Differences between an owl and an owl that personify. How is an owl different from an owl? What does an owl eat?

The eagle owl is a striking representative of the family of birds of prey of the order owls. This bird has a good hunting instinct and excellent hearing.

The life of the night robber is mysterious and many-sided; he is credited with extraordinary vigilance and, at the same time, complete blindness. In the dark, this bird determines the place of its prey with absolute accuracy and purposefully attacks its prey.

Appearance

The eagle owl bird has a “barrel-shaped” massive physique, rich ocher and reddish friable plumage, eyes with an iris of bright orange color, framed by long tufts of feathers.

What does an owl look like:

The length of an individual depends on the place of residence and varies in the range of 65-71 cm, weight can reach 4 kg, wingspan on average from 150 to 175 cm. For example, the Virginian eagle owl from North America rarely exceeds 2 kg in weight.
The color plumage is usually a tan with brightly marked marks on the neck, chest and black streaky pattern.
Typically, females are larger than males.
The head has good mobility, the rotation can be 360 \u200b\u200bdegrees.
The predator flies quickly and silently.
Developed powerful legs, feathered to the tips of the claws, make it easy to grab prey and quickly move around the crown of trees.

Life expectancy in natural conditions is 20 years or more, in captivity - up to 60 years.

A bird of prey, if necessary, is capable of instantly gaining great speed, catching up with its prey.

In search of food, an eagle owl, a night predator flies smoothly above the ground, periodically alternating flights with planning. Resting, he sits on the ground or a tree branch, holding the body in an upright position.

The main differences from owls

Owl and eagle owl are part of the family of owls. Both representatives are primarily predators leading an active nightlife. Also, birds are similar in silhouettes and rounded large eyes.

What is the difference between an owl and an owl? Signs of an eagle owl:

"Ears" of feathers on the head.
The color of the feathers.
The size.

An important difference from owls is in appearance. Common owl is much larger than owls and differ in weight and size.

It is easy to distinguish these birds by the presence of "ears" of feathers: the head of an owl is distinguished by even plumage, while at the same time, spectacularly protruding feathers are visible on the head of an owl.

The common owl has a motley color, somewhere lighter and somewhere darker. The facial disc of a large individual may not differ in color from the body. Some have masks with black eye contours and a darkened chin.

Habitat

Eagle owl and owl are sedentary inhabitants of the forest. For living and nesting, they choose hard-to-reach places with sufficient food supply. It can be a coniferous forest, and a forest-steppe, and a taiga, and a desert, and even the tops of mountains. They adapt well in various climatic conditions, withstand heat and frost.

These wildlife representatives cannot stand the neighborhood with humans, therefore they nest in remote areas not affected by their activities.

The habitat of the winged predator is vast: it extends for most of Eurasia, captures the northern part of Africa, reaches the borders of South China and India.

In North America, the representative of the owl squad - the Virginian owl is distributed throughout the country.

In Russia, this bird lives in the Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Saratov region, the Komi Republic, as well as in some other regions.

Lifestyle and habits

Like all predator owls, night owl is inherent in night and twilight activity. They wait for daylight in shelter, more often in solitude.

What does an owl eat? His prey is small species of owls, field rodents, birds, hedgehogs, hares, frogs, large insects, and he can also attack roe deer cubs.

The sedentary life of a feathered predator and an active hunting life make these birds the winged owners of the forest. They move well in the dark, well distinguish between various noises. An adult is able to silently approach the victim and inflict a fatal blow to it.

The robber eagle owl scares sleeping day birds with loud flapping wings and peculiar clicks of its beak. When a frightened bird takes off, he grabs it with its claws and kills. He does not disdain devouring chicks, completely ruining bird nests. At dawn, the predator hides in its shelter, spending a day period in satiety and slumber.

Mating season and reproduction

Eagle owls “marry” in the offseason: in early spring or autumn. For mating games and breeding, they return to their old favorite places. The male lures the female with a loud hoot, singing.

Usually these birds do not bother to build a nest. The female simply lays eggs in a hollow, another's abandoned nest, or in a hole on a rock.

An eagle owl female lays an average of 2-5 eggs. She incubates them independently for a month, feeding on male offerings. The mass of little owls reaches 50 grams.

A newborn eagle owl chick does not leave its familiar place during the first month of life. A mother takes care of her offspring without leaving the cubs alone. The first hunt of a young flood begins from week 20, puberty occurs at 3 years of age.

Eagle owl and man

The eagle owl bird has no natural enemies. Not one predatory animal is at risk of attacking an adult bird. Only young chicks left by their parents while searching for food are at risk.

Great danger to owls is people. Human economic activity leads to the death of entire families of owls.

The main cause of mortality of these birds is poisoning with strong chemicals that are used in growing, processing various crops.

Chemicals get on rodents, when eaten, which owl receives a shock dose of toxic substances. The poisoned bird becomes lethargic and quickly dies.

Today, feathered predators are threatened with extinction, therefore we especially protect the subspecies of eagle owls, the Red Book contains a detailed description of it. Scientists are constantly observing the population of owl families.

Video

Watch an interesting video about a rare Far Eastern fish owl.

15.01.2018 07:36 994

Eagle owl and owl are very similar to each other. Both birds are predators and are nocturnal. Externally, these birds also have much in common, because they belong to the same order - owls. Both birds do not have eyes moving, but their heads can turn 180 degrees. And they see the world in black and white.

But still, the owl and the owl have some differences. For example, in size, an owl is larger than an owl. On average, it weighs about 4 kg, and an owl 2 kg. In addition, the owl on the head has a kind of feather ears. In an owl, in contrast to an eagle owl, a facial disc is noticeable (that is, the muzzle has a round shape). The plumage of an owl is solid and the eagle owl is brighter. On his head and in the upper back there are longitudinal strips that can be of different colors, depending on the habitat of the owl.

The diet of owl and owl is also different. Since the eagle owl is larger, its production is not small. Its victims are hares, hedgehogs, pheasants and even roe deer. An owl preys on small rodents and insects. Both birds also feed on fish. The owl does not see well in daylight, so it goes hunting exclusively at night. Well, an eagle owl can hunt not only at night, but also during the day.

The flight of an owl is accompanied by various sounds, similar to a whistle, and an owl flies silently. This is because the owl’s wings are pointed at the ends, while the owl’s, on the contrary, are smoother.

Oddly enough, but most people do not even know how an owl differs from an owl. Both the one and the other bird are part of the order of predators and the family of owls, where only 27 genera are distinguished. To understand how to distinguish two related birds from each other, we decided to collect and combine useful information. In the article you will find answers to all questions regarding the two vigilant hunters.

The bird differs from related birds with a large head and round huge eyes. Her feathers are thick, soft, the tail is rectangular in shape, and the wings, on the contrary, are semicircular. The beak is bent towards the end, the nostrils are located close to the muzzle. As for the paws, they are short, so owls prefer open areas than dense forests. Body weight and length (20-40 cm) are in perfect harmony with the legs, which allows the bird to fly smoothly.

The color of the owl has camouflage motifs, which helps it to remain invisible in the environment. The color of the feathers of individuals living in the forest is mainly brown, with a gray tint, in desert birds it is light with rust, but the famous polar owl is a carrier of snow-white feathers.

Surprisingly, the female is much larger than the male, and their body color is the same. This phenomenon is rarely present in birds.

External characteristics of an eagle owl

Owls belong to the order of owls and are their largest representatives. The wingspan of an adult can reach two meters, when an owl has an average of 80 cm. Body length 70-80 cm, weight 2-3 kg. Eagle owl females always weigh more than males. A few more features:

Eagle owl feathers vary depending on the habitat.
Siberian eagle owl, like a polar owl, is white.
Forest - dark red or golden with shades of beige.
Steppe individuals are yellow, reminiscent of red clay in color.

A special feature of all owls are legs and ears. Unlike owls, paws are covered with a thick layer of feathers, and dark feathers sticking to the tops resembling lynx ears.

Eagle owl and owl menu: what are the differences

Eagle owl and owl are birds of prey, but the latter hunt exclusively at night, their daytime vision is poorly developed. For their diet, they choose mice and other small rodents, birds. Their menu also includes insects and fish.

With an eagle owl, everything is much more interesting. Being a large representative, he is able to overwhelm a falcon, crow, pheasant, and even a medium-sized mammal. Moody birds can hunt in the daytime. In the diet of an eagle owl, you can find hares, hedgehogs, turtles, snakes, frogs. In general, the nutrition of a feathered predator is very diverse, there are about a hundred species of mammals and many birds.

Habitats and Flight Features

Despite the large body mass, the owl flies silently and smoothly. What does plumage affect? On the wings of the bird there are tail and fly feathers that do not have a gun. The shape of the wing also affects flight: round, with a special bend that reduces the friction of the feathers between them. Due to this, owls can soar in the air without making sounds.

The eagle owl lacks such features in the structure of wings and plumage, therefore, in the sky it makes characteristic sounds resembling a whistle.

An owl is found anywhere in the world except Antarctica and the North Pole. For the construction of houses, birds choose the steppes, mountains, northern tundra, forests, rarely marshy areas.

Owl so often met quite difficult. It mainly lives on the Eurasian continent; its range is from the northern to the Okhotsk seas. The predator is not afraid of people, but unlike the owl, it rarely settles in cities. Nests are more often found in gorges of rocks, lonely hollows and burrows, among stones or hills.

The difference in the method of nesting and attitude towards people

Owls never build nests on their own, they drive out the owners and settle in their house. Sometimes a bird chooses abandoned bird dwellings without even updating or completing them.

The long-tailed owl is an individual, a representative of the owl family, often chooses man-made sowing houses, roofs and attics of residential houses built by people.

An eagle owl does not need a nest at all. He chooses a hole on the ground, does not lay out the litter, does not carry branches, but simply lays eggs there. In rare cases, a predator can occupy an abandoned nest.

It happens that people try to tame an eagle owl in order to train and take with them for hunting, but the nature of the bird rarely gives in to human teams.

Owl family: owl, owl and eagle owl

An owl belongs to the order of owls, but has significant differences from an owl and an owl:

The length of the owl does not exceed 30 centimeters.
Weight is small - only 200 grams.
The head, compared with an owl, is not round, but flattened.
The eyes are fixed in the eye sockets, so they always stand straight. The special structure of the neck allows you to rotate your head 135 degrees.
The feathers are dark, a gray shade predominates.
Characteristic bright concentric circles are seen on the face, diverging to the sides.
Ears, in comparison with an eagle owl, are absent, but there is a beard from dark fluffy feathers.

In nature, there are many species of owls, but we presented the most important differences between an owl and an owl here. If you liked the article, share it with your friends, like and write your thoughts in the comments.

The most famous night predator is considered to be an owl. This bird name refers to many feathered individuals belonging to the owl family, including the owl. In many countries, the owl was revered as a divine bird, presented with gifts, today it is a bird inhabiting the northern and southern latitudes.

A bird like an owl, also called a cute house owl presentable appearance is not different. This copy of the feathered world, relating to owls, is very famous for residents of southern countries, and it is also widespread throughout Central Europe.

The number of owl is significantly reduced every year, which is directly related to severe winter climatic conditions. Also, the bird annually experiences great difficulties in finding a place convenient for living.

Owl diet

Among hunters in the old days there was a point of view that owls eat exclusively pheasant chicks. This version is not entirely true: a bird for everyday food chooses:

The mice.
Earwigs.
Zhukov.
Earthworms.
Butterflies.
Frogs.
Small-sized birds.

The peak of house owl activity occurs at dusk and early morning, at which time he hunts. In the daytime, small birds are a favorite prey for an owl.

Each owl prefers to choose an observation point during the hunt, in which the trees act - the land is clearly visible from them, and in the branches of the trees you can find a lot of food. Seeing the subject of prey, the bird is rapidly removed from its habitable place and attacks it from above.

The owl can also search for food in fallen leaves and dry grass. If the prey hurries to run away from the owl, he catches up with her run. Often, a house owl attacks its food on the fly, or pulls it out of the ground (worms). With excess food, the owl makes reserves. But sometimes in the life of a bird dark days can come, then it will not disdain the nests of other birds.

Lifestyle

The house owl settles on the outskirts of the village and the village, or in their central part. The bird elects the place of habitation:

Destroyed buildings.
Abandoned premises.
The stone walls of the castles.
Palm groves (relate to a place of residence in the southern countries).

The house owl prefers to settle on the plain; in the mountains such a representative of the family of birds cannot be found.

A favorite place for observing an owl can be:

Sawn top of willow.
High fence.
Telephone pole.
Wires.

At its observation post, the bird can sit motionless for quite some time. One has only to frighten an owl, he will immediately rush to quickly leave his place.

The flight path characteristic of an owl is a wavy line.

Breeding

House owls prefer to settle in pairs. They nest between April and July in a depression made in the ground. Usually a rabbit hole appears as such a house. The female lays from 3 to 5 eggs and hatches them for 28 days.

Owl

Owl is usually called a bird of prey, belonging to the order of owls. In this family, ornithologists distinguish 2 species:

Owls or real owls (owl, eagle owl, eared owl, splyushka and so on),
Barn Owls (Barn Owls, Mask Barn Owls).

Bird description

Everyone knows the fact that owl is a night predator. The paint of the plumage of an owl directly depends on the place of residence of the bird, it helps to disguise it under the surrounding nature.

The owl has a round head, on which large eyes noticeably stand out, a hooked beak, the body has a variety of sizes, it all depends on the type of bird. The smallest representative is considered to be a sparrow owl (size - 20 cm, weight - about 80 gr.). The owl is considered to be the largest owl (length varies from 60 to 70 cm, weight from 2 to 4 kg.).

The life of a bird in its natural habitat is 10 years, in captivity it is recorded that the owl can survive and up to 40 years old. A small long life in nature is caused by hunger, natural conditions and the extermination of owls by larger birds of prey: golden eagles and hawks.

The owl has sufficiently strong and strong paws on which sharp and bent claws are located: they help her to grasp tenaciously and hold her prey.

The structure of the feathers allows you to make the flight of the bird almost silent. Wingspan is 142 - 200 cm.

When irritated, the bird makes a clicking sound, it is due to the curved owl's beak. The owl can turn its head 180 and 270 ˚, while the eyes of the bird always remain motionless, they look only forward.

Unlike other birds, owl’s vision is binocular, sees the bird world in black and white. Due to the fact that the lens is located in the horn tube, and not in the eyeball, the owl has excellent visibility at night.

An owl hears 4 times better than a cat.

Owl species

The owl family has a huge number of representatives, the most common of which are:

Great gray owl.
House Owl and so on.

Summary

They belong to the same family.. An owl is a representative of an owl family, it is also called an owl.
Owl is different from an owl dimensions.
Owl has its own individual color. In owls, the head has a spherical round head shape, in most owls the head is flattened.

Co-shaped (Latin: Strigiformes, or Striges) - a detachment of birds of prey, including more than 420 large and medium-sized species, mainly nocturnal birds, common in all countries of the world. There are two families in the order: owls, or real owls, and barn owls, however, in the Sibli-Olquist taxonomy, all families of the goat-like order (Caprimulgiformes) are placed in the order.

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 nails are long and sharp, masking color.

White Owl
According to their anatomical characteristics, they differ from daytime predators and therefore stand out in an independent detachment. The features of the skeleton of owls include: the existence of processes of the main bone, a kind of triple articulation of the lower jaw with the skull, very short phalanges of the third finger, the mobility of the outer finger, which can be folded back, and finally, the existence of barn owls in most species (except for barn owls) bones. Five rows of harder, studied feathers form a radiant nimbus, the so-called facial disc. The feathery feathers of the wide wings are wide, rounded at the ends and bent toward the body; the outer webs of the first three feathers are often fringed or serrated, which allows the owl to fly almost silently; the third and fourth feathers are longer than the rest. The tail feathers of a cropped or rounded, usually short tail, are also bent down. The legs are usually feathered to the ground.

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The sharp long claws of them are strongly bent. The owl’s beak, bending from the very base, has no notches along the edges and ends with a short hook, with the help of which owls can produce a characteristic click, expressing strong excitement or irritation. A short wax is always covered with bristly feathers.

3.

The eyes of the owls are very large and look straight ahead, corresponding to the position of the eye sockets on the front of the facial parts of the skull, that is, the owl cannot move its eyes like a human. The eyes of owls stand motionless throughout their lives. The world for owls seems black and white. Contrary to popular belief that owls do not see anything during the day, the eyes of owls are not so sensitive to daylight; an eagle owl, for example, sees perfectly during the day, even at a great distance. The pupil of owls narrows and expands greatly, not only with a change in lighting, but with each inhalation and exhalation. Both vision and hearing of owls are extremely subtle. It is almost 4 times thinner than a cat. The outer ear is relatively large and can be covered by a rolling fold of skin that is feathered outside; the radiant feathers sitting around the ear openings form, as it were, the outer shell of the ear.

4.

Owls can turn their head 270 ° without harm to health thanks to a number of adaptations. Firstly, the carotid arteries of owls in the area of \u200b\u200bthe lower jawbone have a balloon-like expansion, which creates a blood supply in case blood supply “from below” decreases with a sharp turn. Because of this feature, the network of small blood vessels extending from the main arteries is enlarged, which facilitates the delivery of blood to the brain. Secondly, so that the blood vessels are not pinched in the corresponding holes in the cervical vertebrae when the head is rotated, these holes are about 10 times wider than the diameter of the arteries passing through them. Thirdly, the carotid arteries are connected to the vertebral by special jumpers-anastomoses in case the carotid arteries are strongly compressed during a turn.

Most of the owls are dull; usually black spots, stripes and specks are more or less densely scattered over the main gray or rusty background; but this coloring of owls always harmonizes with the surrounding background and completely hides them at dusk.

5.

Some owls hunt during the day, as, for example, from Russian owls - the white owl (Bubo scandiacus), the sparrow (Glaucidium passerinum) and the hawk owl (Surnia ulula), some others, like the house owl (Athene noctua), hunt the same way as during the day so at night. However, most owls are real night birds, and many of them fly freely even on completely dark nights, which can be judged by their cry. The flight of owls is completely silent and allows them to fly up to the sleeping birds completely imperceptibly. On the hunt, owls, rushing inaudibly over the ground, emit a sharp cry from time to time, frightening their prey with their unexpectedness. Owls apparently use this to spot the latter. The usual food for owls is small rodents; smaller owl species feed mainly on large insects, and some on fish. Owls rarely attack birds. Apparently, when hunting rodents in almost complete darkness, owls are oriented by sound, as they have very good hearing. In this regard, there was an erroneous idea that owls are able to see in complete darkness (for example, they see in the infrared range). Owls can live for months without water, quenching their thirst with the blood of their victims. But without special need they don’t behave like that - they need water not only for drinking, but also for swimming.

6.

Swamp owl

There is a misconception that owls form the so-called. flocks called Parliament of Owls. Owls are lone hunters, and the aforementioned name - parliament - came from the artistic ironic mention of the French parliament of 1912, when the economic crisis was combined with the inaction of parliamentarians. Dissatisfaction with the policies of the working class has led to the emergence of sharp epithets, one of which sounded that way. Such an ironic name has strengthened as a common name and is now quite often used in everyday life as a winged expression.

7.

Owls are settled all over the world, from the equator to the cold northern countries, they can be found everywhere: on the seashore, and in the mountains, and in the desert, and in the steppe, and even in cities. Most owls live in forests or wooded areas, and only a few, like the wading owl (Asio flammeus), prefer open places. Some owls - for example, a house owl and a barn owl (Tyto alba) - willingly settle under the roofs and in the attics of houses. In most cases, hollows of old trees serve as nests, and eggs are usually laid without any litter. Also, crevices of rocks, holes in the walls, underground burrows of various mammals, abandoned nests of other birds can serve as nests. Some owls, such as the long-tailed owl, can also be occupied by artificial hawks.

8.

Owls are monogamous and form permanent pairs. They usually breed once a year, but with plenty of food they can breed more often. Owl eggs are relatively small, always white and have a characteristic almost spherical shape. Usually an owl lays 3 to 10 eggs. Females incubate eggs, but both parents take part in feeding the chicks. Hatching lasts about a month. Owls incubate from the first egg, so often chicks of different ages live in the nest. Parents try to feed the older chicks, which is why they are even more ahead in the development of younger brothers; in famine, elders can even eat younger chicks. The development of owl occurs in the chick type.

9.

* Owl - a symbol of wisdom, an attribute of the ancient Greek goddess Athena.
* Owls are also called people who are used to going to bed late and getting up late (as opposed to larks).

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12.

From time immemorial, owls have been credited with a special role in relations between wildlife and the other world. The nocturnal lifestyle of these feathered predators, the peculiarities of their behavior and appearance in everyday consciousness are often associated with mystical forces and strange phenomena. There is an opinion that an owl appears near human housing as a harbinger of misfortune, and an owl, on the contrary, protects the owners of the house from all sorts of troubles.

It is unlikely that such a mythologized idea of \u200b\u200bthe species differences between owls and owls can be considered convincing. They are not similar in other, purely morphological characters, type of behavior and method of hunting.

13.

Both of them belong to the order Owls, uniting more than 400 species of birds that live in different climatic zones from northern Europe and America to the southern borders of the African continent and the coast of Australia.

But the eagle owl differs from its numerous relatives by its impressive size and is considered among the owls a real giant. Adult individuals weigh up to 4.5 kg and reach a length of 72 cm. The wingspan of an owl can range from one and a half to two meters. The female is much larger than the male: the difference in their weight can exceed one and a half kg.

The owl, like all owls, has a large round head, but its plumage has its own characteristic features. In the area of \u200b\u200bthe auditory foramen, short stiff feathers form a kind of auricles. All owls have excellent hearing, and owl feather ears allow you to perceive sounds in a range that exceeds the sound perception of mammals by about 4 times.

14.

The plumage of an owl is reddish-fawn; longitudinal and dark stripes are clearly visible on the head and upper back. This combination of color makes the bird inconspicuous in the habitats in the daytime, and at dusk and at night allows it to be almost invisible during hunting. Strong, bent like a hook, beak and sharp, as if sharpened from both ends claws help the eagle owl to hold the victim and cope not only with small rodents, but also with larger prey: hares, roe deer and even young mountain goats.

Unlike most owls that hunt only at night, the eagle owl is able to get food during the day: it has sharp eyesight and can fly quite high in flight to find suitable prey. Most often, these are wood grouse, partridges, pheasants, field mice - inhabitants of sparse forest thickets and open areas in the forest-steppe and steppe zone. In such places, eagle owls are easier to hunt because of the wingspan.

15.

Of all owls, the eared owl has the greatest resemblance to an owl. This species has the same type of plumage of the head, the shape of the wing, tail and trunk. However, even with such similarity, an eared owl is not a small copy of an owl. It has a dull color of feathers and a bright orange iris of the eyes, while in an eagle owl, in the dark, the eyes appear red, and the feathers under the daylight shine. The absence of feather ears is not the only feature that distinguishes other owls from an owl. A characteristic feature of many of them is a hard corolla of short feathers, framing the front of the head; the owl is missing. The feathers on the wings of ordinary owls have rounded ends and are softly serrated on the outside. This makes their flight quiet and allows the birds to literally glide at the surface of the earth. Flapping wings of an eagle owl in flight produce a clearly audible whistling sound, since its fly feathers are more rigid and do not have a fringed edge along the edges.

16.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between an owl and an owl is as follows:
1. Filin differs from other species of owls in large size and characteristic plumage of the head. Feather ears, except for the eagle owl, are found only in the eared owl.
2. In the majority of the owl part of the head is framed by a corolla of hard short feathers. The owl does not have a facial disc.
3.Owls fly silently. Eagle owl wings in flight produce whistling sounds.
4.Owls prey on small animals. A large hare or a young roe deer can become a prey.

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18.

Long-eared owl

White owl, or polar owl (lat. Bubo scandiacus, Nyctea scandiaca), bird of the owl family. Initially, the species was included in a separate genus Nyctea Stephens, 1826. At present, among experts there is an opinion that the species is part of the genus Bubo (Eagle Owls). However, in the list of birds of the Russian Federation in 2006 (authors Koblik E. A, Redkin Y. A., Arkhipov V. Yu.), The white owl is assigned to the genus Nyctea.

19.

The polar owl is the largest bird of the order of owls in the tundra. The head is round, the iris of the eyes is bright yellow. Females are larger than males. The body length of the male can reach 55-65 cm, weight - 2-2.5 kg, females, respectively, 70 cm and 3 kg. The wingspan is on average 142-166 cm. The color is protective: adult plumage with dark transverse streaks is typical for adult birds. The white plumage of a polar owl disguises it against the background of snow. Females and young birds have more variegated streaks than males. Chicks are brown. The beak is black, almost completely covered with feathers-bristles. The plumage of the legs is like wool, forms a "cosmos."
It is found in the tundra zone of Eurasia, North America, Greenland and on some islands of the Arctic Ocean. Partially roaming bird.

20.

Owl

A polar owl is distributed throughout the tundra zone. In winter, in search of food, migrates to the forest-tundra zone and the steppes; rare in forests. At wintering sites adheres to open areas; sometimes flies into the settlements. Wanderings begin in September-October; in the south, the owl remains until March-April. Some individuals remain in nesting places for the winter, choosing sites with a small coating of snow and ice.

Polar owl is an active predator. The basis of its nutrition is mouse-like rodents, primarily lemmings. During the year, one owl eats more than 1600 lemmings. It also catches hares, pikas, small predators (ermine), birds (white partridges, geese, ducks), does not neglect fish and carrion. The owl does not hunt near the nest, so the birds willingly settle near the owls, which protect their territory from other predators.

21.

The polar owl hunts, mainly sitting on the ground, preferably on a hill, and rushing to the approaching prey. At dusk it sometimes preys on the fly, trembling in one place in the air, like a kestrel. Although a white owl is not a strictly nocturnal bird, hunting departures usually fall in the early morning or evening. The victim is usually stalked. The small prey of the owl is swallowed whole, the large one is taken to itself and already in place they tear it to pieces with claws.

Voice - abrupt barking and croaking screams; in strong excitement they emit high squealing trills. Usually polar owls are silent outside the breeding season. A white owl preys on partridges, and especially on roaming lemmings.

22.

The mating season in March - April is accompanied by complex courtship. In some areas, polar owls maintain constant pairs for many years; in others, the pair remains together only for the duration of one nesting season.

Owls nest both in high places and in low, but preference is given to high hills and dry soil, as the bird begins to clutch when the area is still covered with snow. The nest is a simple hole in the ground that the owl is lining with plant rags and down. Nesting territories vary from 1 to 6 km2; owls attack predators already at a distance of 1 km from the nest. Owls adhere to old nesting sites from year to year, if the conditions do not force them to look for other hunting grounds.

Egg laying in May. In clutch usually 5-8 eggs; in fodder years - up to 11-16. Intensive breeding of the white owl is observed in the years of abundance of its main food - lemmings; when there are few lemmings, the white owl sometimes does not nest at all. The eggs are white, the female lays them one at a time for a day or two. In case of loss of masonry, the owl no longer nests this year. The female incubates the clutch for 32-34 days, the male carries her and the brood prey. The chicks hatch one at a time, so the chicks in the nest are of different ages and younger ones often do not survive. With the hatching of several chicks, the owl begins to leave the nest for feeding; in this case, the eggs and younger chicks are warmed by the older ones. Owls become 51–57 days on the wing.

They live in nature for 9 years, in conditions of detention - 28 years. Their natural enemies are foxes and skuas, as well as arctic foxes that eat chicks and eggs.

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   * Arctic owl - the official symbol of the province of Quebec (Canada).
   * The polar owl is depicted on the coat of arms of Kayerkan (now - the region of Norilsk).
   * In a series of novels about Harry Potter (later - in a series of films) there is a white owl named Buklya (Hedwig). This bird belonged to Harry Potter and knew how to deliver letters and parcels.
   * The name "Polar Owl" is one of the correctional colonies for life prisoners in Russia.

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Swamp Owl (Latin: Asio flammeus) is a bird of the order of owls with short ear tufts of feathers, consisting of only 3-4 feathers. On top of the rust color with dark and whitish longitudinal spots, on the bottom - lighter with simple dark brown rod spots. Length - 36 cm. Distributed everywhere, except for a hot belt. Nests in low-lying moist places, usually along the outskirts of swamps. A nest is a depression in the soil, sometimes lined with moss. Clutch - in April (for central Russia) - consists of 3-6 white spherical eggs. The food of the eared owl is served by small rodents, marsh and water birds, insects and even fish.

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A long-eared owl differs from a long-eared owl in large ear bunches consisting of 6 feathers, a shorter first fly feather (shorter than the fourth) and color. The general tone of the color is the same, but the dark spots of the upper side of the body do not merge into longitudinal stripes, like that of a swamp owl, and the rod spots on the lower side of the body are elongated in the transverse direction, so that in general they form 4-6 fairly clear transverse stripes. Body sizes are the same or slightly smaller. The common eared owl is kept exclusively in forests, preferring coniferous forest to black wood, since here it is less noticeable in its color. Its nesting area embraces Europe and northern Asia; winters - in northern Africa. It nests mainly in old nests of corvids, such as crow and magpie. The nest is usually located quite high, but there are cases of detecting nests at a height of only 1.5-2 meters. Clutch (at the end of March and April) usually consists of 4-5 spherical white eggs. Its main food consists of small rodents, mainly mice and voles, also insects, and during birds nesting. A medium-sized owl, reaching 31-37 cm long and 86-98 cm in wingspan.

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A long-eared owl can turn its head 180 degrees.

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Owl

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Eagle owl (lat. Bubo bubo) - bird of prey order Owls owls.

One of the large owls (Latin name of the letters. Means "owl of owls"), second only to the size of the fish owl. Wingspan - up to 2 m, weight - more than 4 kg. An eagle owl is easily determined by its size, dark beak, legs clawed down to the claws and feather ears tilted outward. It differs from a fish owl with more saturated pigmentation of plumage and iris of the eyes, feathered legs and silent flight.

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The eagle owl is characterized by deep and measured swings of wide wings. As a rule, an eagle owl leisurely flies above the ground, looking for prey, alternating flapping flight with short planning. Eagle owls living in mountains and gorges can use ascending air currents and soar for a long time, describing circles in height, but such a flight is not typical for him. If necessary, the eagle owl is able to fly at a speed sufficient to easily catch the crow. He also has the ability to develop full speed almost instantly, with the first stroke. Sitting down to rest on a tree or ground, holds the body upright.

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Hunting with an eagle owl, mainly for birds of prey (falcons, hawks, ravens, etc.), is based on the hatred that all birds generally feed on eagle owls, during their spring and autumn migration. For this hunt, a hut is made in a suitable place (or a dugout torn out in the ground with combat windows and a turf-covered roof). At steps 25-30 from the hut, a special seat for an eagle owl is set up on a pole, set in motion by a rope stretched to the hut; not far from the pillar filler trees are dug. Having tied the eagle owl by one leg to the movable seat (the other leg should be free to protect it from attacking predators), the hunter sits in the hut and, pulling the rope attached to that seat, makes the eagle owl flap its wings to prevent it from falling. Local predators will not be slow to fly up to the eagle owl, which partly sit on the additive trees, partly only climb the eagle owl, falling in one case or another under the hunter's shots. Sometimes owls are planted instead of an owl, as well as stuffed owls and eagles; sometimes mechanical eagle owls are used, which, if you pull the rope, flap their wings and rotate their heads.