Owls are intriguing birds that easily capture the attention and curiosity of birders. These facts may help clear up a bit of their mystery and reveal what a hoot owls really are.  

According to research, all 250 species of owls form a group called strigiform. Many owls have asymmetrical (Asymmetrical- having parts that fail to correspond to one another in shape, size, or arrangement; lacking symmetry.) ears.

When found at different heights on an owl’s head, their ears able to pinpoint a sound to its exact location. Another thing I found out about owls during my research is that owls don’t really have eyeballs. Their tubed-shaped eyes are completely immobile. This provides binocular vision which allows full focus on prey and boosts depth perception. Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees.

You are probably wondering how. Well, a blood pulling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movements cut off circulation. A fun fact about Owls that I guarantee most people don’t know is that a group of owls is not called a flock but a parliament. For my last fun fact about owls that I guarantee u didn’t know about owls is that the tiniest owl in the world is the Elf Owl, which is 5 – 6 inches tall and weighs about 1 ½ ounces. The largest North American owl, in appearance, is the Great Gray Owl, which is up to 32 inches tall.

As you can see, Owls are pretty awesome and there is a diverse population for everyone to enjoy!