Owls
To anyone with a fanciful imagination an owl
can seem to have an almost human face. Couple this appearance with their often
blood-curdling calls and nocturnal habits, and it is perhaps not surprising that these
birds feature frequently in mythology and superstition. To some cultures they are symbols
of wisdom while to others they represent malevolent spirits or harbingers of doom and
death. That they were important in Greek mythology can be noted by the genus name Athene
(e.g., the little owl and its allies). Owls also appear often in Chinese legends, as well
as in the folklore of Medieval Europe and subsequent eras of western culture.
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
The barn owl and its relatives differ from more
typical owls in a number of ways. Most strikingly the facial disc, rather than being
rounded, is heart-shaped and this surrounds relatively small, dark eyes.
The barn owl is a most attractive species whose upperparts are a warm buffish brown,
speckled with white and black. The face is white, as are the underparts; those found in
mainland Europe have a buffish wash on the breast. The legs are long and white with
wide-spreading toes and fearsome talons.
As their common name suggests, barn owls are
often associated with farm buildings, nesting amongst the rafters or indeed on specially
constructed nesting platforms. Their preferred feeding habitats are rough fields and
meadows although roadside verges are often favoured these days, their ghostly white shapes
sometimes caught in passing car headlights. Barn owls feed primarily at night but are
occasionally seen at dusk. They characteristically quarter up and down likely-looking
areas for their main quarry - voles and mice - but sometimes scan the ground from a
lookout post.
The barn owl is one of the most wide-spread of
all land birds. It occurs throughput most of Britain and Europe and across many parts of
Asia, Africa, Australia, and in much of North America. In South America it is found in
areas of suitable grassland, as well as on oceanic islands such as the Galapagos.
Vision
An owl's eyes are, in effect, fixed in their
sockets. They face forward and provide a wide angle vision, the overlapping field of view
providing a binocular, stereoscopic vision. Having eyes fixed in their sockets could prove
a disadvantage when it comes to scanning the surroundings. To compensate for this, owls
have evolved incredibly flexible necks that enable the birds to rotate their heads 360
degrees, or even turn them upside down.
Monogamy
As a general rule owls are monogamous, that is
to say pairs are comprised of one male and one female, neither one of which has any
involvement with other nesting birds. With some owl species the pair bonds last only for
the duration of the breeding season, especially if the species involved is dispersive or
migratory. In others, particularly sedentary species such as the little owl, pairs may
remain together throughout the year. Tawny owl pairs are similarly faithful to one
another, their bonds remaining for life.
Territoriality
Owls are territorial, a fact that is
particularly evident during the breeding season. They vigorously defend the nest and a
well-defined, surrounding feeding territory against members of the same species and other
birds that might conceivably compete for the same resources.
Nest sites
In the strict sense of the word, owls do not
construct nests in the same way as songbirds do. Instead they are opportunistic nesters,
using ready-made sites or taking over the abandoned nests of other birds. Holes in trees
are a preferred site for a wide variety of owls, and a few species, notably the barn owls,
have adopted the man-made equivalent of these sites - namely, holes in barns and other
outbuildings.
Habitat
Barn owls favour grassland and open country,
common only in the western half of the United States; they are largely nocturnal in their
habits. Europe's grassland are also home to barn owls, but they are scarce and widespread.
Research gathered from:
Owls - A Portrait of the Animal World by Paul Sterry
Copyright 1995 by Todtri Productions Limited
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