Owls

Owls have a suite of adaptations which help them to be successful. Owls have large eyes and holes for ears, a hawk-like beak, and a rather flat face. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, but the owl's eyes are facing forwards to help it see better in the dark. Their eyes are also fixed inside their sockets, so they have to turn their whole head to look at other things. Owls can rotate their heads and necks up to 270 degrees in both directions.[1][2][3] Owls are good at looking at things far from its eyes, but it cannot see anything clearly within a few centimeters of their eyes. Owls use small feathers on the beak and the feet that help it feel the prey it catches. Hunting[change] Most owls hunt at night, and in twilight (dawn and dusk). A few owls are also active during the day. The owls' hunting depends on surprising its prey. Their most important adaptation is their almost silent flight. The feathers are soft, with fringes on the back edge, and the base of each is downy. This all muffles noise, and makes for silence. Also, coming in for the kill, they glide. The dull colors of the owls' feathers make them less visible by camouflaging the owl. This helps them as they roost during the day. Also, they have fantastic hearing. The shape of the head helps slight sounds reach the ears. The feathers of the facial disc are arranged in order to increase sound delivered to the ears. Their ears are asymmetrical allowing the owl to locate a sound. They can hear a mouse move in the grass. An owl's sharp beak and powerful talons allow it to kill its prey before swallowing it whole, unless it is too big. Owls usually regurgitate the parts of their prey that they cannot digest. These parts include bones, scales, and fur. Scientists who study the things that owls eat can get clues by studying the parts that the owl spit back out, called "owl pellets". These "owl pellets" are often sold by companies to schools for use in the