Awesome Facts About Owls

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Do the Math!
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A barn owl needs to eat 3-4 ounces of food a day and the average weight of a mouse is 1 ounce.

Scientists determined these figures by studying barn owls and their prey. One thing they relied upon to find out what the owls were eating was owl pellets.

Pellets are the non-digestible parts of an owl's meal; the hair, feathers, scales and bones of their prey. Pellets are formed in the gizzard and then spit up 6 - 12 hours after the owl has eaten.

Scientists collect the pellets and pull them apart to see what they contain. This may sound gross, but it is a fascinating way to look at an owl's diet (and it is pretty cool!) It is also an accurate way to count how many prey animals the bird ate. Owl pellets are a lot of fun to dissect. See if you can talk your teacher into doing an owl pellet dissection in class!

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Owl Behavior



Owls are pretty content just to hang out. They are not very active birds unless they are hunting or feeding young. But they do have some interesting behaviors. If a snoozing owl is disturbed during the day, it will often do its best to pretend it is part of the tree in which it is roosting. This is called the "erect posture". Owls exhibiting this posture stretch themselves as tall as they can with their ear tufts standing straight up. They will also close their eyes until they are only slits. Standing perfectly still, they blend almost completely into the branches fooling possible enemies.

Another interesting posture owls use is a defensive posture. This is most often used by young owls that are not yet ready to fly. When threatened the owl will fluff up its feathers making it look twice as big.

To further increase its size, the bird will raise its wings over its back like a large fan and spread its tail feathers. Add some hissing and bill clacking and a young owl can look like a pretty scary critter. Most potential enemies find this posture very convincing and quickly leave the young owl alone. Adult birds will sometimes use a defensive posture, especially if the bird is injured and on the ground.

A number of owl species are well known for their defense of their nest and young. Great horned owls, in particular, have a reputation for being very fierce when defending their youngsters. The adults will dive bomb intruders hitting them with their talons and feet. Scientists studying these large owls are very careful when they are doing anything around an active great horned owl nest.

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Nesting and Reproduction

We mostly notice owls when we hear them. And they are the most vocal during the nesting season. Owls call to establish their territory and attract a mate. Owl calls vary depending upon the species. In general, large owls make lower calls than smaller owls and males have lower pitched calls than females. If you have a pair of great horned owls in your neighborhood, listen to them and see if you can tell the male from the female.



Along with calling, many owls use flight displays during courtship. Once the pair has mated, they begin to look for a good nest site. Owls do not build their own nest. Some species use old hawk, crow or raven nests. A few others use a scrape on the ground and a number of small owls nest in tree cavities or nest boxes.

Incubation begins when the first round white egg is laid. During incubation, the male will feed the female and both parents take care of the nestlings. Most owl species lay 2 - 7 eggs that hatch in about 3 - 4 weeks. Young owls leave the nest from 27 -70 days after hatching with the larger owls staying in the nest longer.

Some of the tree-nesting owlets do something called "branching" in which they climb around on tree trunks and branches before they can fly. Owlets stay with their parents for most of the summer before finding a territory of their own

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Observing Owls

Because owls are nocturnal, observing them can be challenging. Begin your study of owls by spending time looking at the owl section of a field guide to birds. This will help you learn to tell one species from another. A field guide can also help you learn about the kinds of habitats different owls prefer as well as their different calls.

Contact your regional Fish and Game office to learn about bird watching groups such as Audubon clubs that are active in your area. Sometimes these groups plan nighttime field trips to go "owling" and this is a great way to learn.

If you have a pair of owls in your neighborhood, listen to them at night to learn their calls. By moving quietly, you can sometimes get close enough to see the birds. Even though it is dark, use binoculars so you do not disturb the birds. On camping trips, take some time at night for quiet listening to see if any owls are calling. And visit places where some of our daytime owls like the burrowing owl live. Observing owls can be challenging and fun. Plus, you might get to stay up late!

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Owls in Myth and Legend

Minerva: in Roman legends, Minerva is known as the daughter of Jupiter and as the goddess of wisdom, medicine, the arts, dyeing, science and trade, and also of war
From ancient times to the present, owls appear in tales from many different cultures. Both the Greek and Roman goddesses of wisdom, Pallas Athene and Minerva were often pictured in the company of an owl. Owls in China were associated with thunder and lightning. Long ago in Europe, a dead owl was thought to ward away lightning, hail and disease.

Other cultures associated owls with death in both good and bad ways. Some North American Indian tribes considered owls to be an omen of death. Other tribes thought owls were soul-bearers that transported the spirits of the dead to the afterlife. This belief could also be found in some ancient oriental cultures. Members of the Hidatsa people of the Dakota tribe called owl the "keeper of game spirit" that watched over the bison herds. The burrowing owl was considered to be the protector spirit of warriors of this tribe.

Nowadays, we see owls in movies such as "Hoot" and read about them in books. The "Wise Old Owl" appears in many children's stories. The owls of Harry Potter deliver mail while the owl of Winnie-the-Pooh gives advice. The children's book series Guardians of Ga'hoole featuring owls is quite popular with upper elementary readers. Many younger readers learn about great horned owls in Owl Moon. If you look around you, you might be surprised at how many owls you can find!