Owls Overhead

Owls Overhead

Flying in the Moonlight It's a quiet, moonlit night, and you walk along a dirt path on the edge of town. Suddenly, a shadow crosses your path, but you hear no sound. You look up as a dark shape glides over you and disappears into the nearby trees. It's an owl--one of more than two hundred different species of owls that live around the world. They come in many sizes and live on every continent except Antarctica.

Eyes for the Night Many of the adaptations that help owls survive also make them seem mysterious. For instance, most owls hunt at night. As a result, they don't have to compete with daytime hunters such as eagles, hawks, and falcons. Like most birds, owls can't move their eyes in their sockets. Instead, owls must turn their heads to track a moving object. Owls are able to rotate their heads almost all the way around--280 degrees. They can even turn their heads upside down.

Owls' big eyes are an adaptation, too. These birds can't see in total darkness. However, their pupils-the black circles in the center of their eyes--can grow large to let in more light. Their large pupils let them see better in low light than most animals. In fact, when light is low, tawny owls see as much as one hundred times better than humans.

As good as their night vision is, owls can't see things close to their faces. Instead, hairlike feathers work like feelers to help owls react to things they touch, sort of like a cat's whiskers.

Even Better Ears To hunt, however, most owls rely on their hearing. Most owls have huge ears, with one higher than the other. The higher one hears sounds from above, while the lower one hears sounds from below. Their flat, round faces help funnel sounds to their ears. By moving the feathers around their faces, owls can send more sound to one ear or the other. Doing this helps them locate prey.