North American owls are often objects of fear and superstition. Some American Indian tribes attribute owls with the ability to prophesy death. An owl flying through an Indian's house, teepee or lodge meant someone would die within hours.
Owls look frightening to many people because they look so different than other birds, which have their eyes on the sides of their heads. Owls eyes are spaced on the front of their faces, much like humans. Most owls are night hunters, which can seem spooky to some as well. Owls can be quite beneficial though. They are birds of prey, eating mostly rodents and without them, we would find ourselves overrun with vermin.
Noiseless Flight and Keen Eyesight
Owls fly soundlessly because of the ruffled tips of their wing feathers. These large birds of prey are light and track by ear, as well as their superior eyesight. An owl can open the pupil of his eye very wide to allow more light in. He also has a higher degree of binocular vision than most birds, giving him the ability to gauge distance accurately. The rods in an owl's eye can take in 100 times as much light as a human eye.
Spooky Sound Factor
Most owls are heard and not seen-adding to their spookiness. Owls are said to make a "hoot" sound, but actually can make many sounds ranging from the hisses and chirps of the owlets to moans, barks, trills, whimpers, wheezes and whistles. Some mutter, meow, bark like puppies or screech.
Where Can You Find Owls?
Owls live in all parts of the world, except Antarctica and some islands. People are fascinated by owls. In many places, owls enjoy status as a wise, knowledgeable bird.
How Many Owl Species Exist?
There are over 130 kinds of owls worldwide and 18 to 19 species living in North America, depending on whether screech owls are divided into two separate species or counted as one species.
When Do Owls Hunt?
Some owls are diurnal, meaning they hunt during the day. Most are nocturnal, meaning they usually actively hunt at night. Others are crepuscular, meaning that they hunt in early morning and late evening.
Owls eat many rodents, mostly mice and rats, but also frogs, snakes, fish, squirrels, rabbits, birds, small mammals, chickens and shrews.
The North American species include 18 or 19 species, if you count the screech owls separately.
Different Owl Species
1. Barn Owl is easily recognized by its white, heart-shaped face.
2. Hawk Owl lives in clearings in the cold evergreen forests of the Arctic regions.
3. Short-eared Owl has two feathers tufts that look like small horns or ears. It hunts in fields in the daytime for mice.
4. Burrowing Owl lives in western North America in tunnels underground. When he is threatened, he makes the sound of a rattlesnake preparing to strike.
5. Northern Saw-whet Owl is known for making a sound like a saw blade being sharpened.
6. Great Gray Owl is common over most of North America and is the largest owl at 30 inches tall. It can weigh up to three pounds.
7. Spotted Owl lives in western United States and southwestern Canada. They are smaller and darker than barred owls and have dark eyes.
8. Ferruginous Owl, like the Pygmy Owl, has a scary face mask that is really marked feathers on the back of its head looking like angry eyes and a sharp beak.
9. Pygmy Owl makes a sound like a dog barking or like a human laugh.
10. Flammulated Owl is found in Southern British Columbia and Western United States and winters in Guatemala and Mexico. The name means "flame-like" and describes the markings on the feathers.
11. Barred Owl is known for its "Whooo" call. He is found in eastern and central North America and parts of Central America.
12. Snowy Owl lives on the snow covered tundra of the Arctic.
13. Eastern Screech Owl is similar to its western brother and considered one species by some ornithologists.
14. Western Screech Owl is a nocturnal owl, which excels at camouflaging itself as a stubby branch.
15. Elf Owl is the smallest owl at about 6 ½ inches tall. It nests in giant saguaro cactuses.
16. Whiskered Owl has brown and white feathers that stick out from its cheeks like whiskers.
17. Great Horned Owl is large and fierce and called "tiger with wings."
18. Long-eared Owl sports two tufts above its facial disc that look like two ears. They are night hunters and rarely sighted.
19. Boreal Owl, also known as Richardson's Owl, is a resident of Alaska and northern Canada.
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