Owl is a small owl. However, it has its own characteristic features that are very interesting. We invite you to get to know this representative of the animal world.
Owl appearance
Owl is a common name that includes several genera. These include various species of small owls that live in forests. The 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, which resemble black raised eyebrows. In addition, in her, as well as in the barn owl, the facial corolla is noticeably pronounced. It looks like a mask on a bird like an owl. This gives her a serious look in combination with the "eyebrows". Seriously, she has a name.
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. In modern speech, it is customary to compare a lonely and gloomy person with an owl. But this word originally comes from similar words meaning "to whistle." Most often, owls make precisely whistling sounds, breaking the stereotype about the "hooting" of owls. This bird in Kyrgyzstan is called"baikush", which means "beggar" or "poor" in translation, precisely because of her sad cry. However, in other habits, the owl is still close to representatives of owls. Just like them, he is a night hunter.
Is it easy to meet an owl?
The owl feeds on various rodents, and sometimes eats small birds. It can be distinguished from owls by the absence of ear-like feathers. It is not so easy for a person to notice this bird in the forest. The fact is that the owl catches the eye very rarely. In addition, this bird is "camouflaged" in the crown of trees by variegated coloration. Most often you can meet an owl in the taiga. However, some species, in particular, the domestic owl (brownie), settle next to people, sometimes in residential buildings. All species are similar in appearance.
Generations and species of owls
Among the species of the genus Athene, sometimes called the genus Sirins, the following can be noted: the little owl (pictured above), spotted or brahmin, forest, rabbit, Indian. The latter is an extremely rare species. It has even been listed as an extinct bird by the IUCN. However, some ornithologists believe that it still exists, although it is very rare.
Types of Rough-legged Owl: Common, South American Rough-legged, Mexican Rough-legged, Nova Scotian Rough-legged. The more common name for the latter is American. Sometimes ornithologists refer to this species as Mexican and South American.
26 species belong to the genus of sparrow owls: red sparrow, collared, cape, cuckoo, gnome owl,tiny, nominative, pearl, jungle, Cuban, chestnut-backed, red-breasted, etc. They are distinguished by their small size, as well as a long tail, short wings and a contrasting pattern on the back of the head that resembles eyes, thanks to which they are nicknamed "four-eyes".
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.
Distribution
Athene is the most common kind of owl. Its representatives inhabit Europe, Africa, Asia, America. The little 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 throughout 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, there is another species of this genus - the rabbit owl.
Common owls settled in Eurasia. They are also found in Canada. The remaining 3 species live in various parts of the American continent (their names testify to this). In South and Central America, pygmy owls are especially common. They are found everywhere except Australia. And elf owls live in the USA, in the southwest, and in Mexico, where they sometimes inhabit the hollows of huge saguaro cacti. They are not able to hollow out nests on their own due to weakbeak, which is why they settle in hollows or other people's nests. Common owls Athene settle in warm climates mainly in open steppe spaces, as well as semi-desert and desert ones. They can also live in the north next to a person or inhabit taiga forests. Coniferous forests, located both on the plains and in the mountains, were chosen by horn-legged owls.
Lifestyle
Representatives of all genders lead a settled way of life. Only Athene living in the highlands sometimes descend to the plains. These owls equip their nests in various shelters, for which they can sometimes use heaps of brushwood, holes of other animals, roofs of buildings, walls of wells and even attics of houses. They are predominantly nocturnal birds, but they are forced to hunt in the north and on polar days. Upland owls are purely nocturnal and forest owls. They settle in hollows. The pygmy owl nests mainly in mixed forests, while elves occupy empty hollows. Only the behavior of elf owls from all genera differs from the rest of the representatives. They hunt only for insects in the evenings, mornings and nights. These birds sometimes attack victims on the ground as well. They eat their prey in the nest.
Hunting and feeding the Brown Owl
The style of hunting in such a bird as the brown owl is extremely diverse. She has strong flexor muscles on her fingers, so she easily captures fairly large rodents. The brown owl hunts in the early morning, and also from evening to midnight. He can guard the victim for a long time,after which, when she stops, attack her. Another way is to catch up with your prey on the fly or in a low-level flight, and sometimes walking on the ground. Of course, you are interested to know 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, such as dung beetles or ground beetles.
House owls sometimes store food for future use. However, the real plush in relation to food is the sparrow owl. Let's see what he eats.
What does the owl eat?
Birds and small rodents become its prey. This owl hides food supplies in the autumn in a hollow, but it differs in the process of eating it. He never swallows his prey whole, but chooses the most tidbits. Caught victims are carefully plucked by the Owl.
Early-legged owl hunting
Rough-legged owls ambush at low altitude and hunt here. They also fly over hunting grounds, inspecting them carefully. These owls feed on mouse-like rodents and sometimes small birds. For example, they can catch ducklings near water bodies. These birds swallow their food whole. They often regurgitate undigested leftovers, so the daytime "parking" of the owls of upland owls can be detected by them.
Food for elf owls
Insectivorous birds are owls-elves. They catch their prey both on the ground and in flight. The victims of elf owls are locusts, grasshoppers,fly larvae, moths, centipedes, caterpillars, cicadas, spiders and even scorpions. Therefore, all owls benefit people in one way or another.
Reproduction
With the onset of spring, the breeding season of owls begins. Males make mating calls during this time. The female lays eggs in early April. Usually it contains 4 to 5 eggs with a grainy white shell. Owls incubate eggs for 28 days. The male feeds the female during incubation (this applies to the little owl). The chicks that are born are blind and very fluffy. However, after a month they practically reach the size of the body of an adult. Chicks become independent in August. As for the upland, their breeding process also occurs in April. These owls have a similar number of eggs per clutch, but the shell is almost white. Other features of their reproduction are similar in the whole genus of owls. The mating behavior of passerines is somewhat different. In these owls, the male begins to feed the female even before the eggs are laid. After the chicks are born, the owl "cleans" its nest. She throws out all the accumulated garbage. 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 reveal themselves to be a whistle-like cry. 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 difficult for predators to reach.
Sychi Village
Villages are often named after these interesting birds. One of them is especially famous. In the Perm region, in the Okhansky district, the village of Sychi is located. Healer Alexander Ivanovich, who lives here, is very popular. They even come to him from abroad. It is said that this 82-year-old elder cures various diseases. By the way, he accepts only baptized people, and also leads worship in his own small church.
And there is also a militiaman (call sign - "Sych"), who regularly makes reports about events in the DNR. As you can see, the name of this bird is quite popular.
