Wild About Owls
Great Horned Owl taking flight at the Raptor Free Flight show at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson.
September 14, 2018
Okay. I'll admit it. I am totally smitten with owls. I love everything about them: their piercing yellow eyes; those tenacious talons that can take down large prey, snapping bones like twigs; their soft, bark-colored feathers that camouflage them perfectly, insulate them against the cold and help them fly very quietly in pursuit of prey.
Owls are elusive creatures, things of storybooks, legends and superstition. Most people only hear an owl's deep hooting at night and might, if lucky, catch a fleeting glimpse as it ghosts overhead. Known as silent predators of the night, owls are capable of flying just inches from their prey without being detected - until it's too late. The unique structure of their wings is designed to reduce noise caused by turbulence, allowing them to fly and hunt in near silence.
So Many Owls, So Little Time. There are 200 species of owls, and I have had the good fortune to see up close and personal ten species in my home state of Arizona. Here are some fun facts about owls and the ones I have met.
Nocturnal Hunters. Although other carnivorous birds, such as hawks and eagles, hunt during the day, most owls hunt at night. Their dark colors make them nearly invisible to their prey—insects, small mammals and other birds—and their wings beat almost silently. These adaptations, combined with their enormous eyes, put owls among the most efficient night hunters on the planet.
Are They Really That Wise? In popular culture, owls are often depicted as extremely intelligent. It's virtually impossible to train an owl (although a Great Horned Owl at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson seems pretty well trained!). At the same time, parrots, hawks and pigeons can be taught to retrieve objects and memorize simple tasks. But owls need lots of brain power to hunt at night and those saucer-big eyes convey the impression of high intelligence.
Looks like this Great Horned Owl put his pants on backward! Astonishingly flexible necks let them turn their heads three-quarters of a circle, or 270 degrees, compared to 90 degrees for the average human being.
Turning Heads. One of the most remarkable things about owls is that they move their entire heads when looking at something rather than moving their eyes, like most other vertebrates. Owls have large, forward-facing fixed eyes to gather low light during their nocturnal hunts and have astonishingly flexible necks that let them turn their heads 270 degrees, compared to 90 degrees for the average human.
Powerful Talons. As befitting birds that hunt and kill small prey, owls have some of the strongest talons in the avian world, capable of seizing and grasping squirrels, rabbits and other wiggly mammals. One of the largest owl species, the Great Horned, can curl its claws with a force of 300 pounds per square inch. Some large owls have talons comparable to those of much bigger eagles, which may explain why even desperately hungry eagles usually won't attack their smaller cousins.
Myths and Legends. Ancient civilizations had widely divergent opinions about owls. The Greeks chose owls to represent Athena, the goddess of wisdom, but Romans were terrified of them, considering them bearers of ill omens. The Aztecs and Mayans hated and feared owls as symbols of death and destruction, while many Native American tribes scared their children with stories of owls waiting in the dark to carry them away. The ancient Egyptians had a kinder view of owls, believing they protected the spirits of the dead as they traveled to the underworld.
Meet The Owls. I am lucky to have been able to find, observe and photograph two of the ten species in my neighborhood, but others I've had to search out across the state and have just found me.
The Great Horned Owl is a large owl (18-25 inches) that adapts easily to different habits and has a vast range, making it the most widely distributed owl in the Americas. Great Horned Owls are nocturnal, and you have no doubt seen their silhouette perched on a rooftop uttering a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots. This female and her mate have raised several broods high in a palm tree over a popular park in Verrado.
Standing about 16 inches, the Barn Owl roosts in hidden, quiet places, such as a barn or other abandoned building. During the day and, by night, it hunts in open fields and meadows and you might catch a flash of pale wings in your headlights while driving through the open country at night. This one (right) was trying to nap under a bridge in a wildlife area near my home. Despite a worldwide distribution, Barn Owls are declining in parts of their range due to habitat loss. This one is a regular resident under a bridge in Tres Rios Wetlands.
Burrowing Owl. On average, these owls stand about 10 inches tall and are sand colored with bright yellow eyes. They live underground in burrows they've dug or taken over from a prairie dog or ground squirrel. A male and female built a nest in a cavity under the sidewalk of a busy intersection near my home years ago, and they (or another pair) have occupied that space for at least five years. They don't seem bothered by their proximity to humans and their pollution. In fact, Burrowing Owls have a higher tolerance for carbon dioxide than other birds—an adaptation found in other burrowing animals that spend long periods underground where the gas can accumulate to higher levels than found above ground.
The Whiskered Screech-Owl is compact and stands about 7-10 inches - not much taller than a standard pair of binoculars. They hunt in the woods and deserts of western North America, where their wide-ranging diet includes everything from worms and crayfish to rats and bats. This one found a home in an Arizona Sycamore along a narrow road near the small town of Portal in Southeastern Arizona.
Western Screech-Owls are about the same size as Whiskered Screech-Owls and are highly camouflaged with a base color that blends perfectly with our native trees and shrubs. They are nocturnal hunters and far more often heard than seen. They spend their days deep in a roost hole in saguaro cacti or looking out from the entrance. I discovered this one and his mate nesting in a saguaro next to a walking path in Verrado.
The Northern Pygmy-Owl is only about 6-7 inches, but despite its size, it is a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads and yellow eyes. They hunt during the day by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, small birds often gather to mob sitting owls until they fly away. We located this nest in Madera Canyon last May and watched the impatient little ones wait for their mother to return with food.
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. At only 6 inches tall, this tiny owl is about the size of a bluebird. But it is a formidable predator, with large feet and talons that allow it to take prey up to twice its size. It can only be found in the U.S. in southern Texas and Arizona, where it is now considered a rare bird. It feeds on insects, small birds, rodents and lizards, which it hunts daily. Songbirds recognize its whistled call and will gather to harass it until it moves on. The location of rare owls is a closely guarded secret, but we knew a guy who knew another guy that told us about where we might be able to find it.
The Elf Owl is the world’s smallest raptor (5-6 inches) and, unlike the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, hunts insects and other small prey at night. It lives in deserts, pine-oak forests and riparian woodlands near the southern border of the United States and Mexico. It nests in old woodpecker holes and similar cavities, which provide relief from the heat, shelter from rain and protection from predators.
Some owls, like the Long-eared Owl, appear to have ears like a cat's but are actually tufts of feathers. A lanky, tall owl (approximately 14-16 inches), it is a nocturnal hunter that roosts in dense foliage and forages over grasslands for small mammals. Their hearing is so acute they can snatch prey in complete darkness. I was fortunate to see this one that recently showed up at the Riparian Preserve at the Gilbert Water Ranch for a brief stay.
The Spotted Owl is about 19 inches tall with a round head that lacks ear tufts and a short tail. It lives in the mature forests of the West and the steep canyons of the Southwest. At night it silently hunts small mammals. Despite federal protection beginning in 1990 when it was launched into the center of logging debates in the Pacific Northwest, this owl is still declining due to habitat loss and competition from Barred Owls. We came upon a pair while birding in the Pinal Mountains.
I feel privileged to have seen these beautiful creatures of the night and will continue to search them out, photograph them (if they'll let me!) and discover new things about their fascinating lives as I travel around the state and the country. Who knew there was so much to learn about owls?
