Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270°.
Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of filoplumes-hairlike feathers on the beak and feet that act as "feelers". As owls are farsighted, they are unable to clearly see anything within a few centimeters of their eyes. Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets-as are those of most other birds-so they must turn their entire heads to change views. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl's forward-facing eyes permits the greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to sharply focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls' asymmetrically placed ear cavities. 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. Owls are divided into two families: the true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn-owl family, Tytonidae.Ī group of owls is called a "parliament". They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes ( / ˈ s t r ɪ dʒ ə f ɔːr m iː z/), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Left Strigidae: Tawny owl ( Strix aluco), Eurasian eagle-owl ( Bubo bubo), Little owl ( Athene noctua), Northern saw-whet owl ( Aegolius acadicus) Right Tytonidae: Barn owl ( Tyto alba), Lesser sooty owl ( Tyto multipunctata), Tasmanian masked owl ( Tyto novaehollandiae castanops), Sri Lanka bay owl ( Phodilus assimilis).
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