Phantoms of the night
- POSTED ON: 8 Mar, 2022
- TOTAL VIEWS: 229 Views
- POSTED BY: Katie Bagli | Article by Madhuvanti S. Krishnan
- ARTICLE POINTS: 150 Points
Owls are symbolically represented as wise on the one hand. On the other, they are also considered harbingers of doom and connected with death and witchcraft. This could be because of the fact that they are nocturnal birds and oten roost in hollows of old trees found in graveyards and old abandoned buildings. Some owls may appear sinister and even intimidating, like the Great Horned Owl, with its large yellow eyes.
Owl calls are never melodious like those of other birds; they sound harsh, screechy, and often eerie, like that of the heart-faced Barn Owl. Some years ago, the flat next door was empty but, every evening, we could hear someone snoring inside. Armed with bamboo sticks, we used the spare key in our custody to open the flat and catch the intruder. Instead, we were the ones surprised to discover that the housebreaker was a barn owl. I learnt that its calls could sound like someone snoring.
The features of owls are very different from that of other birds. They have a flat face with forward-facing eyes to give them a better perception of depth while hunting at night. But this makes them susceptible to being mobbed by smaller songbirds during the day when they are drowsy, as they cannot see sideways. I have seen a pygmy owl being mobbed by a dozen sunbirds at Corbett. When it turned its head sideways, the mobsters seemed to get scared and flew away. The mystery was solved when the bird turned its head a full 270°. The feathers at the back of its head looked like a second face.
Expert hunters
These nocturnal birds are very well adapted to be night hunters. Their exceptionally large eyes, which nearly touch inside their head, allow for superb night vision. They can make out their prey — small birds, lizards, small mammals, especially rats — from an incredibly long distance even when it is pitch dark.
These silent hunters can hear the faintest of sounds, like the scurrying of rats, with their super sharp ears. In most owl species, the ears are placed asymmetrically, with one ear being higher than the other. This allows them to pinpoint the exact location and guides the bird into striking range of its target. Owls can fly silently, undetected by their prey, thanks to special hooks on the front of their wing feathers and the trailing edges being frayed, which muffles all sound.
These magnificent birds tend to swallow their prey whole. The unwanted matter like fur, feathers, teeth, bones are compressed into little pellets, which the owl spits out.
We owe owls a debt of gratitude for keeping our web of life intact and cleaning our environment of vermin like rats.