With the advent of Fall
leaf color, Thanksgiving pumpkins, and cold crisp weather, love is in the air
here in Missouri—at least it is if you’re an owl!
If you happen to be
outdoors in the evening or late at night you may hear an owl calling. At this time of the year our feathered
creatures of the night are busy claiming a territory, and soon will be
advertising for a mate.
In our last blog we posed
a little owl quiz with links to some audio bites of owl calls to test your
knowledge. Here are the answers to
our quiz, as well as a few facts about each of those fascinating creatures.
Each of the photos is of a
resident of the World Bird Sanctuary and represents his or her species.
Owl photo collage: Gay Schroer
Photo #1 is Timber the
Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio)
Photo #2 is Jake the Great
Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Photo #3 is Goblin the
Common Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Photo #4 is Xena the
Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)
Photo #5 is Olaf the
Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)
Photo #6 is Buzz the Tawny
Owl (Strix aluco)
Photo #7 is Jersey the
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Photo #8 is Mia the
Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix
perspicillata)
Now for the answers to our
quiz:
Jersey the Barred Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
A. This
owl’s call seems to be concerned about your dinner.
Photo #7 – Jersey the Barred Owl.
This bird’s call is said to sound like “Who, who, who cooks for-you”
“Who, who, who cooks for-you-all”.
Barred owls are one of the most common owls in the Eastern U.S. This bird is often locally referred to
as a “hoot” owl.
Goblin a Common Barn Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
B. No
wimpy hooting for this bird—it communicates with a high-pitched hissing scream. This
would be #3. Pictured is Goblin
the Common Barn Owl. Did you know
that Barn Owls are found on every continent except Antarctica? Barn Owls have been on the endangered
list here in Missouri due to habitat loss. For a number of years WBS has been at the forefront of an
effort to release captive bred Barn Owls back into the wild to bolster
declining populations.
Timber, an Eastern Screech Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
C. Don’t
let this bird’s sweet trilling call fool you—it’s a fierce little predator. This
would be #1. Pictured here is
Timber the Eastern Screech Owl. Eastern Screech Owls are generally seen in two
color phases—red and grey, although there are occasionally intermediate brown
shades of these two colors. Their
call is a mellow muted trill—no hooting for this bird.
Olaf, a Saw-whet Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
D. This
owl’s call is a monotonous “hoop-hoop-hoop”, but its volume belies its diminutive size! #5 -
The Northern Saw-whet Owl has a surprisingly loud call for such a small
bird. Pictured is Olaf, a World
Bird Sanctuary resident bird. When prey is plentiful, a Saw-whet Owl will kill
as many as 6 mice in rapid succession, without consuming any of them. The
excess food is cached in safe places and, in winter, is thawed out later by
"brooding" the frozen carcass. When food is plentiful, it is common
for only the head of each prey item to be eaten.
Jake, a resident Great Horned Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
E. The
male of this species calls with a low-pitched monotone “ho ho-ho hoo hoo”, and
is answered with a higher pitched “girly” version of the same call. This
would be #2, the Great-horned Owl.
Pictured is Jake, a WBS resident owl. A Great Horned Owl is powerful enough to take prey two to
three times heavier than itself.
Longevity is up to 13 years in the wild and as much as 29 to 38 years in
captivity.
Mia, our beautiful Spectacled Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
F. This
owl’s vocalization sounds like a knocking or tapping, “Pup-pup-pup-pup-o”
issued in a rising crescendo.
(Hint – This owl is not native to the U.S., but you may have heard it if
you’ve been to the World Bird Sanctuary’s weathering area lately.) #8 is
Mia the Spectacled Owl, and she can usually be found in the weathering area
behind the WBS’s Nature Center building.
This owl hales from Mexico, Central and South America, most frequently
found in dense tropical rain forests.
Once fledged, at about 5-6 weeks, the chicks depend on the parents for
up to a year.
Buzz, a Tawny Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
G. This
owl was the inspiration for the owl in the Winnie the Pooh tales and is the
most common owl in Europe—especially in England. #6 –
The Eurasian Tawny Owl will usually nest in tree holes or nest boxes in trees,
and pair bonds last for life. Even
though these owls are small they will defend their nest aggressively, even
attacking humans on occasion if they perceive them as a threat to the nest.
Xena, everyone's favorite Eurasian Eagle Owl (photo: Gay Schroer)
H. This
owl issues a long, booming “oo-hooh”, and may even bark and growl if it feels
threatened. This would be #4 – the Eurasian Eagle
Owl. Pictured is Xena, one of our
most popular resident birds. This
largest owl species eats mainly voles and rats, but has been known to take prey
as large as a Roe Deer fawn. They
nest on cliff ledges, crevices between rocks, and cave entrances, although they
are not above using abandoned nests of large birds.
To meet some of these
fascinating creatures, join us for an OWL PROWL For information on WBS Owl Prowls Click Here or call 636-225-4390,
Ext. 101.
