒 著

Flying in the Moonlight It's a quiet, moonlit night. You walk along the edge of town. A shadow crosses your path, but you hear no sound. You look up as a dark shape floats over you and into the nearby trees.

月光下飞翔 这是一个静谧的月夜。 你沿着小镇的边缘慢慢走着。 一道影子划过你面前的小路，你却没听见半点儿声响。 你抬头望去，只见一个黑乎乎的身影从你头顶飘过，落进了附近的树林里。

It's an owl. More than 200 different species of owls live around the world. They come in many sizes and live on every continent except Antarctica. Owls may seem mysterious, but the way they look and act helps them survive.

是猫头鹰哦。 全世界一共生活着200多种不同的猫头鹰。 它们体型大小不一，除了南极洲，各大洲都有它们的身影。 猫头鹰看起来似乎很神秘， 但它们的外形和行为习性都是为了更好地生存。

Eyes for the night. Like most birds, owls can't move their eyes. Instead, they must turn their heads to follow a moving object. Owls are able to turn their heads almost all the way around. They can even turn their heads upside down.

适配黑夜的眼睛 和大多数鸟类一样，猫头鹰的眼球不能转动。 所以它们想要追踪移动的物体，就得转动脑袋。 猫头鹰的脑袋几乎可以整整转一圈哦。 它们甚至能把脑袋完全倒过来看呢。

Owls' big eyes help them survive, too. Owls can't see in total darkness, but they can see better in low light than most animals. That's because of their pupils, the black circles in the center of their eyes. Their pupils can grow large to let in more light.

猫头鹰的大眼睛也能帮它们更好地生存。 在完全漆黑的环境里，猫头鹰也看不见东西， 但在昏暗的光线下，它们的视力比大多数动物都要好得多。 这多亏了它们的瞳孔， 也就是眼睛中间的黑色圆圈。 瞳孔可以变得很大，让更多光线进入眼睛。

Even Better Ears Most owls rely on their hearing to hunt. Most owls have huge ears with one higher than the other. The higher ear hears sounds from above. The lower ear hears sounds from below. Owls can move the feathers around their faces to send more sound to one ear or the other. This helps them find prey.

更厉害的耳朵 大多数猫头鹰捕猎主要靠的是听觉。 多数猫头鹰的耳朵很大，而且两只耳朵的位置一高一低。 位置高的那只耳朵能听见上方传来的声音。 位置低的那只耳朵能听见下方传来的声音。 猫头鹰可以调动脸部周围的羽毛，把更多声音导到其中一只耳朵里。 这能帮它们精准地找到猎物。