![]() Or maybe heard one? Do you know what kind of owl you spotted? Michigan has three common owls, as well as some less common species and one endangered species.Ĭommon Owls of Michigan – Great Horned, Eastern Screech, and Barred If you live in the country, or have walked past some trees at night, perhaps you’ve seen an owl in the wild before. They also discovered that owl arteries widen out into little reservoirs at the base of the head that keep the owl from losing consciousness from lack of blood to the brain when its head is rotated. The researchers found that owl neck arteries don’t go through every vertebra like they do on humans, and the spaces where they do go through are wider to avoid the bone damaging the arteries. ![]() However, that head rotation is something humans definitely can’t do – if we tried turning our head around as far as an owl could, we would tear the big arteries in our neck! So how can owls do this? A study was recently conducted to find the answer to this question. Owls can’t move their eyeballs like we can, so they must be able to rotate their entire head in order to look to either side or behind them. Why can they do this? Humans can move our eyeballs without moving our head, in order to see to either side of us – called peripheral vision. While they cannot turn their heads around a full 360 degrees as some people think, they can turn it up to 270 degrees. Another characteristic that is commonly known about owls is the amazing degree of rotation they can achieve with their neck. ![]() Even so, they are still able to see as well or better than humans even during the daytime. Because many owls are active during the night, their eyes are specially adapted to see well in low-light conditions. Like most birds of prey, owls also have excellent eyesight that allows them to quickly spot moving prey. This gives them the ability to pinpoint exactly where a sound is coming from, even if their prey is buried beneath bedding or snow. However, one ear is set higher up on the skull than the other ear. You cannot see owl ears easily – their ears are simply slits in the side of their heads. Another cool adaptation that helps owls hear is their asymmetrical ears. This special feature helps funnel the sound that comes towards them and direct it more accurately to their ears, allowing them to hear the noises of their prey better. One of those adaptations is the distinctive facial disc of concave feathers that many owls sport. In the natural world, owls are amazing birds that have numerous special adaptations that make them excellent hunters of the night. ![]() More recently, owls have become quite noticeable in the Harry Potter books and movies, used by wizards to carry mail and packages. They gained a place in popular culture, often depicting a wise, old character that gives advice, particularly in children’s movies and books. They used to be seen as an omen, often a bad one, foretelling death or misfortune. Owls have fascinated humans for hundreds of years. ![]()
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