9/13 Owl Blog

 

Dear, Mrs Cuttatree

I am a Barn Owl, my scientific name is Tyto Alba. I live in deserts, grasslands, forests, fields, and urban areas. I am broad with pointed wings, large head, and heart shaped face. I am a pale tawny color with white under my wings and on my belly, I also have fairly long legs. I am 40.64 centimetres long, my wingspan is 106 centimetres, and I weigh 460 grams. I usually lay 1 to 13 eggs, depending on how the food supply is that year.  

I am a night hunting bird and I dont have large eyes, I rely more on sound than sight. In fact, I have the most acute hearing of owls. I use my heart shape ruff and my movable ear flaps to direct and amplify sound, allowing me to focus on the sounds made by my prey. I also have forward facing eyes and binocular vision. Because of that I need to bob my head up and down side to side in order to see. 

I am an experienced hunter, so I do not typically have to migrate south. Unlike young owls, who are inexperienced, who may need to fly south in order to find prey and nesting areas. As long as I have good hunting grounds I can stay in my home territory. 

I live in many places such as… open and partly open habitats, grassland, farmland, in or near towns. I nest in tree cavities, and structures built by humans, like barns, abandoned buildings, and duck nest boxes. My typical diet contains mostly mammals, like mice and small rabbits.

I am on top of the food chain, although I can be harassed by crows. Mrs.Cuttatree if you cut trees down then I will have nowhere to perch to listen/look for prey. If I can’t perch to hunt then my prey population will sky rocket. And we all know what people think of too many mice. Barn Owls are incredibly interesting because they have asymmetrical ears and they live all over the world, but my numbers are in decline due to habitat loss. This is why I think you shouldn’t cut the trees, also you are not just destroying my habitat but other animals’ habitats too.

 

Sincerely, Mr. Barn Owl

The Field Guide to Natural History of North American Birds. ( pg. 288-289) Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, Darryl Wheye

THE SIBLEY Guide to Birds (pg. 272)

THE SIBLEY GUIDE To Bird Life and Behavior (pg. 336-338)