Owl Facts For Kids

The most amazing and educating owl facts for kids on the internet. Interesting information on owl feathers, owl visions and list of different types of owls in the world. With the stream of information available you won’t find too many owl facts for kids that truly guide you about the detail analysis of owls. This article is all about real owl’s truth which steer you further regarding some of the strange yet unknown owl facts for kids and adults. Owls are actually the birds that belong to the family of Strigiformes comprising about 200 species and are supposedly known to be the oldest land birds. Moreover, owls are believed to exist after the end of non-avian Dinosaurs some 5 million years ago.

Two of the owl species are in a great number; solitary and nocturnal. These birds have large eyes and a beak that resembles very much to that of an eagle. Each eye is surrounded by the stream of feathers which is usually known as a facial disc. These feathers help in directing its attention to the nearby sounds. There are sockets on which the eyes are placed and for that reason owls tend to rotate at 270 degrees very easily. Apart from these owl facts humans have conceptualized this visionary bird as a mark of pessimism and in most parts of Africa and Asia owls are symbolizes a death and desolation. Even today the belief is widespread. Let’s have a look at some of the most interesting facts about owls for kids.

One of the amazing owl facts for kids is that these birds are farsighted due to which they can’t focus anything that lies within few centimetres.
Owls usually hunt small insects, mammals including rats, squirrels, and woodchucks; however, few of these species are skilled in hunting fish.
Owls are extensively found in any region except in Antarctica and Greenland.
These birds have an amazing binocular vision.
They are exceptionally capable to see anything that lies within their range even in a dim light.
The weight of the smallest owl (known as Elf Owl) on earth is about 31 g (1.1 oz) with the length of 13.5 cm (5.3 inches).
The largest owl exists by the name of Great Grey Owl measuring 70 cm (28 in) normally. However some species have a length of even 84 cm (33 in).
Two of the heaviest owls with the largest wingspan of 2 m (6.6 ft) and the weight of 4.5 kg (10 lb) are known as Eurasian Eagle Owl and Blakiston’s Fish Owl.
Owls do not have similar sounds in that it wholly depends on the kind of specie. Indeed it helps their opponents in recognizing a specific type of owl.
Female Owls can lay dozens of eggs within a period of 2 to 3 days. These white colored eggs are nearly spherical in shape.
These birds somewhat resemble with the eagles in that owls do not build nests; they usually search discarded nests, barns or caves to live in.
Owls are believed to exist in distinct habitats.
Another amazing owl facts for kids is that every owl has three eyelids.
By and large female owls are deemed to be larger in size in comparison to the males. They are also more hostile than males.
All the four toes of the owls are pointed in opposite direction i.e. two forward and two backwards due to which these birds have a firm grip on their prey.

Owl Facts for Kids about their Line of Attack

By and large owls are nocturnal in that their hunting starts in the night.
Pygmy Owl and Burrowing Owl are the two kinds that are capable to hunt even at dusk or daylight.
The study of owls’ behavior show one of the strange owl facts that they are not apt to give signals to their prey.
Because the color of their feathers is not prominent they seem to camouflage themselves and are not easily detectible by their prey.
Owls have a sharp-pointed beak with powerful claws that does not allow its prey to escape; in fact the victim dies before it’s been swallowed or eaten by the owl.
Owls actually belong to the carnivorous birds’ family and for this reason they tend to hunt small insects including rats, hares and mice. However, few owls also emphasize on hunting fishes.
Owl facts for kids show that these birds are exceptionally skillful in hunting their prey in relation to their respective environments.

Owls Characterstics | Interesting Facts about Owls For Kids

Owl Feathers and their Flight:

Owls customarily fly slowly and silently as compared to the usual birds.
The ability to fly silently and in absolute darkness makes them even inevitable to their prey. However, Diurnal and Crepuscular owls are not adept to fly silently and they’re easily prone to their kills.
Talking about the owls’ feathers they are relatively longer in comparison to the normal birds; these feathers having smooth edges seldom radiates which help them to fly without making sound.
There is a velvety structure on the feathers’ surface which prevents the wings from producing sound.

Owl Vision

One of the extraordinary attributes of owls is their binocular vision.
Even in extreme darkness these visionary birds can fly without using any echolocation for guidance.
As far as their eyes are concerned they are comparatively larger in contrast to their skull.
There are sclerotic tubes in which the eyes are fixed and for that reason they cannot move their eyes.
Owls can move their head at 270^odegrees and can easily see anything at their back with their head movement only. Since their body do not swivel they don’t make noise.
In the whole avian group owls are considered to be the only bird with frontally placed eyes which help them to see farsightedly.

Owl Hearing

When it comes to hearing owls are one of the best creatures with special hearing senses to locate their kill.
Since ears are placed disproportionately on the skull, it enables them to find out the direction of the sound.
These birds have asymmetrical ears due to which they can sense the pitch of the sound very quickly.
By using pitch of the sound owls determine the exact location of their prey.
There is not a huge difference between the audible range of humans and owls except owls can pick few minute frequencies as a result they can identify the trivial movement of its victim.
Following pitch of the last sound and after identifying the exact location owls tend to attack straight toward its prey; it can adjust its direction even if the prey shoves from its original position.

Owl Talons and Beak | Facts about Owls For Kids

The talon and beak are enough the crush the prey within minutes.
The crushing power of owls varies significantly in that it ranges from 500 grams to 3000 grams of releasing pressure. The largest owls on earth known as Great Horned Owl need 13000 grams of pressure to release its prey.
These birds have sharp beaks pointed downwards so as to make sure the prey is properly captured.
After taking hold of the victim the upper and lower parts of the beak acts as scissor and they tear off the prey conveniently.