Owls for Kids | Learn fun facts about these cool birds!

Owls. Hello, friends. Today, we're going to learn all about owls. If you want to read along with us, check out learnbright.org to find this lesson plan. What is an owl? Owls live around the world in almost every type of habitat. There are two types of owls. Barn owls, titonidae, with a heart-shaped facial disk, and all other owls, strigidae. All owls look pretty much the same. They have brown, gray, or white feathers with streaks or spots. They have large heads, flat faces, big eyes, hooked beaks, and sharp talons. In addition, owls have short tails, long wings, and impeccable hearing and eyesight. All owls have an upright posture with their eyes facing forward, just like humans. They cannot move their eyes very much because they are fixed on their head. To obtain depth perception, they have to move their entire head. Their heads turn in a circular motion to get a complete picture of the object. Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees to look directly backward. And the eyes of an owl are not actual eyeballs. Their tube-shaped eyes help them see their prey from great distances and focus on it. Up close, owls don't see that well. An owl is a bird of prey. But unlike other birds of prey, owls are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. In addition, they are zygodactyl. This means they have two forward-facing toes and two backward-facing toes on their feet. But what is remarkable is that they can pivot or turn one of their back toes forward to help them grip and walk. What do they eat? Most owls eat small animals like mice, rabbits, and voles. But some owl species will also dine on insects and birds. Their diet ultimately depends on the species because the environment in which they live will determine what they eat. All owls are carnivorous. But their diet has to do with the climate of the habitat and its geographic location. Most owls swallow their prey whole. Like other birds, they have two chambers or enclosed cavities in their stomach. The first chamber is where all the digestible parts become liquid. The second chamber is the gizzard, which grinds down the hard structures and squeezes everything that can be digested into the intestines. Finally, the parts they cannot digest are compacted into a pellet and the owl spits it out. These include parts like bones, teeth, fur, and feathers. Owls will often spit out one pellet per day. Other interesting facts. You may have heard the saying as wise as an owl. And that is because owls are associated with learning. For this reason, many libraries and bookstores will have pictures of owls or use them as a logo. Owls represent reading and wisdom. This might be because they can see in the dark, which means they can see things others can't. One way owls communicate is through calls and hoots. But not all owls hoot. Barn owls make hissing sounds. Eastern screech owls whinny like a horse. And saw-wet owls sound like a sharpening saw. Owls make various sounds, including snapping their bills, clapping their wings in flight, and singing. Owls can make facial expressions because they have many tiny facial muscles. And just like you, they use their facial expressions to communicate with other owls. Did you know that owls have asymmetrical ears? Not only are their ears shaped differently, but they are also located at different heights on their head. This allows them to pinpoint the location of sounds in multiple dimensions, giving them a significant advantage over their prey. Some owl species have ear tufts on their heads. While they aren't ears, they keep the owl camouflaged by mimicking branches and leaves. They also show the owl's mood so others know whether it feels calm or aggressive. Why are they important to the environment? Owls play a huge role in balancing the food web in many forests worldwide. Barn owls eat up to 11,000 rodents in 10 years, which helps farmers because those rodents would gobble up many of their crops. And owls bring tourists to different areas. Bird watchers want to spot these elusive and mysterious predators, so they spend money to come to places where owls may be found. While they are not endangered, owls do face dangers. For example, they are often displaced by habitat loss. In addition, chemicals like pesticides can make owls very sick. And with so many cars and trucks on the road at night, owls have been known to run into vehicles. Each of these reasons has impacted owls differently and sent several species into decline. We have learned some interesting facts about owls. Let's review. Why does the author say that owls all look the same? Owls have the same colors, face type, tail, wings, and upright posture. True or false? Most owls chew up their prey before they eat it. False. Most owls swallow their prey whole. Choose the word the author would say best describes the owl. A. Nocturnal. B. Venomous. C. Spiny. D. Endangered. E. Prey. If you said A. Nocturnal, you're right! Excellent work, owl enthusiasts! Remember, if you liked this lesson, you can find it and other awesome lessons on our website, Hope you had fun learning with us! Visit us at learnbright.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.