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Owls
Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp Claw, talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls are divided into two Family (biology), families: the true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn owl and bay owl family, Tytonidae. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands. A group of owls is called a "parliament". Anatomy Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk-like beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye. The feathers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tytonidae
The bird family Tytonidae, which includes the barn owls ''Tyto'' and the bay owls ''Phodilus'', is one of the two Family (biology), families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, True owl, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful Talon (anatomy), talons. They also differ from the Strigidae in structural details relating in particular to the sternum and feet.Bruce, M. D. (1999): Family Tytonidae (Barn-owls). ''In:'' del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds): ''Handbook of Birds of the World Volume 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds'': 34-75, plates 1-3. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. The family is wide-ranging, although they are not very tolerant of severe winter cold, so are absent from northern areas of Europe, Asia, and North America; they are also absent from driest desert regions. They live in a wide range of habitats from desert, semi-deserts to forests, and from tem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total length of , with a wingspan of . Males are slightly smaller.''Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide'' by Mikkola, H. Firefly Books (2012), This bird has distinctive ear tufts, with upper parts that are mottled with darker blackish colouring and tawny. The wings and tail are barred. The underparts are a variably hued buff, streaked with darker colouring. The facial disc is not very defined. The orange eyes are distinctive.Penteriani, V., & del Mar Delgado, M. (2019). ''The eagle owl''. Bloomsbury Publishing. At least 12 subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl are described. Eurasian eagle-owls are found in many habitats; mostly Mountain ecosystems, mountainous and Rock (geology), rocky areas, often near varied woodland edge and near shrubby a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strigidae
The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genus, genera. The Strigidae owls have a cosmopolitan distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Morphology While typical owls (hereafter referred to simply as owls) vary greatly in size, with the smallest species, the elf owl, being a hundredth the size of the largest, the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakiston's fish owl, owls generally share an extremely similar body plan.Marks, J. S.; Cannings, R.J. and Mikkola, H. (1999). "Family Strigidae (Typical Owls)". ''In'' del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds.) (1999). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 5: Barn-Owls to Hummingbirds.'' Lynx Edicions. They tend to have large heads, short tails, cryptic plumage, and round facial discs around the eyes. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burrowing Owl
The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open, dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, and, despite their common name, do not often construct these dwellings themselves, rather repurposing disused burrows or tunnels previously excavated and inhabited by other species, such as American badgers (''Taxidea taxus''), foxes (''Vulpes'' sp.), ground squirrels or prairie dogs (''Cynomys'' spp.), among others. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day, although they tend to avoid the heat of midday. But, similar to many other species of owls, they are mostly crepuscular hunters, as they can utilize their night vision and attuned hearing to maximum potential during sunrise and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Hawk-owl
The northern hawk-owl or northern hawk owl (''Surnia ulula'') is a medium-sized true owl of the northern latitudes. It is non-migratory and usually stays within its breeding range, though it sometimes irrupts southward. It is one of the few owls that is neither nocturnal nor crepuscular, being active only during the day. This is the Monotypic taxon, only living species in the genus ''Surnia'' of the family True owl, Strigidae, the "typical" owls (as opposed to Tytonidae, barn owls, Tytonidae). The species is sometimes called simply the hawk owl; however, many species of owls in the genus ''Ninox'' are also called "hawk owls". Taxonomy The northern hawk-owl was Species description, formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Strix ulula''. The owl is now the only species placed in the genus ''Surnia'' that was introduced in 1805 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Facial Disc
In ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds—most notably owls—surrounding the eyes. The concavity of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those waves towards the owl's ears. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted by the bird to alter the focal length of this sound collector, enabling the bird to focus at different distances and allowing it to locate prey by sound alone under snow, grass, and plant cover. Other bird species, such as harriers, have less prominent facial discs. In harriers, the related term facial ruff refers to feathers around the neck that are raised in response to noise, essentially enlarging the facial disc and improving hearing. The barn owl has the most visually prominent facial disc, measuring about 110 mm (Simmons), while the great grey owl has the largest disc of any bird. Due to shared inner ear anatomy with barn owls, it is theorized tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators have bird vision, keen eyesight for detecting prey from a distance or during flight, strong feet with sharp talon (anatomy), talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing off flesh. Although predatory birds primarily hunt live prey, many species (such as fish eagles, vultures and condors) also scavenge and eat carrion. Although the term "bird of prey" could theoretically be taken to include all birds that actively hunt and eat other animals, ornithologists typically use the narrower definition followed in this page, excluding many piscivorous predators such as storks, Crane (bird), cranes, herons, gulls, skuas, penguins, and kingfishers, as well as many primarily insectivorous bir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nocturnal Animal
Nocturnality is a behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing, smell, and specially adapted eyesight. Some animals, such as ferrets, have eyes that can adapt to both low-level and bright day levels of illumination (see metaturnal). Others, such as bushbabies and (some) bats, can function only at night. Many nocturnal creatures including tarsiers and some owls have large eyes in comparison with their body size to compensate for the lower light levels at night. More specifically, they have been found to have a larger cornea relative to their eye size than diurnal creatures to increase their : in the low-light conditions. Nocturnality helps wasps, such as ''Apoica flavissima'', avoid hunting in intense sunlight. Diurnal animals, including humans (except for nig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bay Owl
The bay owls (''Phodilus'') are a genus of Old World owls in the family Tytonidae. The defining characteristics of bay owls are their smaller bodies, in comparison to the barn owls ''Tyto'' in the same family, and their U- or V-shaped faces. These owls can be found across southern Asia from southern India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia within forest and grassland ecosystems. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Phodilus'' was described by the French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1830. Most taxonomists include two extant species in the genus; a third formerly included has now been transferred to ''Tyto''. The name is from the Ancient Greek ''phōs'' for "light" or "daylight" and ''deilos'' for "timid" or "cowardly". The Itombwe owl (''Tyto prigoginei'') was formerly classified in this genus as the Congo bay owl, but morphological evidence shows that it is a member of the genus ''Tyto ''Tyto'' is a genus of owls in the family Tytonidae. Depending on the species and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chouettes
Chouette is a French word meaning "owl", specifically owls without visible ear tufts. Owls with visible ear tufts are known as "Hibou". Chouette may also mean "nice" in French. ; Species of owl * Chouette D'Ussher, the Rufous fishing owl (''Scotopelia ussheri'') ; Uses relating to owls * La chouette, a character portraying an owl in the opera ''L'enfant et les sortilèges'' by French composer Maurice Ravel * "La chouette", a song by French composer Jeanne Herscher-Clément * ''La chouette'', a series of short CGI-animated episodes for children's television; see ''The Owl'' (TV series) * ''La chouette aveugle'', the original French name of ''The Blind Owl'' (film) of 1987 * La chouette d'or, a French treasure hunt created by Régis Hauser in 1993; see the Golden Owl quest * "La chouette hulotte" (the tawny owl), a piece for solo piano in ''Catalogue d'oiseaux'' (195658) by French composer Olivier Messiaen * ''Le cri de la chouette'', an autobiographical novel of 1972 by Hervé ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophiornithidae
The Sophiornithidae (literally "wisdom birds") are an extinct family (biology), family of chicken-sized predatory birds that lived from the Paleocene to the Eocene periods of the Cenozoic, and were found primarily in Europe, and are thought to be primitive owls (hence, the name wisdom bird). They were also possibly related to Strigiformes. The French genera ''Berruornis'' (Late Paleocene to Late Eocene/Early Oligocene), as well as ''Palaeotyto'' and ''Palaeobyas'' from Quercy, are sometimes placed in this family. The latter might instead be Tytonidae, barn owls, while the first might be a very basal owl but not an actual sophiornithid. ''Strigogyps'' was placed here for a time, but it has been revised several times since thenPeters, Dieter Stefan (2007): The fossil family Ameghinornithidae (Mourer-Chauviré 1981): a short synopsis. ''Journal of Ornithology'' 148(1): 25-28. and appears to be an Ameghinornithidae, ameghinornitid; these were distant relatives of the seriemas. Refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawk
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This subfamily are mainly woodland birds with short broad wings, long tails, and high visual acuity. They hunt by dashing suddenly from a concealed perch. In America, members of the '' Buteo'' group are also called hawks, though birds of this group are called buzzards in other parts of the world. Generally, buteos have broad wings and sturdy builds. They are relatively larger-winged and shorter-tailed than accipiters, and fly further distances in open areas. Buteos descend or pounce on their prey rather than engaging in fast, horizontal pursuit. The terms ''accipitrine hawk'' and ''buteonine hawk'' are used to distinguish between the types in regions where ''hawk'' applies to both. The term ''"true hawk"'' is sometimes used for the accipitrin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
