Scientists think it reduces fighting and other aggressive behavior. They may rub their bills across each other’s heads and facial discs. Mating owls spend a great deal of time together. If the female follows him, the two owls may become a mating pair. At the end of the performance, the male dives past the female into the grass. He may repeat this dance several times, all in an effort to impress the female. Then he will fly up again and hang in the wind. Some males even ‘sky dance.’ A male Short-eared Owl will circle high above the female he is courting and clap his wings under his belly several times during a dive. He might display his feathers by fluffing them out. Once a male owl gains the interest of a female, he starts performing, or showing off. She will only respond to calls from males of the same species. You can listen to the individual owl calls on our Owl ID pages.Ī female owl will listen for a call that interests her. The large Barred Owl hoots in a loud, low call that sounds like a question, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" The small Northern Saw-whet Owl sings in a rapid, high tone that some people think sounds like a file being scraped across the teeth of a saw. Generally, the large owls hoot and the small owls toot. Males begin seeking mates by calling through the afternoon and evening air. Late winter is mating time for most owls. Owls do this when the hunting is good in order to stock up and will usually go back for the prey within a day or two. Owls might cache prey in holes in trees, in the forks of tree branches, behind rocks, or in clumps of grass. This is called caching (pronounced CASH-ing). They capture prey and use their bill to carefully stuff the food into a hiding spot. In all methods, owls generally hunt close to the ground so that they can more easily hear and see their prey. Burrowing Owls commonly run across the ground after their prey. Sometimes owls – most often those that hunt in open country like the Short-eared Owl – hover like a helicopter above prey until they are ready to zoom in on it. Another approach to hunting, called quartering flight, is to search for prey while flying, as utilized by the Barn Owl. In this method owls perch comfortably until they see their prey, then glide down upon it Northern Hawk Owls use this approach. One hunting technique is called perch and pounce. Animals that eat insects are called insectivores. Some owls, like the Flammulated Owl eat insects almost exclusively. Occasionally, Great Horned Owls might even find skunks tasty enough to eat. An owl's diet may also include frogs, lizards, snakes, fish, mice, rabbits, birds, squirrels, and other creatures. Small, rodent-like mammals, such as voles and mice, are the primary prey for many owl species. Many owl species are carnivores, or meat eaters. Owls spend much of their waking time hunting for food. Crepuscular species are active during dusk and dawn. There are some owl species who are diurnal, however, meaning they are active during the day but rest at night. Many owl species are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. Becoming familiar with these songs and other vocalizations will help you find and identify owls. Many owls vocalize at a distinctively low frequency, which allows their songs to travel long distances without being absorbed by vegetation. The second family, Strigidae, includes all other owls, most of which have round faces. The family called Tytonidae includes Barn Owls, which have heart-shaped faces. That group is divided into two smaller groups, known as families. Owls belong to a group of birds called Strigiformes. They live on every continent except icy Antarctica. There are about 250 species of owls in the world. Most owl species are active at night, not in the daytime. Most owls have huge heads, stocky bodies, soft feathers, short tails, and a reversible toe that can point either forward or backward. Like hawks and eagles, owls are called raptors, or birds of prey, which means they use sharp talons and curved bills to hunt, kill, and eat other animals.īut owls are different from hawks and eagles in several ways.
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