Nature Bulletin No. 267-A   April 29, 1967
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Richard B. Ogilvie, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation

****:OWLS

The owls, of all our native birds, are least understood. Most kinds 
remain hidden, motionless and silent during the day and hunt only at 
night or in the dim twilight of morning and evening. Only a few, like 
our common Short-eared Owl and those big owls of the far north -- the 
Snowy Owl, the Great Gray Owl and the Hawk Owl -- habitually hunt 
in daytime. Because an owl' s feathers are peculiarly soft and fluffy, it 
flies as silently as a passing shadow, swoops upon its prey unheard, and 
its Indian name was "hush-wing".

Since ancient times there have been many superstitions and legends 
about these birds. They have been regarded as the companions of 
sorcerers, witches, ghosts, hobgoblins and Satan himself. Their weird 
nocturnal hootings, gobblings and screams were and are believed to 
predict death, illness or disaster. Even today, in our southern states, the 
plaintive quavering cry of the Little Screech Owl -- which they call the 
"Shivering" Owl -- will cause some people to get out of bed and turn 
over their left shoe; others to throw a nail or other iron object into the 
fire. To the Greeks and Romans, the owl was a symbol of wisdom and 
was the companion of their goddess of wisdom.

It is not true that owls are "blind" in daytime. They see very well but 
most kinds see better at dusk because their eyes, adapted for night 
hunting, are so sensitive to light that the iris almost closes in strong 
light. It is supposed that they are particularly sensitive to green, yellow, 
orange, red, and possibly even to infrared rays which are invisible to us. 
In addition, like the hawk, the eye of an owl can be instantly and 
sharply focused to see either near or far and it is probably the most 
efficient organ of vision in the world. As with us humans, and unlike 
other birds, an owl has both eyes set in the front of its skull but they are 
immovable and cannot be rolled from side to side. This gives the bird's 
face an uncanny menacing staring expression. However, it can rotate its 
head almost 180 degrees to the right or left, so that it can stare back 
over either shoulder, and many a small boy has unsuccessfully tried to 
make an owl "twist its head off" by walking around it.

Owls have another peculiarity. Like hawks, they swallow their prey 
whole or in large pieces without removing the fur, feathers or bones. 
These indigestible portions are rolled up by the stomach into compact 
pellets and ejected from the mouth. The location of an owl' s den or 
roost is frequently betrayed by a pile of these pellets beneath it. They 
are clean and dry, do not smell, and can be taken apart to discover what 
the bird has been eating. Such examination will show that, contrary to 
common belief, nearly all owls are valuable to mankind. Some, like the 
Burrowing Owl and the Tiny Elk Owl of the southwest, feed mostly on 
insects. The Barn Owl, the Barred Owl, the Saw-whet Owl, the Screech 
Owl -- indeed, most other kinds -- prey largely on mice, rats, ground 
squirrels, gophers and other rodents.

An exception is the Great Horned Owl. This powerful bloodthirsty 
"Tiger of the Air" frequently becomes a serious predator on poultry, 
game birds and waterfowl. It is the only owl not protected in Illinois 
and most states. Nevertheless, because of the harmful mammals it eats, 
it does more good than bad.

Some people get as crazy as a Hoot Owl? Is that wise?