Where owls live

Owls are found on all continents except Antarctica. They also are found on most islands in the oceans. They can live in almost any kind of environment, from grassland to dense woodland and rain forest.

Physical characteristics

Owls range in size from 5 to 28 inches (13 to 71 centimeters) long. Their wingspans measure around 12 to 80 inches (30 to 203 centimeters).

Owls vary in color from white to tan, gray, or brown. A few are solidly colored, but most are patterned with streaks, bars, or spots.

All owls look about the same. They have a large head, a hooked beak, large eyes, a short tail, long wings, and large feet with sharp claws. The main differences between owls is their size and color. Because owls cannot move their eyes very much, they often turn their head. They can even look directly backward.

Behavior

Owls are birds of prey, which means they eat other animals for food. They usually eat rodents, though smaller owls eat insects. Most owls swallow their prey whole. They later spit up the pellets of bones, fur, and feathers that they cannot digest. These pellets can be found under their nests and roosting places.

Owls communicate mainly by sound. They snap their bill, clap their wings in flight, or make sounds from their mouth and throat. Each kind of owl makes its own special sounds. Owls also sing. Their song may be anything from deep hoots to chirps or whistles.

Owls are more active at night than during the day. The typical owl leaves its roost about dusk and moves to a perch overlooking its hunting area. Then it sings for a short period before hunting for food for about half an hour. After hunting they sing for a longer time. Owls are inactive during most of the darker hours of the night. Then, just before the sun rises, they sing and hunt again.

Most owls use their feet only for perching and grasping prey. Owls fly by flapping their wings steadily. They generally fly a straight path and end in a short upward glide to the perch.

Reproduction

Owls usually nest in natural holes in trees or cliffs. They may also use woodpecker holes or holes in buildings. Most owls add no nesting material to the site, but the fur and feathers of prey remains may provide some cushion for the eggs. When an open nest is used, leaves, grass, or other soft material may be added as a lining.

Owls may lay up to 12 eggs at a time. The eggs are shaped like a sphere. One or two days pass between the laying of the eggs.

Importance to humans

Owls are important to humans because they help control pest populations. They are very useful to farmers because they destroy animals, such as rats and rabbits, that damage crops.