How many types of owls are there. Owl lifespan. General characteristics, nutrition, habitat. Where do owls live

Owls - amazing birds for whom life is just beginning with the advent of the night. These bug-eyed birds are not only the subject of affection for millions of people, but also elusive predators that people rarely get to see face to face. Luckily, photographer Brad Wilson gave us the opportunity to do so with some impressive portraits of owls. You are waiting for not just breathtakingly beautiful owls, but also interesting facts from their lives.

Western Short-eared Owl

Habitat: From southeastern Alaska to western Canada and from the western United States to central Mexico

These owls deliberately bring small blind snakes, similar to large earthworms, to the nest to protect it from insects. Since owls usually prey on dead rodents, the smell of their bodies can attract them to the nest. a large number of insects that snakes eat.

barn owl

Habitat: All continents except Antarctica

rabbit owl

Habitat: open landscapes of North and South America

As you might have guessed, these owls live in underground burrows that used to belong to small mammals like ground squirrels and prairie dogs. Unlike others, these burrowing owls are active during the day, especially in spring when they need to forage for food to feed their large broods.

western american owl

Habitat: in the summer in southwestern Canada, throughout the western United States, and in Mexico, where they fly for the winter

The name of this species sounds like "psiloscops flammeolus", and translated from Latin means "fiery orange", which is a description of their unique color. The scoop loves to hunt nocturnal insects and spiders, which it catches in the air or among the foliage.

Virginian eagle owl (great horned owl)

Habitat: Throughout the continent of North America and most of South

Like other owls, the great horned owl eats its prey along with fur, feathers, bones, meat, and internal organs. It is also the only predator that is able to hunt skunks.

long-eared owl

Habitat: North America, Europe, Asia, and locally in North Africa, wintering in southern parts of Mexico and China

The so-called "ears" after which the owl takes its name are actually tufts of feathers on top of the head. Researchers believe that these tufts of feathers may help them camouflage themselves in their surroundings. They are also very resourceful: instead of building their own nest, these owls use nests built by other birds such as magpies and crows.

Eurasian Eagle Owl

Habitat: Europe and Asia

There are very few animals in its habitat that can intimidate the Eurasian eagle owl with its two-meter wingspan. They regularly prey on mammals ranging from hares to fawns, and they are not averse to feasting on other birds such as herons and buzzards.

northern pygmy owl

Habitat: Western North America and Central America

Owls, also known as pygmy owls, remain active in daytime. While hunting, they rely solely on their eyesight, because unlike other owls, they do not have good hearing, quiet flight and night vision.

North American owl

Habitat: East of North American rocky mountains and northeastern Mexico

These owls are also known as screechers, but eared birds use their abilities to make sounds like a quiet neigh or soft trill.

spectacled owl

Habitat: Mexico, Central America and northern parts of South America

Spectacled owl chicks are complete opposites of their parents, they have white feathers and black muzzles.

Owls are large birds of prey that are distributed almost everywhere the globe. There are over 420 species owls. These birds are easy to distinguish by their characteristic appearance.

Appearance

home distinguishing feature owls are big round eyes which are located not on the sides of the head, as in other birds, but in front. The owl cannot move and rotate them, they are motionless and always directed forward. But The head of these birds is very mobile.- an owl can easily twist it in different directions. On the sides of the head there are often tufts of feathers that resemble ears.

The beak is small, sharp, curved down. Paws are short with sharp hooked claws. The wings are large and the tail is short. The feather cover of owls is thick and soft. The color of the feathers is dull, most often brownish or grayish in color with variegated spots. This coloration allows the birds to remain invisible in natural conditions.

Most owls are fairly large birds. The largest is the owl. It can reach a height of 70 cm and a wingspan of 180 cm. But there are also small owls. For example, the body length of a sparrow owl is no more than 20 cm, and the wingspan is 45 cm. Usually females are larger than males.

Spreading

Owls are found not only in Russia. They live in all parts of our planet except Antarctica and several islands. These nocturnal birds have adapted well to a wide variety of habitat conditions. They can be found in forests, mountains, deserts and tundra.

Almost all owls are sedentary birds; in autumn they do not fly to other lands. Only a few species are migratory, among them the well-known long-eared owl.

Nutrition

These birds are nocturnal hunters. Usually they eat insects and small rodents - They see perfectly in the dark, they have very sensitive hearing, and the flight is almost silent. Thanks to these qualities, their hunting is almost always successful.

Owls use several ways to hunt:

1. They fly quietly through the night forest, sometimes scream, frightening small animals, and when I hear a rustle, I quickly grab the prey.
2. They sit quietly on a tree and listen, and when they hear a squeak or rustle, they quickly fly off the branch and grab their prey.
3. Fishing owls catch fish with their paws right out of the water and hold it with sharp claws.

Only a few owls go hunting during the day, such as the snowy, hawk and pygmy owl.

reproduction

Once a year, these birds hatch chicks. They lay their eggs in a hollow, a crevice in a tree, or in some old bird's nest. The female incubates her eggs for a month. The chicks hatch hairy, but blind and deaf. Both parents feed the chicks. When the chicks mature, their fluff changes to feathers, and they fly away from the parental nest.

Owls are very unusual birds, here are a few interesting facts to report on them:

• They cannot distinguish colors and see everything in black and white.
• They see well not only at night, but also during the day.
• Never gather in flocks.
• They have very good hearing, they hear four times better than a cat.
• About 10 thousand years ago, a giant owl lived in Cuba. Her height reached 120 cm. She could not fly, because her wings were very small, but she knew how to walk very quickly. The giant owl hunted small animals, catching up with them with quick steps.

The owl bird is a predator that is found everywhere except Antarctica. In Russia, there are seventeen species of owls. Most of them live in forests.

Two families belong to the order of owls: owls, whose representatives are the tawny owl, eagle owl, eared owl, scops, and barn owls, which includes two genera - barn owls and mask barn owls.

Description of the owl

Owls are significantly different from birds that hunt during the daytime. The features of their skeleton are: characteristic processes on the main bones, a kind of triple articulation of the skull with lower jaw, short phalanges of the third finger, the ability of the outer fingers to bend backwards, the notch of the breast bone.

The body size of owls is 17-70 cm, and the weight is from 50 g to 4 kg. Special structure feathers allows them to move quickly and almost silently, reaching speeds of up to 80 km / h.

When in a state of irritability or excitement, birds make a special sound similar to clicking.

Birds of prey see perfectly at night. When tracking prey, they are able to turn their heads 270 degrees.

Excellent hearing helps these birds during the hunt to accurately determine the appearance of rodents or mammals.

Appearance

Female and male owls look the same. Representatives of the order of owls have a large round head; strong paws covered with feathers; rounded tail; large forward looking eyes. They defend themselves against enemies using curved claws and a short beak. The wingspan of some species of birds reaches two meters.

The color of the plumage depends on the habitat. Many owls have a dull, greyish-brown coloration with dark patches, which allows them to be inconspicuous in natural environment a habitat.

Owl species

There are about two hundred and twenty species of owls. The most common and unusual are:

1. Tawny owl. This big bird: the length of her body reaches 50 cm. The diet of the owl is unusual. It consists only of mice and only in exceptional cases of pigeons. The Ural Owl is slightly larger than the common owl. The Ural Owl is less selective in food. Hares and rabbits can become its prey. Lives in Russia gray owl, arranging nests in old hawk or buzzard houses and eating squirrels and mice.
2. Owl. Most major representative owl families. Its habitat is Europe. In Russia, the bird is listed in the Red Book. Eagle owl preys on small vertebrates (field mice, squirrels, rabbits). Sometimes he can eat a frog, crayfish or fish. He never leaves his habitat.
3. White Owl. What an owl of this species looks like is known to everyone who watched the Harry Potter movie. This large bird more than seventy centimeters in size, which weighs about two kilograms. On the snow-white plumage of an owl there are dark blotches that correspond to its age. These birds prefer an isolated lifestyle, so they nest at a considerable distance from each other.
4. Eared owl. According to the description, it resembles a miniature owl. Representatives of this species have acute hearing and are able to catch even rustles. They are found in dense forests throughout Eurasia. Long-eared owls - migratory birds. They spend the winter in the Crimea, the Caucasus or North Africa, and in May they return to their nesting sites. These birds do not show aggression towards their species. Sometimes in the daytime they peacefully sit on a tree in a flock, and at night they go hunting.
5. Sparrow owl. A representative of the owl family, whose size does not exceed twenty centimeters, and its weight is 80 g. The sparrow owl can be found in almost all European countries. Its plumage is grayish-brown or grey colour. This bird rarely leaves their homes. The sparrow owl is a real gourmet. It only eats the head of its prey and leaves the rest to rot.
6. House owl. The bird is slightly larger than the previous species. The little owl lives in Europe, Asia and North Africa. In Russia, it is found in Transbaikalia and Southern Altai. Usually the bird settles under the roofs of houses or in attics. An interesting way of hunting representatives of this species. A bird can wait for prey for several hours and watch it, and then suddenly break away and pursue until a good moment for attack appears. Its diet consists mainly of mice, shrews, insects and worms. The small size of the bird allows you to create comfortable conditions for a pet even in a standard apartment. House owls are affectionate and peaceful birds, which, however, will not allow themselves to be treated badly, punishing the offender with a sharp beak.
7. Barn owl. A feature of the bird is the heart-shaped shape of the facial disc. Barn owl has red plumage with specks and stripes. An unusual feature characteristic of such birds is the asymmetrical arrangement of the ears: one is located in the forehead, the other is near the ears. Western and Southern Europe, Western Canary Islands, North Africa, The Middle East is far from all the regions where an owl belonging to this species lives. It can be seen on every continent except Antarctica.

The nature and lifestyle of an owl

Many owls are sedentary, however, some go to winter in warm countries. At night they go hunting, and during the day they hide in the crowns of trees, occasionally making sounds. During daylight hours, birds fly from place to place only in case of a predator attack. The exception is polar owls. They are active regardless of the time of day.

Reproduction and offspring

Owls breed once a year. Some species form a pair for life, others look for a new partner every season. These birds do not build their own nests, preferring to nest in secluded places: crevices, depressions and nests of other birds.

Owls lay up to ten eggs. Within a month, the female incubates them, and the male provides her with food during this period.

Care for the offspring of owls is manifested in the feeding and protection of chicks. Little owls are not able to swallow a whole rodent, so the female shifts the prey from her beak to her paws, tears off pieces of the carcass and feeds them to the chicks in her beak. After some time, the offspring begin to snatch food from their parents on their own. Food is distributed unevenly between chicks. During the period of its shortage, owls take special care of older chicks, which sometimes eat their own. younger brothers. After the offspring leave the nest, the parents continue to feed and protect it.

What do owls eat in nature

The diet of birds determines their species and habitat. Needle-footed owls eat nocturnal insects, such as hawks, night butterflies. Eagle owls prefer warm-blooded animals: gray rats, voles, lemmings, hamsters, rabbits, hares, pikas, hedgehogs, martens. The snowy owl feeds on lemmings, ptarmigans, geese, ducks and fish.

In the cold season, raptors store mice in their nests. They can go without water for several months, quenching their thirst with the blood of their prey. In winter, you can see traces of a bird on the edge of the forest, a forest clearing - in those places where it hunts.

Keeping an owl at home

The bird became a popular pet after the release of the Harry Potter films, which received a mail owl Hedwig as a gift. However, not everyone can keep a feathered predator in an apartment. This is hard work that requires a lot of time and effort.

The process of getting used to the new living conditions of an owl takes a long period. In addition, the pet requires free space. It is better to equip a separate room for flights with a strong mesh fixed on the window and thick curtains on the windows. On the walls of the room, it is desirable to fix imitated branches made of iron or wood, covered with carpet or artificial grass.

Owl owners tend to keep the birds in a cage, regularly letting them fly into the equipped room.

Birds do not tolerate loneliness. Feeling a lack of attention, they begin to scream long and loudly.

Spending time with your pet brings a lot positive emotions, however, it has another side: owls leave abrasions and scratches, even when in a good mood.

Birds of prey prefer mainly animal food. They are happy to eat worms, large insects, rodents, birds, snakes, fish and lizards. Owl food should always be fresh. Birds are ready to starve, but they will never taste carrion. Species living in tropical countries enjoy fruits and berries.

While eating, the birds tear their prey with their claws and beak, while its insides scatter in different directions. Experienced owl owners advise gutting rodents on their own and only then giving them to their pet.

When purchasing a bird, the owner must be prepared for the fact that keeping the pet's cage clean will require effort: weekly processing of the cage and items in it with specialized products, as well as timely removal of feathers and down during the annual molt. Do not forget that the pet needs fresh water every day.

How long do owls live

The life expectancy of representatives of the order of owls in natural conditions is on average 5-10 years. Large individuals tend to live longer. For example, in wild nature the eagle owl can live up to 20 years, and the pygmy owl - 5-7 years. However, this is only approximate data. It is difficult to determine how many years a bird can live, since it depends on external factors. In captivity, an owl can live up to fifty years.

natural enemies

Nature is fraught with many dangers: the likelihood of meeting other predators, diseases, lack of food.

It is believed that the death of owls in natural conditions most often occurs due to hunger. The reduction in the number of animals that birds feed on provokes the death of 25% of young individuals.

Often, large feathered predators attack owls: eagles, hawks, golden eagles. But not only adults are attacked by enemies. Chicks that have fallen out or left their nests prematurely become the prey of a fox, a ferret or a raccoon. For the offspring of the snowy owl, the arctic fox and skua, eating young individuals, pose a threat.

Sometimes, hollow nesting owls die in their own nest, being walled up by a nuthatch. This happens because the bird, having chosen a hollow for its nest, where the owl settled, covers the hole with clay.

However, the main enemy of the owl is man. Cutting down trees has a detrimental effect on the habitat of birds. Unauthorized hunting also reduces the troop's population. Short-eared owls sitting on asphalt often die under the wheels of cars. These factors have led to the fact that some species have become less common in their natural habitat. White, hawk and long-eared owls, as well as the eagle owl are listed in the Red Book.

In nature, owls play a significant role. They prevent an increase in the number of rodents, exterminate sick birds.

Owls contribute to the distribution of fruits and seeds of plants. Bird droppings are valuable organic fertilizer which can be used in agriculture.

The birds of this order, and it is represented by almost 150 species, live in almost all natural areas. It is easy to recognize an owl by some common features characteristic of most of them.

It is believed that the first owl-like bird lived already in the late Mesozoic (248-65 million years ago). At the time of the Eocene that followed it, and it ended 40 million years ago, several species of owls are believed to have lived in Europe. But birds with familiar features appeared between 10 and 25 million years ago.

Signs of owls

The first of the signs that you immediately notice in an owl are its large head and muzzle with large round eyes looking forward, which is surrounded by a facial disc. In barn owls, the facial disc is heart-shaped, but in common owls, it is usually round. The beak is short, curved, with nostrils located at the base.

The plumage of these birds, as a rule, is thick and soft, the tail is rectangular, and the wings are relatively large, rounded, and in those species that hunt under the forest canopy, they are short, and in those that prefer open area or frequent flights - long. Compared to its body weight, the owl's wings are large, so it flies and glides effortlessly and completely silently.

Plumage

The plumage coloration of owls is usually "protective", that is, it merges with environment, helping the bird to remain unnoticed during daytime rest. The feathers of wood owls are usually brownish, while in species living in coniferous forests, has a grayish tinge. Owls - the inhabitants of the desert and their relatives, found on the flat terrain, are distinguished by a lighter color: owls in the desert are certainly red. With the exception of fish owls, feathers also cover the paws. Due to the fact that her outer fingers are reversible, the owl equally firmly captures both the perch and its prey, and their claws are all long and sharp.

Females, as a rule, are slightly larger than males, but their feather color is almost the same. True, in the snowy owl, males are distinguished by snow-white plumage, while in their girlfriends it has noticeable brownish streaks.

Owls have sharp eyesight and hearing. Their big eyes adapted for hunting in low light conditions. It is often said that owls see well in the dark, but weakly in daylight, but neither opinion is true. An owl, since its eyes look forward, like a person, has binocular vision, but its wider field is achieved due to the bird's ability to turn its head almost 180 degrees. Her ears are located on both sides of the facial disc, and in some species the external ears are asymmetrical, that is, one can be 50% larger than the other, and it is also located higher. The inner ear is especially large in all owls. Yes, and neurons in that part of the brain that is responsible for hearing, they have much more than most other birds. As a result, such a subtle hearing that some owls can determine the location of their prey in pitch darkness, or even under a layer of snow. By the way, the tassels on the ears of some species have nothing to do with the hearing of owls, but they probably help to identify representatives of their own species.

Owl habits

Almost all kinds of owls lead night image life, with the exception of the little owl, widespread in southern Britain and Europe, and the short-eared owl, found throughout Britain and Eurasia. Two species of owls - hawk owl and snowy - live in the Arctic. In summer, they usually hunt on clear nights, and in winter they prefer several hours of daytime.

During the day, most owls rest in a chosen place - on a branch, in a crevice, on a rock ledge, or even under a canopy of an abandoned house. There are species that arrange nests in the recesses of the ground, and there are those that live in burrows.

Almost all owls are sedentary birds, that is, they live in one place all their lives, but there are also migratory species among them. Some barn owls, found in Central and Southern Europe in summer, fly north for the winter tropical Africa or elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Short-eared owl also migrates south for winter. Many owls - for example, hawk and large gray owls - can be forced to roam from their acquired place due to lack of food.

Settled owls are distinguished characteristic behavior associated with the protection of their own territory: they are aggressive about attempts to violate it by anyone, and especially by other birds of prey.

Sounds

Owls are very vocal birds. The repertoire of their calls includes many more sounds than the familiar hoot. The male owl warns territory violators with an ordinary cry, accompanies the courtship of the female and foreshadows his return to the nest with food for the chosen one and chicks. In addition, he has a fairly wide repertoire. Special talkativeness is inherent in owls during the breeding season. It is known that the hawk owl at such a time in one night can give voice 600 times. Her cries are very diverse: some, according to the description, are similar to the crying of a child, others resemble laughter - sharp and mocking. Of the European owls, the pygmy owl is perhaps the smallest, but not the most silent: it has an impressive array of territorial signals and various lively whistles. Nestlings in most species, when hungry, communicate this with rapid chirps, clicks, and chirps.

Owl diet

Owls feed, with few exceptions, on live prey. Sometimes they saw that they also use carrion, but still owls prefer to satisfy their appetite by hunting. Their diet, which varies slightly by habitat, includes small mammals - mice, voles, shrews, rats, lemmings, rabbits, mountain hares, and earthworms, different insects, small snakes and other reptiles, and fish and crustaceans. It happens that an owl on a hunt can kill a young deer, many of them attack other birds and even small owls. Eagle owls, as you know, can eat a hedgehog, having learned to remove the skin and needles from it before taking on meat.

Hunting

Its methods depend on the prey itself. An owl catches insects on the fly, but if there is a fish in the diet - like a South African fishing owl - then it, sitting on a thick branch near the water, will closely monitor whether the ripples that are in the depths of the fish will give out, so that they can then silently dive and grab the catch with the claws. Maybe she hunts crabs and other small crustaceans found along the coastline.

The vast majority of nocturnal hunters look out for their prey, silently circling over a certain sector into which they divide their lands, where they systematically catch. Or, sitting motionless in a convenient place - on a branch or a pole - they look out for a victim on the ground: not the slightest movement of a shrew or a vole will escape their sharp eyesight and the finest hearing. European species 16-48% of your own body weight is required per day of eating.

Barn owls seem to be an exception, in which the need for food is higher. By the way, if we compare the amount eaten with the size of the bird, many small owls will give odds to larger species.

Owl breeding

Apparently, the most noticeable influence on when owls start breeding is the availability of food and the prevailing weather: if there is a lot of food, the birds begin to breed earlier and lay more eggs, if there is a shortage, then at best there will be one or two eggs in the clutch.

Some species of owls form a couple once and for life, while the males of others look for a new female every year. Few owls build their own nests, much more often they occupy the empty dwellings of other birds, use hollows in trees or other natural depressions. Some species make nests from tufts of grass and straw. The African short-eared owl nests on the ground, in burrows made in vegetation. Desert species lay their eggs, usually in burrows abandoned by rodents.

laying eggs

Having chosen a place for a nest, an owl can lay in it at intervals of several days from one to 14 eggs. Compared to chicken oval eggs, in owls they have more round shape. Unlike many other birds, the female begins incubation as soon as she lays the first egg, so the chicks hatch at intervals of several days and, if a difficult time comes, the later hatched chicks starve while the elders get all the food. The duration of incubation different types ranges from 24 to 36 days. Only the female sits on the eggs, and the male brings her food during this period.

Cubs are born helpless, with eyes and ears closed with a soft fluff. It, before real feathers begin to appear in them, will be replaced by a secondary downy cover - the mesoptile. The eyes usually open in the second week. At first, only the male brings food to the nest - mice and voles, and the female does not leave the kids, protecting them from hypothermia. But as they grow, their appetite also increases - and then the female also begins to fly away to hunt.

The chicks decide to get out of the nest, depending on the species, at the 3rd week of life. At this time, many of them do not know how or want to fly, so they can stay not far from the nest for several more weeks. They are ready to breed at about one year of age.

barn owls

Barn owls are found in almost all corners of the planet, differing in the widest range of distribution among land birds. Perhaps, like no other owl, the barn owl settles near a person, very often choosing the roofs of barns, sheds, empty houses or church towers as a daytime perch or nest.

In the European - white-breasted - barn owl, the most beautiful fluffy plumage on the back is yellowish-brown, with a golden tint and gray-white spots. The lower part of the bird is white, sometimes with a yellowish tinge on the chest, mottled with black dots, and the heart-shaped facial oval and inner part wings are painted pure white.

The barn owl's diet consists of small rodents, but it may snatch directly from the nest and small birds such as sparrows, or bats- if you manage to catch them. This night hunter can, when winter comes or you need to feed the chicks, go hunting during the day. She carries the prey to the nest and eats it there.

The breeding season in Europe usually begins in February-March, and two broods are not uncommon. Eggs oblong in shape, and there can be 4-7 of them in a clutch, are located in a convenient place somewhere on a roof or in a hollow tree. The barn owl does not nest itself, but instead it lines the chosen place with food pellets or occupies a nest made by other birds. Incubation lasts several days and during this time the male takes care of the feeding of the female. When the chicks begin to hatch, he, doubling his agility, lays several carcasses of rodents at the edge of the nest at once. After the chicks have hatched, the female crushes the shell and often eats it. Until the babies are 7-8 weeks old, they do not leave the nest.

The lifestyle of all species of owls that inhabit the planet is approximately the same, the diet and place of residence only slightly vary.

Owls do not build nests themselves, but either occupy old nests of corvids and others. birds of prey, or settle in hollows, rock niches and other natural shelters. There are cases when owls made a dwelling in human buildings. For example, in the UK, an owl suffering from agoraphobia, fear of open space. This is a male owl named Gandalf, who sits in a small shed around the clock and watches what is happening from the window.

Predatory owls eat small birds and rodents, prey on and rats. Thanks to their unique hearing, they can correctly determine where the victim is hiding, and thanks to their special, binocular vision, they can accurately calculate the distance to the object and concentrate all their attention on it.

Distinctive feature all owls - secrecy. Walking in the woods, you are more likely to hear them than to see them. Another interesting property is increased curiosity. So, seeing in the forest, an owl may begin to pursue him, flying from branch to branch.

Contrary to popular belief, owls are more often not alone, but in pairs, and the usually formed couple lives inseparably for a lifetime. This is facilitated, in particular, by the inherent settled way of life. Another curious nuance: during underfeeding, older owl chicks feast on the younger ones.

In Russia, the most common long-eared owls- a view that has received its own