The buzz

Happy Halloween? More like happy Owloween

An eastern screech owl on an evergreen branch.
An eastern screech owl. (Photo via Shutterstock)

Happy Halloween may be the refrain of the day, but here at the Forest Preserve District, it's more like Happy Owloween.

Owls aren't exactly scary, but these magnificent and mysterious creatures have long been associated with Halloween. That means the time is right to swoop in and learn some more about these birds.

There are more than 250 owl species worldwide, but just eight reside here in Will County. Six of these — the barn owl, barred owl, eastern screech owl, great horned owl, long-eared owl and northern saw-whet owl — live in our area year-round. Two species, the short-eared owl and snowy owl, are only here during winter.

Owls are raptors, or birds of prey, which means they hunt and kill other animals for food. All the owls that live locally feed mainly on small mammals, particularly rodents, but owls also eat insects, frogs, snakes and small birds. They'll even eat other owls. In fact, the great horned owl is the main predator of the smaller barred owl, according to the National Audubon Society

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Most owls are nocturnal, hunting for prey at night. Many, like the great horned owl, sit on a high perch waiting for their prey, then swoop down to catch it. Others, including the barn owl, hunt while in flight, a technique known as quartering flight, according to the Owl Research Institute.

 

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And while owls are stunning animals, they maybe aren't as wise as myth and legend would have you believe. Owls are smart, to be sure, and they certainly know how to survive in the wild, but they probably aren't any smarter than any other bird, according to the International Owl Center

While we're at it, let's bust another popular owl myth: They can't turn their heads all the way around. However, they do have an impressive range when it comes to turning their heads, with the ability to rotate them 270 degrees, the National Audubon Society reports. That means they do have a full, 360-degree range of vision, but they have to turn their head both ways to see all the way around them.

And one more thing that might surprise you: Not all owls hoot. Many do, and it's the sound most often associated with owls. But the eastern screech owl sounds more like a whinnying horse than a hooting great horned owl. Barn owls make a hissing or screaming sound, and barred owls sound like they are calling out, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?"

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