An owl is a small owl. However, she has her own characteristics, which are very interesting. We invite you to get acquainted with this representative of the animal world.
The appearance of owls
An owl is a generic name that includes several genera. These include various species of small owls that live in forests. An owl is a bird with an unusual appearance. She has a large head, as well as large round eyes with special protrusions located above them that resemble black upturned eyebrows. In addition, she, like barn owl, has a pronounced corolla. It looks like a mask from a bird like an owl. This gives her in combination with the "eyebrows" a serious look. Seriously, she has a name.
The name "Owl"
We hope you know how to spell "owl"? Of course, without a soft sign. However, not everyone knows where this name came from. It is customary to compare a lonely and gloomy person with an owl in modern speech. But this word originally comes from similar words that have the meaning of "whistle." Most often, owls make precisely whistling sounds, breaking the stereotype of owls. This bird in Kyrgyzstan is called "baykush", which means "beggar" or "poor", precisely because of its sad cry. However, the rest of the habits of the owl is still close to the representatives of the owls. Like them, he is a night hunter.
Is it easy to meet an owl?
The owl eats various rodents, and sometimes eats small birds. It can be distinguished from owls by the absence of feathers resembling ears. It is not so easy for a person to notice this bird in the forest. The fact is that an owl catches your eye very rarely. In addition, this bird is “masked” in the crown of trees with a mottled color. Most often you can meet an owl in the taiga. However, some species, in particular, the domestic owl (brownie), live next to people, sometimes in residential buildings. All species are similar in appearance.
Childbirth and species of owls
Among the species of the genus Athene, sometimes called the genus of syrins, the following can be noted: house owl (pictured above), spotted or Brahmin, forest, rabbit, Indian. The latter is an extremely rare species. He was even listed on the IUCN extinct bird list. Nevertheless, some ornithologists believe that it still exists, although it is very rare.
Types of borefoot owls: common, South American borefoot, Mexican borefoot, Nova Scotia borefoot. The more common name for the latter is American. Ornithologists sometimes attribute this species to Mexican and South American.
26 species belong to the family of passerines: red-faced passerines, collared, Cape, cuckoo, owl-gnome, tiny, nominative, pearl, jungle, Cuban, chestnut-backed, red-breasted, etc. They differ in small size, as well as a long tail, short wings and eye-contrasting pattern on the back of the head, due to which they were nicknamed the "four-eyed".
There is also a genus of elf owls. It includes a single species called Micrathene whitneyi (pictured above). These birds began to be called elves because of their very small size - only 12-14 cm.
Spread
Athene is the most common genus of owls. Its representatives inhabit Europe, Africa, Asia, America. Brown owl is found, for example, in the south and in the center of the European continent. In addition, it can be found in the northern regions of Africa, as well as everywhere in Asia, with the exception of the north. The habitat of owls in Russia covers the south and center of the European part, Southern Altai, Central Asia, Transbaikalia, as well as the nearest republics - Tuva, Kazakhstan. In South and North America, another species of this genus is found - rabbit owl.
The common boreal owls settled in Eurasia. They are also found in Canada. The remaining 3 species live in various parts of the American continent (their names indicate this). In South and Central America, passerines are especially common. They are found everywhere except Australia. And elf owls live in the USA, in the southwest, and in Mexico, where sometimes the hollows of huge saguaro cacti inhabit . They are not able to hollow out nests on their own due to a weak beak, which is why they settle in hollows or other people's nests. Athene common owls settle in a warm climate mainly in open steppe spaces, as well as semi-desert and desert. They can also live in the north next to humans or inhabit taiga forests. Coniferous forests, located both on the plains and in the mountains, have been chosen by borefoot owls.
Lifestyle
Representatives of all clans lead a sedentary lifestyle . Only Athene individuals in the highlands sometimes descend into the plains. These owls equip their nests in various shelters, for which they can sometimes use heaps of brushwood, burrows of other animals, roofs of buildings, walls of wells and even attics of houses. They are mainly nocturnal birds, but are forced to hunt in the north and on polar days. Boreal owls - owls are purely nocturnal and forest. They settle in the hollows. Sparrow owl nests mainly in mixed forests, and elves occupy free hollows. Only the behavior of elf owls from all genera differs from other representatives. They hunt only insects in the evenings, mornings and nights. These birds sometimes attack the victims and on the ground. They eat their prey in the nest.
Hunting and feeding brownie owl
The manner of hunting in such a bird as a brown owl is extremely diverse. She has strong flexion muscles on her fingers, so she easily grabs rather large rodents. The house owl hunts in the early morning, as well as from evening to midnight. He can watch the victim for a long time, after which, when she stops, attack her. Another way is to overtake your prey on the fly or in shaving flight, and sometimes walking on the ground. You, of course, are interested in knowing what the brownie owl eats. Its food is mainly rodents - voles, hamsters, brownies and bats, jerboas. However, sometimes representatives of this species collect earthworms or eat insects, for example, dung beetles or ground beetles.
House owls sometimes store food for the future. However, a real plushkin for food is a passerine owl. Let's see what he eats.
What does the sparrow owl eat?
His prey is birds and small rodents. This owl hides food supplies in the hollow in the fall, but it differs in the process of eating it. He never swallows his prey whole, but chooses the most tidbits. The sparrow owl carefully plucks the caught victims.
Barn Owl prey
Boreal owls ambush at low altitude and hunt here. They also fly over hunting areas, inspecting them carefully. These owls feed on mouse-like rodents, and sometimes small birds. For example, they can catch ducklings near ponds. These birds swallow whole food. They often burp undigested residues, so the daytime “parking lot” of borefoot owls can be found on them.
Elf Owl Food
Insect-eating birds are elf owls. They catch their prey both on land and on the fly. Locusts, grasshoppers, larvae of flies, moths, millipedes, caterpillars, cicadas, spiders and even scorpions become victims of elf owls. Therefore, all owls in one way or another benefit the person.
Breeding
With the onset of spring begins the breeding season of owls. The males at this time emit mating cries. The female does masonry in early April. Usually it contains from 4 to 5 eggs with a granular white shell. Owls eggs hatch for 28 days. The male feeds the female during incubation (this applies to the house owl). The chicks that are born are blind and very fluffy. However, after a month, they practically reach the adult body size. Chicks become independent in August. As for the borefoots, their reproduction process also occurs in April. These owls have a similar number of eggs in the clutch, but the shell is almost white. Other features of their breeding are similar in general to the genus of owls. Sparrow mating behavior is slightly different. In these owls, the male begins to feed the female even before laying the eggs. After the chicks are born, the owl "removes" its nest. She throws out all the accumulated garbage from there. A month later, the chicks of this bird leave the nest. They rarely come back. During this period, the parents feed them near the nest - where the chicks find themselves screaming like a whistle. The male elf-owl replaces the female during incubation, when she goes hunting at night. The breeding percentage of these birds is the highest, since their nests are located in places inaccessible to predators.
Village Owls
In honor of these interesting birds, villages are often called. One of them is particularly famous. In the Perm region, in the Ohan region, the village of Sychi is located. Healer Alexander Ivanovich living here is very popular. People go to him even from abroad. It is said that this 82-year-old man cures of various diseases. By the way, he accepts only baptized people, and also conducts services in his own small church.
And there is also a militia (call sign - "Owl"), which regularly makes reports on events in the DPR. As you can see, the name of this bird is very popular.