Types of owls: photo and description. Polar and white owls: detailed description

Owls are birds that differ from others in their physiology and way of life. They lead a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle, as they are well seen in the dark. Sharp claws allow them to hunt down and instantly kill their prey. What are the types of owls, and what are their distinguishing features? This is exactly what we are now talking about. It should immediately be noted that there are about 220 species, but we will consider the most interesting of them.

A little about the peculiarities of owls

At once it is necessary to say a few words about the size of these birds. The smallest representative, for which he, in fact, got his name, is a sparrow owl. The weight of the bird is only 50-80 grams, and the length is not more than 20 centimeters. The biggest owl is an owl. Often there are individuals reaching impressive sizes. The length is 60-75 centimeters, and the weight is up to 4 kilograms. However, regardless of size, all types of owls have a large head with magnificent plumage, which is why many may think that it is round. Due to the specific plumage, a flat face plate is formed. Large and beautiful eyes - that's what many attract these predators. Their eyeball is capable of catching large streams of light with little intensity, which allows them to perfectly see and track their prey at night.

The ears of owls are normal, not having an external shell. For example, the "long-eared owl" has bundles of additional sensitive feathers, which improve the carrying of sounds directly to the ear. Thanks to the asymmetric arrangement, the predator finds the source of sound with high accuracy, which allows you to quickly orient yourself. It is worth paying attention to the fact that hearing for an owl is more important than seeing, and is the main sense organ, since without it a bird can not simply hunt. The paws of all types of owls are very strong with sharp claws, which allows you to instantly kill your prey.

Types of owls: a brief description

Let's look at a few groups of predators that are most expressive and interesting. We'll start with a gray owl. This is a true owl-gourmet, who prefers to see only mice in his menu. But if very tight with the prey, young pigeons who have not yet left their nest, or land birds, can move. This species is found all over Europe, but most often in Spain, Greece, etc. It used to be assumed that they also live in Siberia, but the results did not yield any results. The length of a large individual can reach half a meter, the wingspan up to one meter.

Long-tailed owl is an owl, which is considered the largest of all known owls today. The length of an adult male is almost 70 centimeters, and the wingspan can be 120 cm. Unlike all other owl representatives, there is absolutely no difference between individuals of different sexes. Specifically, this species is often not limited to hunting for mice. They can also hunt rabbits, grouse or rabbits. There were even cases of collision of herons and long-tailed owl, fortunately, both representatives survived.

Cave owl is common in America. Nests, she snatches in the ground, often on plains, hills. Very often it breeds in foreign burrows, for example, anteaters or armadillos. The most interesting thing is that such an owl with other mammals can live perfectly peacefully in the same hole. Confirmation was repeatedly sealed by eyewitnesses.

Owl and a long-eared owl

"King of the Night" - that's how they call one of the largest representatives of the family of owls. The length of the trunk of this giant sometimes reaches 78 centimeters, and the wingspan is one and a half meters. It occurs almost in all countries of the Old World. Despite its wide range of habitats, the "king of the night" can not be called ordinary, because it is not so common. In the forests of Russia, eagle owl is very rare, it was even brought into the Red Book. It is noteworthy that this predator practically does not wander, it remains in place of the nest from year to year. As for hunting, the eagle owl finds itself only at night. Both small and large vertebrates can become its prey. Of course, all kinds of owls adore mice, as well as representatives of felines, so the eagle owls pay most attention to them.

A long-eared owl is a mini version of an owl. This predator differs from the above described in that it has a thin trunk and incredibly developed ears. Extra bundles of feathers make this owl's hearing somewhat better. It is worth noting that this particular species of bird is perceived by other species somewhat better. If the owl and the spirit can not tolerate other winged inhabitants, then the big-eared owl does not cause such anger. She is not so aggressive, and more sociable. Sometimes you can see how big-eared owls gather in 20 or more individuals on one tree. So they sit until late at night, and then they go hunting with the whole pack.

White Owl: a rare and unusually beautiful bird

Adult individuals reach 71 centimeters in length, and the wingspan at the same time is more than one and a half meters. Color depends on age. The younger the individual, the more brown spots all over the body. Closer to old age the bird can become quite white. Unfortunately, such specimens are very rare and many naturalists track down polar owls-long-livers for years. The white owl prefers loneliness, and does not consider a person to be his friend for well-founded reasons. Because of this, the predator likes a remote area, where he spends most of his life. Most often found in the Tundra and is a great sight, especially when it comes to a large "wise" representative, on which there are almost no brown spots. Attacks on the game, which the hunter shot, are witnessed. But in most cases this representative of the owls behaves very cautiously and tries not to catch the eye of a man. Let's talk in detail about this predator.

Habitat

In fact, a white owl, photo of which the most sophisticated researchers dream to make, lives in many countries and localities. First of all, this is, of course, the tundra, but in practice the bird can fly and a little further north. Travelers on their way to the pole constantly met this predator, so it is difficult to say exactly where the white owl habitat ends. The shores of Spitsberger, in particular the north-western and southern, are also inhabited by these inhabitants, but in small numbers. Occasionally, it was possible to observe these owls and near the Novosibirsk coast. As for the tundra, it occurs more or less evenly throughout its territory. But you can find a certain pattern: the more variegated, which are the main food in this area, the more polar owls, and vice versa. In principle, a polar owl, the photo of which must be seen, is not that rare, but due to the fact that it is common in cold places on the planet, people do not face it so often.

Reproduction of polar owls

It can be said with certainty that the main cause of high mortality of owls is hunger. Owls are very dependent on the rodent population. In a bad year, up to 30-60% of young individuals die. If there are a lot of small rodents, then the population of owls increases significantly. Fortunately, this species is not so much dependent on this, here, rather, a big role is played by a person who hunts a given bird. Owls reproduce once a year around mid-May. Masonry is hatched by the female for 30-34 days. Sometimes the number of eggs reaches 11 pieces, but on average the bird lays 4-6 eggs. The role of the male is to extract food for the female, and then for the brood. Occasionally it happens that the female dies, and the mantle continues to incubate the male. By the way, in spite of the fact that the owl - a bird of prey and large animals - often dies, for example, from shots of hunters or famine, they choose a couple of themselves for life. This applies not only to polar owls, but to many other species of birds of this group.

Features of plumage and behavior

As already noted above, the color of these sows varies with age. Young individuals are completely mottled, have brown spots all over their bodies, while a middle-aged bird is colored with longitudinal spots on the head and transverse on the body. But the greatest interest for researchers are individuals of advanced age. If you manage to meet a very old owl, then it is entirely possible that it will turn out to be completely white, without any stains. But since the owl is a bird of prey, it does not always survive to old age, therefore it causes unhealthy interest among poachers who are ready to shoot birds for their own benefit. It is not for nothing that these predators try to avoid people throughout their life. But it happens that a person came too close, in this case the polar owl pretends to be wounded or even dead. But if the threat does not pass, quickly rises and flies away. It's safe to say that a white owl is a bird, which, above all, tries to preserve its offspring at any price, so it will always protect it. For this male protects the female, watching from the mountain, and at the slightest threat gives her a cry.

Interesting information about polar owls

This group of predators is different in that they go out hunting not only at night and in the evening, but also on a sunny day. Often this happens in the afternoons, when the owl is particularly hungry. Before starting a hunt, the bird flies to a high hill or mountain, from where it is observed for some time. Since a polar owl is a bird hunting relatively on small plots of land, it can not be left out of sight for a whole day. Of course, often even the most experienced connoisseurs of owls can not get close to the distance of a shot to this bird. Most individuals are extremely fearful, even though they are very rarely threatened with a direct threat, which is due to the poor population of their habitats. Perhaps, this reaction speaks of a well developed instinct of self-preservation. It should be noted that the polar owl is a bird that can repel such day predators as a hawk or a golden eagle. On large individuals, they rarely attack, but on the nest with small совятами very often look.

Notable features

Most researchers from around the world are gradually coming to the conclusion that the family of owls is an independent detachment. This is indicated by anatomical features, many of which have nothing to do with day-old predators. However, one must understand that different groups of owls sometimes have nothing in common with each other, except for anatomy. Some hunt at night, while others prefer the day. For example, the owl has an impressive size, and the passerine owl is the complete opposite of it. If hawk-owls have similarities with hawks, and long-eared owls - with owls, then the same polar owls can be considered in some way unique birds, if only because ducks and other waterfowl often settle near the nests of these predators. And they live peacefully next to each other. This is due to the fact that the owl never hunts in close proximity to its nest, unlike some other predators. Although during a hunger strike, it is possible. In any case, you need at least once to see how the owl produces food. Photos, the bird on which hunts, there are a huge number, but all of them are extracted by hard work.

Conclusion

For many years scientists have been conducting various studies, so today we have a lot of information about these predators. For example, even though an owl is a night bird, she does not see in complete darkness, just like a person. Therefore, if you place a carnivore in a dark room, where no rays of light enter, and run a rodent there, then it will be eaten only when it emits any rustle or sound. But all the same, unnatural conditions for finding food also affect, because these are birds of the forest. Owl is in many respects an ideal predator.

Sometimes even between relatives there are conflicts. In this case, the night owl chooses the most diverse methods of defense, tries to frighten the owl, but it hides from the eagle owl or other large individuals, often camouflaging in the branches of trees. It is also remarkable that the owl can hear perfectly even when it flies. Most importantly, the victim will be killed with a probability of 99%, so we can say that the owl is very rarely mistaken.

Well, perhaps, and all that can be said about who such an owl is. The description of the bird may differ depending on its type. But absolutely everyone is a deadly killer predator. A silent flight, excellent hearing and sight, as well as sharp claws make themselves felt. It is difficult to say whether owls are useful or harmful. Small individuals hunt only rodents that damage farmlands, larger ones can kill ducks and rabbits, as well as rabbits, which causes damage to agriculture.