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Owls

"The owl is small, it's screech is loud"

There are two families of owls: Typical owls, with about 167 species; and the Barn owls, with 14 species.

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl Snowy Owl

The snowy owl ranges across northern Eurasia and North America. During the winter months, the snowy owl's white feathers camouflage it, allowing it to swoot down undetected on small mammals (deer mice, rabbits, field mice, etc.) and fish.

European Scops Owl

Eagle Owl

Great Horned Owl

A common name for the American group of owls. It's found on the mainland from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. This species of owls vary in color. The back, wings, and tail are mottled and barred with dark brown, buff yellow, tawny brown, or (in the northernmost populations) pure white. Their throat is usually white. Their ears kind of go up, looking like horns. Thus their name: Great Horned Owls.

These owls live in a lot of different habitats. From subartic coniferous forests to arid deserts and wooden city parks. They nest in trees, in caves, on cliff edges, or even on the ground.

Spotted Owl

Dark brown owl from the forests of British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest, and south through central Mexico. There are three subspecies of the spotted owl: the northern, California, and Mexican spotted owls.

The spotted owl feeds mainly on rodents (mice, bunnies, ect.). It also eats small birds, reptiles, and insects.

Elf Owl

Smallest of the owl family is the Elf owl. It lives in the southwestern United Stated and Mexico. It's 13 cm (5 in) long and nests in woodpecker holes in large cacti.

Great Gray Owl

The great gray owl, Manitoba's provincial bird, is one of the many wildlife that live in the undeveloped forests of the province.

The Great Grey Owls are some of the largest owls in the world. Unfortunately, their size hinders their flight. These owls are not the most graceful flyers. They make up for it with their strength.

This owl is one of the few that hunt in daylight, because of it's home in the far north where it stays light much of the time. If it can, it will hunt in the dark, though.

Screech Owl

Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl

This owl lives in the open grasslands and farmlands of eastern Canada and the United States. This brown and white owl hunts for small mammals, birds, and reptiles for most of the year, but switches to insects during the summer. Burrowing owls usually nest in burrows (shocking surprise, huh?) that have been abandoned by prairie dogs and other animals.

Common Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Barn owls are almost world wide owls. You can find them almost anywhere. The only continent they aren't found in is Antartica. They can often be found in barns (hence the name Barn Owl) and churches. Their species name ("alba") refers to the color white.

Most Barn Owls are light grey with numerous dark lines or scattered pale spots on their feathers. Their faces are heart shaped with a brownish edge. They also have brown marks near their eyes (their eyes are usually either black or dark brown/yellow). Their beak is long and cream colored and their feet range from yellowish-cream to brownish. Barn owls have longer legs than the average owl. "Juvenile" owls have spots that usually fade as they get older (owl acne!).

Barn owls hunt small ground mammals (like field mice and gophers). Mostly they eat small rodents. They may also eat little rabbits, bats, frogs, lizard, birds, and insects. They help keep the population of these animals in check (so be good to them, or you may end up plagued by rats). They hunt near grasslands if they can, but also like open land and fields. They have very acute hearing, even for owls; they could hunt using only their hearing.

Barn Owls don't live too long, unfortunately. Their average life expentacy is one to two years. That doesn't mean they all live short lives. In North America, the oldest known Barn Owl in the wild lived eleven years and six months. In Holland, one lived seventeen years and ten months.

Other names for Barn Owls include:
Monkey-Faced Owl
Church Owl
Ghost Owl
Night Owl
Death Owl
Hissing Owl
Hobgoblin/Hobby Owl
White Owl
Silver Owl
Golden Owl
Delicate Owl
Straw Owl
Scritch Owl
Rat Owl
(The Screech Owl is sometimes identified as a Barn Owl, too.)

Sooty Owl

This owl lives in Australia. It's got a pale chest, kind of light specked.

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Last Updated: April 17, 2002