As owls are farsighted, they are unable to clearly see anything within a few centimetres of their eyes. Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets-as are those of most other birds-so they must turn their entire heads to change views. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl's forward-facing eyes permits the greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to sharply focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls' asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk-like beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye. Anatomy Burrowing owl ( Athene cunicularia) Cross-eyed owl Ī group of owls is called a "parliament". Owls are divided into two families: the true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn-owl family, Tytonidae. They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes ( / ˈ s t r ɪ dʒ ə f ɔːr m iː z/), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Left Strigidae: Tawny owl ( Strix aluco), Eurasian eagle-owl ( Bubo bubo), Little owl ( Athene noctua), Northern saw-whet owl ( Aegolius acadicus) Right Tytonidae: Barn owl ( Tyto alba), Lesser sooty owl ( Tyto multipunctata), Tasmanian masked owl ( Tyto novaehollandiae castanops), Sri Lanka bay owl ( Phodilus assimilis).
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