Owls: Strigiformes - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Diet, Behavior And Reproduction, Owls And People, Conservation Status - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE

Owls: Strigiformes - Physical Characteristics

Owls are easy to recognize. They have an almost human appearance, with upright posture, large rounded heads, and large eyes that face forward (most birds have eyes on the sides of their heads). All owls are carnivores, or meat-eaters, and several adaptations make them effective hunters, including a hooked beak for tearing flesh and strong feet tipped with sharp talons, or claws. The toes can be us…

Owls: Strigiformes - Habitat

Owls: Strigiformes - Diet

All owls are carnivores. They catch small animals with their feet, kill them with a bite to the neck, and swallow them head-first. Most owls hunt from a raised perch. They sit, watch, and listen, then swoop or glide to their prey. At the last minute, they swing their legs forward and spread their talons to strike. Very large owls (such as eagle-owls) take medium-sized mammals such as rabbits, skun…

Owls: Strigiformes - Behavior And Reproduction

Most owls are active at night and sleep by day. Usually owls roost in sheltered spots—thick foliage or a branch close to a tree trunk. Some people think owls are "tame" because roosting owls may allow humans to come quite close. Actually, this behavior is an adaptation for avoiding detection by predators. If they're disturbed, owls pull their feathers in tight to look s…

Owls: Strigiformes - Owls And People

Owls: Strigiformes - Conservation Status

As of 2003, the IUCN lists seven owl species as Critically Endangered, facing an extremely high risk of extinction, or dying out, in the wild; nine species as Endangered, facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild; and eleven species as Vulnerable, facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. A number of owl species occur on only one small island or in one small area. That makes these spec…