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The snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), [4] also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, [5] is a large, white owl of the true owl family. [6] Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. [2]
Most owls are nocturnal or crepuscular birds of prey. Because they hunt at night, they must rely on non-visual senses. Experiments by Roger Payne [1] have shown that owls are sensitive to the sounds made by their prey, not the heat or the smell. In fact, the sound cues are both necessary and sufficient for localization of mice from a distant ...
Certain words in the English language represent animal sounds: the noises and vocalizations of particular animals, especially noises used by animals for communication. The words can be used as verbs or interjections in addition to nouns , and many of them are also specifically onomatopoeic .
A snowy owl holds part of an American coot in its mouth as it stands on a chimney cap in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee. The bird, the first of its kind seen in Milwaukee this winter, was ...
The main characteristic of the barn owls is the heart-shaped facial disc, formed by stiff feathers which serve to amplify and locate the source of sounds when hunting. [19] Further adaptations in the wing feathers eliminate sound caused by flying, aiding both the hearing of the owl listening for hidden prey and keeping the prey unaware of the owl.
In ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds—most notably owls—surrounding the eyes. The concavity of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those waves towards the owl's ears. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted by the bird to alter ...
The barred owl is a powerful vocalist, with an array of calls that are considered "spectacular, loud and emphatic". [42] Calls probably carry well over 0.8 km (0.50 mi). [43] Its usual call is a series of eight accented hoots ok-ok-ok-ok ok-ok-buhooh, or the "typical two-phrase hoot" with a downward pitch at the end.
Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk-like beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to sharply focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls' asymmetrically placed ear cavities.