House owls. Owl - photo. Night Bird of Prey

Of all the existing Siberian owls are most common. They live in the western part of Europe, North Africa and South Asia and create nests in the plains, in the mountains, whose height sometimes reaches 3,000 meters. In the north, birds are very fond of even landscapes, and in the south they prefer steppes, deserts and semi-deserts. The number of these birds is very large, and in places it is simply huge.

Description

Domestic owls stand out somewhat among other species on several grounds. They differ from the scoop with slightly feathered fingers, and they do not have "ears", from the sparrow's son - in size, and from the owl-owl - dense plumage and longitudinal mottled feathers on the head.

Color a little brown, with a touch of olive. Claws are dark, brown. Bill is slightly yellowish. The bird has a special look - looks as if from under his big yellow eyes.

Dimensions

These birds are not so small in size. The house owl, whose photo you see in the article, weighs approximately 160-180 grams, the length of its body is 23-28 cm, the wings are 15-18 cm, the breadth is 57-64 cm.

As a rule, there are sex differences, females are slightly larger than males. After meeting, two birds create a permanent pair and are together, even if the breeding season has not come. Arrange places for nesting themselves, sometimes digging small holes or laying eggs in burrows, in different buildings, cliffs.

House Owls: Reproduction

Season of reproduction occurs in April or in the end of March, it depends on the habitat of the owl. In one masonry there are only four or five eggs, but there are also eight. The female has been hatching them for about a month. When the chicks turn four weeks old, they fly away from the nest. They reach adult size at the age of one and a half months. Some time the grown-up chicks stay together until they find a pair.

Food

Owl is a night bird of prey, but sometimes it happens that it flies out to hunt and at dusk. His diet includes various rodents, lizards, worms, even frogs and reptiles, insects and small birds. However, if an owl sees a rodent, he will not even notice the other prey that is next to him. This bird catches mainly mice or voles. Here such preferences in meal.

The house owl, whose photo is presented in our article, has strong clawed feet. This allows him to hunt animals more than their own weight without harming themselves. In the desert, the victims of owls often are gerbils and large jerboas. In burrows, which remain after the rodents caught by this predatory bird, they rest, and sometimes so that they arrange their nest there. It turns out that they occupy someone else's housing and take a tribute from the owners of the dwelling. House owls deserve praise from a man. All because they destroy the pests of our agriculture.

In addition to house owls, there are other species of predatory birds of the owl family. And we will now consider them.

Moongnar owl

This bird has a large and wide head, on which there are small feather ears. The owl's eyes are small, the beak is weak, yellow, the wings are long (15-19 cm) and wide, the tail is short. Paws are covered with thick feathers. The length of his body is 21-27 cm, weight - about 1200 grams. Female females, as well as house owls, are larger than males. Color grayish, it is brown, with pestrinami on neck and nape. The abdomen is white with a longitudinal brown pattern.

Moose-legged owls are common in the mountains and on the plains of coniferous forests of Asia, Europe and North America. They also live in Russia, the Caucasus, the Alps, Western China, the Balkans. It is a sedentary bird species. Northern birds have a daily life, and in the south, mostly nightlife.

The breeding season begins in mid-April. The female lays four to six white eggs in one clutch. He has been hatching them for more than a month. Nesting period lasts about thirty days. They settle their dwellings in the hollows of large trees. Hunt mainly for small rodents, but can eat insects and small birds.

Owl Passerine

As you have already understood, the family of owls is very diverse, and the males have fewer females. And this kind does not differ from others. However, they are slightly smaller in size than the above birds. The length of the body of the bird is 15-18 cm, the wings are 9-11 cm, and the range is 35-40 cm. These small sisters weigh 60-80 grams. The color of the feathers is brown, with a grayish tinge and white pies. Their claws are black, and their beak is yellowish. The fingers are covered with thick feathers.

Passerine owl mostly lives in coniferous forests of North Asia and Europe. In Russia it can be seen in Arkhangelsk, the Kola Peninsula, Siberia and Sakhalin, as well as in the Altai, the Ryazan Region, Transbaikalia. This species is also sedentary. Their nests are arranged mainly in birches and aspens. The number of eggs laid depends on the abundance of food. In Russia, the laymen lay off more than two or three eggs of white color, and in Europe - from four to six, sometimes seven. The breeding season begins in late April. But the grown up chicks can be found already in August.

Nutrition and hunting

The hunt of the natives takes place in the daytime, at dusk, and at dawn. In the diet of these small predators, mainly rodents (lemmings, hamsters, mice, both forest and brown) are included, and they also like to try shrews. Very fond of insects, but this delicacy is better suited for grown-up chicks. By the way, for them it is very characteristic that they store food, especially in the winter. They keep the birds collected food in their hollows.

Slychik Elf

According to the description, this bird is very similar to a passerine owl. Only this little one is just a tiny one, since his body size is only 12-14 cm. Despite this, he has a rather large head, but weak claws and a beak. This is probably due to the fact that it feeds only on small invertebrates. The wings are rounded. Color, like all other owls, is gray-brown with white markings. Claws and beak - pale brown color.

The Elf-boy is a sedentary bird. He lives in the desert areas of the USA and Mexico. His nests are arranged at a height of two or more meters, and only in the hollows of cactus saguaro, which hollow out woodpeckers. It even happens that several different birds live on the same plant, including the sisters. In one clutch there are from two to five eggs, but more often only three. It is a night bird of prey, which hunts only in the dark and feeds exclusively on insects.

Rabbit owl

No matter how strange it may sound, this is a kind of bird - terrestrial. They inhabit only the open spaces of America, Canada and Argentina. During the day, birds sit in their holes and rarely fly out to hunt. Their flight is very low, literally above the ground. But in the air they are almost impossible to see, mostly they run on their long paws. They make their nests in holes that have left the mammals. The length of their dwelling can reach four meters. Settling owls in groups that are located near each other. The nesting season for them runs from March to August. The number of eggs in one masonry can be from two to eleven. They hatch their offspring for about four weeks. And by the way, the male at this time is in a hole in the neighborhood with the one where the female sits on eggs.

This species of owls is very interesting color - reddish-brown-gray, with specks. Eye color - yellow. Beak is greenish-pale gray, paws of the same color, only the sole is yellowish. The length of these birds is only 23 cm, and the wings - 16 cm, but in the span of all 50. The tail is very short, only 7 cm.

Since they live exclusively on the earth, more precisely, in the earth, they are very susceptible to various dangers. Therefore, so that they could protect themselves and their offspring, Mother Nature endowed them with an interesting voice. They make sounds that sound like the rattles of a rattlesnake. Thus, they deserve the nickname in everyday life "an owl is a rattlesnake." It is also the only owl of its kind that lives on the surface of the earth and has an interesting habit of pulling the neck to inspect the surroundings.

They feed on not only small rodents and birds, but also fruits, various seeds of cacti.

This species is on the verge of extinction due to the fact that its representatives settle in holes in the ground. Each year their numbers decrease, the species needs restoration and protection.

A small conclusion

All birds of the owl family are very interesting and have their own characteristics. After all, their species still differ from each other. Someone is bigger in size, others have longer wings or strong paws with huge claws, with which they grab their prey. All of them are beautiful in their own way, and some individuals need protection of a person. In addition, the owls are very useful, because they do good, destroying rodents, thereby saving our crops.