This is Hedwig, shes an education GHO at Liberty
I'm going to list some facts, enjoy!
The "ear tufts" are not its ears. They are just feathers and are believed to be there to help break up the outline of its head during the day.
The ears are actually down on the head (at eye level) at different heights. This helps them locate prey better.
The eyes are fixed and cannot move in the socket. In order to see side to side the owl must turn its head.
An owl can turn its head 270 degrees. It can do so because it has double the vertebrae that mammals do.
If humans eyes were proportioned to our bodies like a great horns, our eyes would be grapefruit size.
Their coloration is to help camouflage them in the woods.
Great horned owls don't build nests. Instead they take over old nests or just lay eggs on the ground.
A great horned owl weighs about 3 1/2 pounds and has a wing span of nearly 5 feet. They are generally about 2 feet tall or less.
Females are larger than males
In order to hunt in total silence, great horned owls are covered in feathers. Their eyelids and all the way to their feet are covered. The leading primary feathers on a great horned are serrated. This helps break up the air passing over the wing and keeps the owl silent.
Great horned owls do not smell, thus they are a main predator of skunks. They will also hunt rabbits, rodents, smaller birds, your cat, small dogs...
The great horned kills its prey with its talons which have amazing gripping strength.
- Take a bathroom scale and hold it with both hands and squeeze. Squeeze tight. What did you get to? 100? Less? A great horned can get to 80 with one foot.
I work with these birds all the time. I handle the education ones but mostly the wild ones. I can attest to their amazing strength as they clamp down on my wrist when I try to grab one. They stare at you with such anger and clack their beaks at you as a warning to whats coming. Its amazing to hold these beautiful birds, especially when you are about to set it free.
-Nina
1 comment:
Yippie, owls -quite possibly the most perfect living thing, definately the coolest. I am going to come back as an owl in my next life. (even if i do have to eat skunk!) And if i get injured I'll try not to hiss and bite the people who help me, but no promises i am an owl...
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