What do owls do

Occasionally, Great Horned Owls might even find skunks tasty enough to eat. Some owls, like the Flammulated Owl eat insects almost exclusively. Animals that eat insects are called insectivores. Owls hunt in various ways.

One hunting technique is called perch and pounce. In this method owls perch comfortably until they see their prey, then glide down upon it; Northern Hawk Owls use this approach. Another approach to hunting, called quartering flight, is to search for prey while flying, as utilized by the Barn Owl. Sometimes owls — most often those that hunt in open country like the Short-eared Owl — hover like a helicopter above prey until they are ready to zoom in on it.

Hovering takes a lot of energy. Burrowing Owls commonly run across the ground after their prey. In all methods, owls generally hunt close to the ground so that they can more easily hear and see their prey. Owls sometimes hide their food. They capture prey and use their bill to carefully stuff the food into a hiding spot.

This is called caching pronounced CASH-ing. Owls might cache prey in holes in trees, in the forks of tree branches, behind rocks, or in clumps of grass. Owls do this when the hunting is good in order to stock up and will usually go back for the prey within a day or two. At the end of a day or night spent hunting, owls return to a resting place, called a roost.

Most owls roost alone, or near a nest during the breeding season. However, there are a few species that roost communally, or share a roosting area with other individuals of the same species. Although poorly understood, owls may benefit in one or more ways from sharing the same roost.

The owls can watch for mobbing songbirds and predators. They may also huddle together to keep each other warm. Shared roosts probably make it easier for owls to find partners during the mating season. Owls may even pass along information about good hunting spots. The roost is commonly located next to good hunting grounds so owls can search for prey as soon as they leave or return to the roost. Late winter is mating time for most owls.

Males begin seeking mates by calling through the afternoon and evening air. Generally, the large owls hoot and the small owls toot. The large Barred Owl hoots in a loud, low call that sounds like a question, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?

You can listen to the individual owl calls on our Owl ID pages. A female owl will listen for a call that interests her. She will only respond to calls from males of the same species. Once a male owl gains the interest of a female, he starts performing, or showing off. He might display his feathers by fluffing them out. He might give the female gifts of food. Then he will fly up again and hang in the wind.

He may repeat this dance several times, all in an effort to impress the female. At the end of the performance, the male dives past the female into the grass. If the female follows him, the two owls may become a mating pair. Mating owls spend a great deal of time together. This gesture is called preening. Scientists think it reduces fighting and other aggressive behavior.

Photo: Melyssa St. 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. To learn more about these fascinating creatures, download the Audubon Bird Guide: Owls app now free on iTunes. This interactive guide to the 19 owl species of North America features both in-depth owl information and fun games and quizzes. Download it now.

Although we typically associate them with the night, some owls are diurnal, or active during the day. Species in northern latitudes, such as Snowy Owls, must be able to hunt throughout the continuously bright days of summer. In western mountain forests, Northern Pygmy-Owls hunt small birds during the day, and although they mostly hunt at night, Burrowing Owls are often seen outside their burrows in daylight.

Some others are crepuscular, active during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk. Mostly nocturnal, owls rely on outstanding hearing abilities to find their prey in the darkness. Barn Owls, for example, are able to locate small animals hiding in vegetation by using their auditory sense alone. The Great Gray Owl in the video below can find prey under almost a foot of snow.

Owls' flat faces work like dish antennas — the feathers around the face direct soundwaves to their ears, which are hidden on the sides. Many owl species also have a slight asymmetry in ear position, which helps them determine target distance. The amount of food available affects owls' reproduction. While Barn Owls typically lay four to seven eggs, they have been known to lay as many as 12 during years with high rodent populations.

In years of food scarcity, however, some owls might refrain from breeding altogether. The flight of owls is nearly silent, which allows them to approach and then pounce on unsuspecting targets. Because the wings' surface area is larger than most birds in proportion to body mass, they can glide more slowly without stalling and dropping to the ground.

Their feathers also play a role — their shape and soft texture help muffle the sound of the owl's flight. Owls can drink, but they mostly get their water needs met by the animals they eat.

During metabolism, the hydrogen contained in the animals' fat gets oxidized, yielding around one gram of water for every gram of fat. During northern winters, owls sometimes may be seen eating snow. While owls' extraordinary hunting skills and nocturnal habits are the stuff of legend, the dangers they face are often overlooked. Threats like habitat loss , pesticides , and vehicle collisions have already sent a third of all owl species in the United States into decline.

The Northern Spotted Owl a subspecies of the Spotted Owl has been protected by the Endangered Species Act since , and six additional owl species have been placed on Partners in Flight 's Yellow Watch List, indicating the need for conservation action. American Bird Conservancy and other organizations are taking a multipronged approach to helping owls by improving key habitat, banning dangerous pesticides , and pushing for improved protections.

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