facts about owls

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PowerPoint Show by Andrew

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Post on 17-Jul-2015

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PowerPoint Show by Andrew

A group of owls is called a parliament. A group of flying owls is called “silence”, a group of snowy owls – “blizzard”.

There are Owl Cafes in Japan, where you can pet and play with live owls while enjoying a nice meal.

Harry Potter Studio has been accused of abusing owls. Because the birds are kept in small cages, made to entertain the public, stay frightened by camera flashes, loud music and trying to release themselves by chewing the tethers.

Owls don’t have eyeballs. What they have are elongated eye tubes kept in place by bones in the skull. You will never see an owl rolling its eyes, but you can be amazed by the moves it does with its neck!

Baby owls are called owlets. Owls lay from 1 to 13 eggs, the exact number depends on the species, environment and some particular conditions.

Owls have not one, not two, but three eyelids. The first one is for blinking, the second one to sleep, and the third to keep the eyes clean.

The snowy owl is the largest owl of the tundra. It may be 20-27 inches long, its wingspan may vary from 4.5-5.5 ft. The oldest snowy owl lived to 9 years and 5 months.

Owls inhabit all the continents except for Antarctica.

They prefer to live close to inland waters and estuaries.

Many owl species have asymmetrical ears that are different sizes and different heights on their heads. Ears are very important for hunting, they help to detect even when their eyes don't see it.

A barn owl can eat up to 1,000 mice each year. They are used by farmers to control rodent population in the agricultural fields.

An owl may eat an owl of another species. Great horned owls may be a threat to smaller owls.

For most owl species, females are larger, heavier and more aggressive than males.

Owls are far-sighted birds, they cannot focus on objects located next to them.

People can help orphaned owlets to survive by giving them a big toy owl. The owlets believe the toy to be their mother and seek warmth under her wings.

Some owls do not hoot at all.

Snowy owls produce sounds similar to those made by seabirds, small pygmy owls whistle, screech owls produce whistling toots.

Owls have been found in fossil records which were up to 58 million years old.

The largest owl fossil was 3 ft tall.

Some owls can eat prey that is larger than them. Sometimes they may even attack a young wolf, a small deer or a fox.

Owls may live in cacti. Saguaro cacti of the North America’s Sonora Desert are tall enough to form a forest comfortable enough for elf owls.

Owl superstitions associate these birds with bad luck, death and stealing souls in many cultures.

These wonderful birds were painted in caves by ancient Egyptians and Maya people.

Owls are silent killers. Owls have special hooks on their wing feathers that make their flight silent, so they can easily swoop down on the prey from behind without being noticed.