Home > Plants and Animals > Animals > Vertebrate Zoology

Topic:owl

owl. (Image by Nordelch, GFDL)

Visit our new topic page about owl

owl

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia | Date: 2007

Any bird of prey in the mostly nocturnal order Strigiformes, including typical owls (family Strigidae) and barn, bay, and grass owls (Tytonidae). Their virtually silent flight and protective (usually brown) coloration aid in capturing insects, birds, and small mammals. Owls have round, forward-looking eyes, a sharply hooked beak, and acute hearing and vision. They are 5–28 in. (13–70 cm) long. The feathers of some species form a disk framing the face or ear tufts that help locate prey by reflecting sound to the ears. Owls can turn their heads 180°; some species can turn as much as 270°. They nest in buildings, in trees, or on the ground. Typical owls occur worldwide except in Antarctica. horned owl; screech owl; snowy owl.

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

	Birds of a feather Boys' Life; 4/1/1998; Anonymous; 163 words ; Falconry is not so much a sport as it is a part of nature. After all, a raptor is a bird of prey and will hunt game for its food-without training from humans. Almost 300 species are called birds of prey. All raptors have sharply hooked, powerful beaks for tearing flesh. Anyone who hunts with these Read more
	(book review) Wilson Bulletin; 9/1/2001; Davis, William E., Jr.; 787 words ; ... 1247 pp., 54 color plates, numerous range maps, sonagrams, and line drawings. $265 (cloth ... for a particular species. For the range maps the editors have returned to their style ... breeding has not been confirmed. These maps are much easier to read than those of volume ... Read more
	Pruett: Thundering Herd hopes to work it out Charleston Gazette; 9/8/2004; Mitch Vingle; 533 words ; ... coordinator. On Sunday, his unit showed an inability to prevent the big play. The Boilermakers rang up 571 yards of offense. The good news for SU? Buffalo is next on the schedule. * When WVU faces Central Florida this Saturday, the veteran Mountaineer offensive line ... Read more
	'Message' heard loud and clear; Two new songs aren't the only reason to get excited about the Replacements' first proper best-of CD.(ENTERTAINMENT) Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 6/11/2006; Riemenschneider, Chris; 714 words ; Byline: Chris Riemenschneider; Staff Writer It's not exactly burning up the charts across the country, but there's a new Replacements song getting played a lot on Twin Cities radio. Halle-frickin'-lujah, I say. The song, Message to the Boys, is pretty average in Replacements terms. Up-tempo rocker. Read more
	Baby owls a real hoot. Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, WA); 5/4/2007; 523 words ; Byline: Mary Hopkin May 4--BENTON CITY -- The long, loud hiss sounds as if steam is escaping from the box as Michele Caron moves it slowly across the wooden floor. Caron lifts the lid to reveal four baby barn owls, their dark eyes peering out from heart-shaped faces. The owlets' bodies are covered Read more