Why owls. Why is an owl called wise? What is the difference between an owl and an owl

Content

Owls are the most mysterious and mysterious birds. Since ancient times, they have played a significant role in the culture and beliefs of man. So, in France, in one of the caves, there is an image that dates back to the early Paleolithic. Rock paintings were found in different parts of the Earth - America, Australia, Europe. The ancient Maya revered the owl as a symbol of power; it is found in the bas-relief of ancient rulers.

The glow in the eyes of an owl symbolizes the light of the soul. She is credited with the ability to protect and increase the wealth of the family. Her wisdom is that she will warn wasteful people from unnecessary spending.

Ancient symbol and totem

Many tribes of American Indians revered the owl as the personification of supernatural knowledge, magical power and prophecy. So the Pawnee tribe considered it a symbol of protection, and the Pueblo - the personification of fertility. The Lenape tribe believed that if you see her in a dream, she will become a protective spirit. Some legends personify the owl as a symbol of the north of the north wind. Her feather is considered a talisman.

The Zuni Indians believed that an owl feather placed next to a child helps him fall asleep easier and faster. The Dakota Indians considered the owl to be the protector of warriors, and the Hopi believed that he was the deity of the underworld and looked after all underground life, even plant sprouts, helping them grow. For the Yakma, the owl was a totem. The Kwakiutl tribe believed that the souls of people live in this bird. If she is killed, the one to whom the soul belongs will also die, she was also an object of reverence for the Tlingit tribe. Warriors, going to battle, made an owl cry. The Incas revered owls for their large, unusual eyes, and the Nevuks believed that the brave and fearless soul of a person would become an owl after death.

In ancient rituals, the owl acts as an assistant to the shaman, establishes a connection with the other world, gives the ability to see in the dark, find the lost. The Yupik tribe, who lived in the north of Alaska, performed a special magical rite at the end of winter: under the strict guidance of the leader, special masks were made through which the spirit of various animals, both friendly and dangerous, was manifested. The owl very often acted as a friendly spirit. Most of the masks were decorated with feathers.

In Afghanistan, it is believed that the owl gave man iron and flint for making fire.
According to Indian beliefs, the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, flies on it. Therefore, even in the modern world, some Indians believe that if a white bird flies into the house, this will lead to prosperity and well-being.

In China, owls were associated with natural phenomena - thunder and the summer solstice. The Chinese believe that if an image or statuette is placed in each corner of the house, this will protect it from being hit by lightning. The Chinese consider it a symbol of masculinity, prosperity and stability. In houses, images or figurines were given the most honorable place. They were usually made of glass, ceramic, porcelain or metal.

Owl cry

The owl is considered the most famous "soothsayer". It is often believed that an owl portends only bad things, but this is not so. In South India, they believed that if she shouted once, death was approaching, if two, good luck would accompany the work begun, three - to a close marriage, five - to a journey, six - to guests, etc.

In France, there is a belief that if a pregnant woman hears the cry of an owl, then she will certainly have a daughter. In Canada, the cry of an eagle owl announced the approaching bad weather, and the cry of a barn owl in England announced a change in the weather.

Symbol of Wisdom

It is believed that an owl sitting on a money tree brings wealth. Such a figurine contains two whole symbols that bring money to the house. The money tree brings prosperity in itself, but it needs to be protected from sidelong glances and bad thoughts, a bird takes on such a protective function.

An owl or an owl holding an open book is a symbol of wisdom and the desire for knowledge. Such a figurine is simply necessary to put in the children's room. She will help with her presence in learning and acquiring new knowledge. In a family where there are schoolchildren or students, an owl figurine must necessarily stand on a desk, or at least in the visibility zone, for example, on a bookshelf. The owl is a symbol of knowledge. No wonder it is the emblem of the most intelligent and popular game "What?" "Where?" "When?".

Owl figurine in the interior

You can put three owls together, they will protect and protect from any extraneous evil. Children from childhood should learn to save, rational spending money. A figurine in the children's room will help with this.

In the house, it is best to put an owl figurine where people are constantly located or money is stored. She requires constant attention from others, only then she will give them the positive energy that she carries in herself. A constantly crowded place or a place of learning will be most suitable for an owl. In no case do not put the owl in dark and empty corners, or where quarrels constantly arise. It will transfer all negative energy to you.

At work, it is best to place an owl figurine on the desktop, then the salary will be stable and constantly growing. Such a talisman must be present in the room where important decisions related to money are made. Owl figurines can be placed next to other talismans, for example, next to a money toad that holds coins in its mouth, then the strength of both talismans will be greater.

Owls have long attracted and fascinated people with their intelligent eyes, frightening voice, nocturnal and secretive lifestyle. Reverence and deification has been going on since ancient times. There are many legends, fairy tales and beliefs in which birds act as symbols of wisdom, carriers of knowledge, harbingers and soothsayers.

Why does an owl fly through the forest only at night, when other animals are sleeping? Does she not sing songs like an ordinary bird, but only makes sad and lingering sounds?

Story

Once upon a time, an owl was an ordinary bird. Together with other birds and animals, she rejoiced in the sun, light, and even sang beautiful songs, just like the nightingale. But once, in one rainy spring, when heavy clouds constantly hid the sunny sky, a sad story happened, which is told in this tale.

It rained all day, and the Owl hid from him in the hollow of an old, spreading oak. It was dark and damp, raindrops pounded monotonously on the leaves of the trees, and she fell asleep without her noticing. She woke up only at night, from the fact that a silvery dim light streamed into the hole in the hollow. The owl looked outside and saw that the rain had stopped, and a huge full moon sparkled in the sky, its pale light fell on the night forest, and the raindrops frozen on the leaves caught its reflections and lit up with small silvery fireflies. The moon was so beautiful and mysterious, and it seemed to Owl that she was directing her silvery rays towards her and smiling sadly. Everywhere millions of small stars shone and shimmered, it seemed that thousands of bright diamonds and emeralds play in silver rays, and the large disk of the Moon floated royally above them. It seemed that a barely audible slow melody sounds in the night forest.

Throughout the night, Owl admired the heavenly body, followed with bated breath her smooth movement across the sky, and the closer the Moon descended to the edge of the sky, the

the bird fascinated by her became more rustic, her heart ached more from an incomprehensible sadness. Now the Moon is touching the edge of the horizon, turning pale more and more, when the predawn sky becomes lighter ... Gradually Morning comes into its legal rights. Great grief struck the Owl. She fell off the branch, screamed sadly, flapped her wings and flew higher and higher, in order to enjoy the last moments of the vision disappearing in the dawn, and now the time has come when the longed-for mirage has completely disappeared. In deep sadness, the Owl returned to her tree and hid in a hollow, not looking back at the sky, treacherously abandoned by the queen of the night. All day the Owl remained in its hollow and did not see how the first pink rays of the rising Sun shine in the east, how it rises, illuminates and warms the forest and its inhabitants, awakens them to life in a new day;

But the Owl did not remember the Sun. As if enchanted, every evening she met the moon, and all night long she admired the movement of the silvery luminary across the sky, longingly awaiting its disappearance beyond the horizon. And when the moon was hiding, the grieved bird, with deep anguish in her soul, hid in her dark hollow. She did not want to see a new day, admire the sun and enjoy the warmth. The Owl is looking forward to when the evening comes, and she can meet the sunrise of her beloved luminary.

But Luna doesn't want to be Owl's idol at all. Once, sadly looking at the owl from the sky, they said quietly:

Owl-owl, sick head! What are you, Owl, forgot about the Sun? Why are you looking at me all night, looking through all the eyes so that they become round and large? Remember, unfortunate! After all, I do not have my own light, I only reflect the one with which the great Sun shines for me!

But the Owl did not understand the words that the Moon uttered. She came to an indescribable delight from the fact that the Moon was talking to her, and from excitement she did not understand the meaning of the words spoken by the moon, but could only look at the Moon with adoration.

Since that night, the moon began to gradually disappear. If earlier she was always full, round and bright, now, having pity on the Owl, she decided to move into the shadows in order to at least show by this that she is not the main one in the sky, she, compared to the Sun, is small and dark. But Owl did not understand this either. Every night, with ever-increasing horror, she watched the waning of the moon. When, one night, not finding the moon in the sky at all, she fell into such despair that she sobbed all night long, and from that time she completely lost her voice and could no longer sing her beautiful songs. Seeing such a great grief, the Moon again rose to the sky, but since that time it rarely shows its true beauty, rarely illuminates the night forest with its rays, because the Moon does not want to be an idol, tries to remind that it is not worth forgetting about the Sun for her sake, because only it gives warmth and light.

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My acquaintance Konstantin(he asked not to give his last name) loves nature and sympathizes with living creatures. And then one day, walking near the zoo (then still in its former place, in the city center), Konstantin's wife and children met a woman with an owl. The bird’s wing is broken, the woman complained, but they don’t accept the zoo, what should I do?

“There is a call from the wife: come out, they say, with a box, now we will bring the owl,” says Konstantin. - I went out. What kind of owl is this, I say, there is a whole owl here! And eared."

There are a lot of them in Belgorod

We say "owl" - as a rule, we mean exactly the long-eared owl. The most common among us, along with the owl. Unlike the eagle owl, it is not included in the Red Book of Russia. Although outwardly the long-eared owl is similar to the eagle owl, only smaller in size.

Long-eared owl from the order of owls. Family: owls (other representatives are the owl, splyushka, owl). Body length: 31–37 cm. Wingspan: up to 90 cm. Weight: up to 400 g, and females are larger than males. Build: barrel on two paws, feathered to the claws, the neck is also completely closed. Color: gray-brown back, reddish belly, with longitudinal and transverse stripes. The well-developed facial disc bears large orange round eyes. "Ears" up to 6 cm long, and in fact they are just tufts of feathers (real ears are holes on the sides of the head). The owl knows how to move them like a cat: upright and lower.

“There are a lot of them in Belgorod,” confirms the zoo worker. Anna Konstantinovskaya. - For example, in the BSTU area, in all forest park areas and even in courtyards. We never had long-eared owls at the zoo before. More recently, two fledglings were brought in - these are chicks that have already learned to fly out of the nest, but their parents are still feeding them. It is during these phases of development that people often pick up birds (not just owls). Allegedly unfortunate who need help, although in reality this is not so. They take them home, bring them to the zoo, depriving the bird of a normal existence in the wild.”

Yes, it is possible that the owlet on the ground can become someone's prey. According to the zoo specialist, no one canceled natural selection. In nature, those who are stronger, more capable, more successful survive. But it is important to remember the main thing - the owlet on earth is not alone, does not starve. Near his parents. They feed him, teach him life, even protect him. Soon he himself will firmly stand on the wing, and you should not pick him up.

Need mice

“The owl was exhausted, did not resist,” Konstantin recalls. “I really wanted to help her. First of all, they drank from a pipette. They took him to the veterinary clinic."

We found out that for the initial feeding of an owl, chicken hearts are suitable, without fat, as clean as possible. In general, she needs mice - an owl needs not only their meat, but also mouse hair.

“We managed to find mice through a veterinary clinic: one girl grows them to feed snakes and sells them,” Konstantin continues. “You can feed chickens, but grown on your own, and not at a poultry farm, because an owl will not live long from all these compound feeds.”

The basis of the nutrition of the long-eared owl is mice and voles. Rarely larger rodents: rats, shrews, small passerine birds. Owl is a predator.

Owls in Kikinda

The nocturnal lifestyle of an owl, the manner of flying in a silent, swift shadow, gave rise to many myths about it. Owls see perfectly in the dark.

“Their vision is monocular, that is, the eyes on the facial disc look straight, like a person’s,” adds Anna Konstantinovskaya. “Owls also have the sharpest hearing among birds of prey.”

Their ideal habitat is the forest. The main thing is that with edges, clearings, fields in the neighborhood, where it is convenient for owls to hunt. However, the townspeople do not interfere with the long-eared owl. Where there are people, there are mice.

But fellow birds, corvids, can do much harm. It is better not to encounter a flock of crows for an owl. Therefore, during the day she sleeps, sitting on a branch near a tree trunk. Due to the camouflage color, it is difficult to notice it.

“In the zoo, the owl's daily routine is, of course, distorted,” the specialist clarifies. - I don't always get to sleep. But still, during the day she tries to be less active. There will definitely not be food in front of people. At the end of the working day, we bring food to her cage: rats, chickens, mice. She eats them at night.

In our climate, long-eared owls begin to breed in late March - early April. For masonry, old nests of other birds are chosen, closer to the trunk, at a height of 4 to 25 m. But they can, however, drive the crow out of its new nest.

The long-eared owl lays four to five eggs, rarely up to nine. Incubates them for about a month. Begins to leave the nest when the oldest chick is nine to ten days old. All this time, the male carefully feeds her with the children.

Chicks begin to jump from branch to branch, leave the nest at the age of just over a month. This is the flyers. They still depend on their parents to bring them at least 200 g of food per night, the equivalent of 12–15 voles. And by the age of 50 days, the owls can already fly on their own.

As a rule, only two or three owlets survive. The same natural selection that Anna Konstantinovskaya spoke about.

And in winter, the long-eared owl flies to where it is warm. For example, in North Africa. Or closer: the city of Kikinda in Serbia is famous among tourists for the fact that eared owls have chosen its center for wintering - they sit in the trees there by the hundreds.

But if the winter is warm, it may not fly away.

Curious and brave

“Our owl turned out to be very inquisitive,” Konstantin continues. - I built a perch for her on the balcony from branches, spread newspapers from below. But she was bored there. Regularly came to our room, was interested in our affairs. It is extremely interesting to watch her. You can look at the facial expressions of an owl, different expressions of its “face” ad infinitum. What is characteristic - the owl is very brave. If she is afraid of something, she does not retreat, but tries to scare her with her appearance, characteristically spreading her wings. A month later, when the wing had healed, the vet wanted to make her fly to make sure she would recover. Did not work out! She began to hiss at him, to shift from foot to foot, to take a formidable pose.

And owls can swim! Its wings are not covered with a layer of fat, as in waterfowl - they get wet and heavy. But this does not prevent the owl, if necessary, from swimming in a style like a butterfly or an old steamer, raking both wings together.

Long-eared owls usually do not cause negative emotions in humans. On the contrary, owls, including eared ones, are called wise, they are often depicted sitting on stacks of old folios or in professorial robes and hats with a tassel. And in folk tales, wise owls protect the master's property from robbers - mice and rats. It has long been known: where there are owls, there are no mice.

Live where nature has settled

“It’s problematic to keep an owl at home, she doesn’t consider it necessary to control her toilet at all,” Konstantin complains. “Maybe while sitting, and on the fly, every five to ten minutes, allocate your white slurry.”

The average lifespan of a long-eared owl in nature is 10–11 years. But in the zoo, she will live a few years longer.

The story of Konstantin and his owl ended, one might say, with a happy ending. The owl was taken in by a female veterinarian. In her private household in the suburbs of Belgorod, there are about a dozen species of different living creatures. And the owl perfectly joined the new company.

Oleg Goncharenko

Research work, the world around

Why is an owl called a wise bird?

Table of contents
I Introduction
II. Main part
2.1 Order owls, species of owls
2.2 The difference between owls and other birds
2.3 What does the owl symbolize in different countries?
III. Practical part
IV. Conclusion
V. References ………………………………………………..10
VI. Application………………………………………………………… 11

I Introduction
Each of us has heard more than once that an owl is called a wise bird. Even a small child who watches cartoons knows this. With a symbol of wisdom - an owl, we often meet in life. For example, in TV shows, in fairy tales, cartoons. Has anyone thought:
Why is an owl called a wise bird?
I decided to find out why it is called wise? For what merits was she awarded such a title? And so the topic of my research work is: Why is an owl called a wise bird?
Purpose of work: Find out why the owl is considered a symbol of wisdom?
In accordance with the goal, the following tasks were set in the work:
Explore literature and Internet resources on this topic;
Find general information about owls, consider some types of owls;
Identify the differences between owls and other birds;
Find out what the meaning of an owl is in different countries;
Conduct a survey of classmates "What do you know about an owl?"

II. Main part

2.1 Owls
Owls are a detachment of birds of prey, common in all countries of the world.
Brief description: large head, large round eyes in front of the head, beak short, predatory. It hunts at night, the plumage is soft, the flight is silent, the claws are long and sharp, the color is masking. The eyes of owls are very large and look straight ahead; the owl cannot move its eyes like a person. The world for owls is black and white. Both sight and hearing of owls are extremely delicate. It is almost 4 times thinner than that of a cat. Most of the owls are dull in color, but this coloration of owls is always in harmony with the surrounding background. The flight of owls is silent. The usual food of owls is small rodents; smaller species of owls feed on large insects and some feed on fish. Owls are settled all over the world, they can be found everywhere: on the seashore, and in the mountains, and in the desert, and in the steppe, and even in cities. They form permanent pairs. They usually breed once a year. Owl eggs are white. An owl usually lays 3 to 10 eggs. The females incubate the eggs, but both parents take part in feeding the chicks.
Squad owls - includes more than 420 large and medium-sized species. Below are some types.
White Owl
This bird has many names. Scientists call it a white owl. And the Yakuts call her snow grandmother. The owl is inconspicuous in winter - its plumage camouflages the bird well in the snow.
Owl
This is the largest owl of our fauna (body weight reaches 3 kg). The wings of the owl are long, wide, their span reaches 2 meters, so the bird has the art of soaring, rare for owls.
Rough-legged Owl
This owl is called upy-footed because its legs and toes are densely feathered. Often an owl is also called a forest owl.
hawk owl
The owl is called the hawk because to many it looks like this diurnal predator. Her eyes, like those of hawks, are yellow.
sparrow owl
This is the smallest representative of the order of owls in our country - the sparrow owl. His body weight is only 59-79 g.
Fish owl
The most unusual owl of our country is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. This species has an unusual diet for owls - it eats fish.
2.2 The difference between owls and other birds
Owls are very different from other birds of prey. For their soft, gentle plumage and silent, smooth flight, owls are called "forest hawthorns." And because of their round heads, round big eyes, sharp claws and predatory habits, they are also called “feathered cats”.
After studying the literature on this topic, I identified the following differences from other birds:
Appearance
Protective coloring. The head is large and round with a flat face. In these birds, most of the plumage can be compared only with fluff, which grows densely even on the paws, which gives it the advantage of silently flying and being unnoticed. Her eyes are deep set so she can't move them from side to side. The eyeball itself is an unusual shape. Outside, it looks round, but inside it expands like a spyglass, so the owl sees very well into the distance, but poorly distinguishes close objects. They close their eyes not with the upper eyelid, but with the lower one.
Lifestyle
An owl, unlike others, is a nocturnal bird
Ability to turn head up to 270 degrees
Owls have very flexible necks and can turn their heads 210-270 degrees to one side. This means that the whole body can be directed in one direction, while the head is turned in the opposite direction and even further.
Acute hearing and sense of smell
Owls have good hearing and sense of smell. The hearing of an owl is 4 times finer than that of a cat. At a distance of several tens of meters, an owl can hear the sound of bending fingers or the rustle of a crawling insect. The sense of smell helps the owl to recognize prey.

1.3. What does the owl symbolize in different countries?
The owl is symbolized differently in different countries. In ancient Greece, being an attribute of the goddess Athena (Appendix fig. 7, p. 12), the owl symbolizes wisdom, knowledge. In ancient Egypt, Central America, China and Japan, it was considered the bird of death. In India, the owl was revered as the patron saint of the night. In China, the owl was associated with lightning and thunder, the summer solstice. For the Indians of North America, the owl symbolized wisdom and prophecy, it was believed that she could come to the rescue. In ancient Mexico, the goddess of rain was revered in the form of a sacred owl. In Rome, the owl symbolized wisdom and was the companion and attribute of the goddess Minerva. From the Athenian tradition, the wise owl of European fairy tales and fables, and the owl sitting on a pile of books, is an image of wisdom.
In Russia, the owl symbolized the forces of darkness, desolation, solitude, sorrow, bad news. As a creature leading a nocturnal lifestyle and generally mysterious, the owl has become a symbol of evil spirits and witchcraft. But since ancient times it was believed that the owl is endowed with wisdom.
Thus, it turned out that the owl symbolizes not only wisdom, but also personified the forces of darkness, desolation, solitude, sorrow, bad news was considered a symbol of evil spirits and witchcraft

III. Practical part
While searching for an answer to the main question “Why is an owl called a wise bird?” I decided to explore what my classmates know about this mysterious bird, where we meet with an owl in our lives, what does it symbolize? To do this, we have compiled a questionnaire (Appendix). The survey was conducted among my classmates, 20 people participated. After processing the results, it turned out:
All my classmates know the owl bird;
10 people saw her in the museum, 3 - in pictures in books, 3 - in the movies, 1 person saw an owl in the forest, 2 - in the zoo, 1 - in the country
The guys have the following knowledge about owls:
- Owl nocturnal bird (10 people)
- Owl - a bird of prey, eats mice (8 people)
- The owl has big claws (1 person)
19 people know that the owl is a symbol of wisdom and only 1 person did not know this;
When asked why an owl is called wise, 3 people answered
- because she is not afraid of anything;
- she has a smart look;
- she has big eyes, like glasses;
The wise owl is found in the following cartoons, fairy tales and TV shows:
1. "Lessons of Aunt Owl" - a series of educational cartoons
2. "ABC of traffic (traffic rules for children)" - TV show
3. V. Bianchi "Owl" - a fairy tale
4. "Bambi" - cartoon
5. "Winnie the Pooh and all, all, all"
6. "Like a sparrow searched for the mind" - cartoon
7. “What? Where? When?" - TV show

Thus, almost everyone knows that an owl is called a wise bird, but why, for what reason, no one knows. Although we all often meet with the symbol of wisdom - an owl in TV shows, cartoons, and various works.

IV. Conclusion
I worked on the topic “Why is an owl called wise?”. Having studied the literature and Internet resources on this topic, I learned that the owl is a very unusual bird, which differs from other birds in its appearance, lifestyle, and more developed senses.
In addition to external distinguishing features, the owl is also a very mysterious bird, which was symbolized differently in different countries. In some countries - an owl symbolizes death, sadness, cold, loneliness. In others, it symbolizes wisdom. And in ancient Rus', the owl was considered an unclean bird that prophesied trouble.
Over time, bad omens are a thing of the past. And at present, no one associates the owl bird with death, sadness, misfortune. Now the owl is a symbol of wisdom, insight and book erudition.
It can be assumed that the wisdom of an owl came to us from Ancient Greece, where it was an attribute of the goddess Athena.

Bibliography
1. Brem A.E. Life of animals. Birds. - M: Terra, 1996. - 324 p.
2. Tomilin A., Sergeev B. Big Encyclopedia of Primary School. Question answer. - M: CJSC "OLMA Medpa Group", 2013. - 208 p.
3. Red Book of Karelia: Rare plants and animals in need of protection / K. A. Andreev et al.; Scientific ed. A. D. Volkov; Auth. foreword N. A. Belousova, N. I. Ronkonen. - Petrozavodsk: Karelia, 1985. - 183 p.

10. Special blood supply.

Owls vary greatly in size, appearance and color, but they all have one thing in common: the ability to turn their heads 270 degrees. In order to accomplish this task, their necks are made up of 14 vertebrae, while "normal" birds have seven. If the cervical vertebrae provided such a range of motion, many creatures - such as humans - would suffer arterial trauma and interruption of blood flow during such extreme movements.

In an attempt to understand how this is possible, scientists have discovered that owls have special blood-collecting systems to supply the brain and eyes when neck movement cuts off blood circulation. Another amazing thing about owls is the alternate route of blood through the blood vessels, as well as the air cushion protection of the vessels to prevent vessel rupture and stroke during head movements.

9. Pseudo-cannibalism of owls.

Cannibalism technically refers to the act of predatory behavior towards pack members of its own species. And it may come as a shock to a novice ornithologist that owls are actually not averse to eating their relatives of different species. Great horned owls are indeed the main threat to little striped owls. In turn, striped owls rides their smaller relatives.

It is believed that the expansion of the striped owl's distribution from the southeastern swamps into the Pacific Northwest is partly due to a decrease in the population of the western screeching owl, due to eating each other. In addition to owls, there are several other bird species that actively hunt them for food. Luckily, you can help: if you're one of those people who listens to bird calls, stop. These recordings may give away the location of owls, as they respond to such music.

8. Crazy eyes

The vision of owls is quite unusual. Their eyes are very large and very close to each other. The eyes of owls are completely immobile, and they cannot rightly be called an "eyeball", as they are actually tubular. Binocular vision allows owls to fully focus on their prey and enhances their depth perception. However, this makes the owls more vulnerable to predators - other owls and crowds of angry songbirds. Owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees, which compensates for their direct vision and fixed eyes.

7. Eating plants.

Owls are the most carnivorous birds in the world. Occupying only a small fraction of all birds in the world, these nocturnal hunters will not stoop to carrion in most cases. However, one of the species is quite unique in its kind. As an exception among owls, the elf owl includes in its diet not only small animals, but also fruits and parts of seeds. These owls "cultivate" the dung around their nests in an attempt to attract dung beetles. These adventurous "birds of prey" seem to favor prickly pear (cactus) berries and tasajillo cactus fruit as part of their not-so-predatory diet.

6. Many owls don't hoot or scream.

According to the stereotype, owls necessarily hoot, but many of the species do not hoot at all. Snowy owls in the north make calls similar to those of seabirds, which is very different from the usual hooting of owls. Small owls such as Pygmy Owls whistle dejectedly. The most terrible example is the screaming owl. She does not scream at all, but gives out a series of noisy, sharp, whistling beeps. The calls of young great horned owls are sometimes falsely mistaken for the sounds of a screaming owl.

5. They hunt bigger prey than you think.

Eagle owls are among the largest winged hunters on the planet, they are large and unimaginably ferocious. They eat almost everything and stop at nothing. The eagle owl can hunt adult vervets (monkeys), and hunting young boars is also not a problem. They also attack fish-eating owls, the same size as eagle owls. European eagle owls are as ferocious as their African relatives and exterminate the normally invulnerable golden eagles.

According to one report, the eagle owl even attacked a young wolf, while young deer and even foxes are regularly attacked by eagle owls. The eagle owl also attacked a huge secretary bird that feeds on cobras. Herons have been eaten, but the strangest love of owls is expressed for the meat of hedgehogs, which dominates the diet of the eagle owl, if only hedgehogs come across. While many species are wary of hedgehog spines, this owl uses its massive, scaly claws and pulls the hedgehog's quills away.

4. They live in cacti

In the Sonoran Desert in North America, saguaro cacti can grow over 10 meters in height and form entire forests. Owls-elves nest in the holes that are hollowed out by melanerpes woodpeckers, settle in a cactus and look out from there with their bright yellow eyes.

The cactus forests are also home to other small owls, the rufous pygmy owl. These are more aggressive, eat birds and also settle in cacti. Continuing the theme, great horned owls very often nest in cacti.

3. Owls and human culture.

While the "wise owl" stereotype is well known, owls can be seen as demonic symbols or harbingers of doom. There is also often mention of involvement in witchcraft. Owls have also risen to prominence in pop culture, such as the famous Hedwig, the snowy owl in the Harry Potter films.

In addition to cultural significance, owls have been used by humans in the sport of falconry. The owl can be tamed with a glove and chase prey such as hares. As a rule, owls are like cats - they are nocturnal and difficult to train. While in Europe only a few large owls are used as hunting companions, their employment as bait in falconry is more common. Hated and hunted by hawks, perched owls are excellent bait for their enemy.

2. Strange relatives.

Owls are often referred to as "hunting birds" but these night-hunting birds are in no way related to hawks, oralmi or falcons, which are also known as diurnal hunters. Taxonomy is a controversial and fluid science, but both the Sibly-Alquist bird classification model and alternative methods determine the ancestry of owls to be related to kingfishers, hummingbirds, and even songbirds (such as swallows), but not to hawks. Hawks and other diurnal birds of prey belong to the more primitive lineage of birds, and are relatives of cranes, herons and other birds that look a bit prehistoric.

Despite their hawk-like appearance, owls are very closely related to humble true nightjars. The similarities in appearance between owls and diurnal birds of prey are quite obvious, especially when the owl fluffs its feathers and opens its large hawk-like beak. However, the reason for this similarity is convergent evolution, not kinship. Diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey occupy similar ecological niches but avoid competition by hunting at different hours.

1. They are silent killers.

A significant part of the fact that owls are such effective predators is their incredibly well-developed hearing and at the same time the ability to remain completely silent. However, this requires some rather interesting adaptations. Special hooks on the outer feathers of the owl's wing act as airflow silencers, while the "fluff" on their trailing edge ensures silent flight, allowing the owl to suddenly attack unsuspecting prey from behind.

In order to reach the pinnacle of auditory perception, owls spit on the generally accepted concepts of animal symmetry. In several species of owls, the ears are arranged asymmetrically and are at different levels of the bird's head. This allows the owls to identify the source of the sound in multiple dimensions, which helps them position themselves in the best position to attack.

2014-05-21
Probably everyone has heard the term "Wise Owl", but the owl is not a smart animal. For its size, an owl has a small brain, and is actually not as smart as geese and crows.

The main reason why owls are considered wise has to do with the historical association with the Greek goddess Athena. Athena was known to the Greeks as both the goddess of war and the goddess of wisdom. Daughter of Zeus, ruler of the Greek gods, and his first wife, Metis. Athena was the protector and guardian of the eponymous city of Athens, the place of the protector of which she received after winning a dispute against Poseidon, who also sought to become the patron of this city. Athena and Poseidon had to give a gift to the people in Athens, the value of which determined the winner. Poseidon first came to Attica and hit the rock with his trident and made it a source of salt water. Athena struck the ground with her spear and presented the city with an olive tree (olive tree). Despite its appearance and simplicity, the olive tree gave people renewable resources ranging from food to firewood, and Athena was declared the winner due to her wise choice of gift to the city. Since Athena was often seen in ancient Greece accompanied by an owl, and according to many, she herself had the ability to turn into an owl when necessary. This bird of prey is associated with the goddess and is often used in the cultures of the world to symbolize the wisdom of the Greek goddess.