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 moonlit night. A dark shape floats over you and into the trees. It's an owl.

在月光下飞翔。 这是一个月光明亮的夜晚。 一个黑影从你头顶飘过，钻进了树林里。 是一只猫头鹰。

More than 200 different kinds of owls live around the world. The way they look and act helps them survive.

全世界生活着200多种不同的猫头鹰。 它们的外形和行为习惯能帮助它们生存下去。

Eyes for the night. Owls can't move their eyes, so they turn their heads. Owls can turn their heads almost all the way around. They can even turn their heads upside down.

适配黑夜的眼睛。 猫头鹰不能转动眼球，所以它们会转动脑袋。 猫头鹰的脑袋几乎能转一整圈， 甚至还能上下倒转过来。

Owls have big eyes, but they can't see in total darkness. They see better in low light than most animals, though. 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.

猫头鹰的眼睛很大，但它们在完全黑暗的环境里也看不见东西。 不过和大多数动物相比，它们在弱光下的视力要好得多， 这多亏了它们的瞳孔， 也就是眼睛中央的黑色圆圈。 它们的瞳孔可以变大，让更多光线进入眼睛。

even better ears. Most owls use their hearing to hunt. Owls have huge ears. On most owls, one ear is higher than the other. Owls can hear prey that's hiding in grass or snow.

更厉害的是耳朵。 大多数猫头鹰靠听觉捕猎， 它们的耳朵非常大。 大多数猫头鹰的两只耳朵一高一低， 哪怕猎物藏在草丛或者雪地里，猫头鹰也能听得见。