Owls are usually nocturnal, however some species hunt in the daylight hours.
They have very acute eyesight and hearing.
Owls can hear sounds pitched as high as 20,000 cycles per second.
The highest human range is 8,000 cycles per second.
Owls do not have eyeballs, their eyes are long and shaped more like a tube, because of
this shape their eyes are fixed in their sockets. To compensate for this an owl's neck has 14 vertebrae,
which is twice as many as humans, this allows the owl to turn its head through a range of 270 degrees.
Owls have three (3) eyelids. They have a normal upper and lower eyelid, the upper closing
when the owl blinks, and the lower
closing up when it is asleep. The third eyelid cleans and protects the surface of the eye while in flight. ( nictitating membrane)
It is a thin layer of tissue that closes diagonally across the eye from the inside to the outside.
Some owls have fringe on their primary feathers to enable silent flight.
This isn't so its prey won't hear the owl, but so that the owl can hear its prey.
Diet depends on the species of owl, some feed on small mammals, fish and insects.
They swallow their prey whole and then cough up a hard, round "pellet" of bones and fur.
They are considered harmless and are very useful in reducing rodent populations.
Their voices range from shrieks and coos to hoots.
There are several species of owls that are fairly common in Oklahoma.
You hear them but spotting one takes some effort unless you know where they are nesting.
Owls were considered the harbringers of death in the Native American culture, and as a bad omen in other cultures as well.
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