Sibylle Faye Full-range Bird Products!Green Tips & Products
Pet Bird Resources | Breeder's Web | Wildlife Resources | Home & Health
Contact Form or e-mail | Home

Resources

Life of Birds - Great Bird Video - enjoy for hours!

Bird Species


Parrots of the World

Tawny Owls

Owl Information ... Owl Species ... Owl Photo Gallery

Backyard Habitat: Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden ... Bird Feeding Stations ... Nesting Habits of Wild Birds and Build-Your-Own Nesting Boxes ... Wild Bird Houses / Nests (Fancy & Practical) .... Water Fountains ... Bird Baths ...... Books, Videos, CDs & DVDs



Tawny OwlThe Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) is a species of owl resident in much of Europe and southern Russia.

This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.

This is a medium-sized earless owl, 37-43 cm in length with a 81-96 cm wingspan. It is capable of killing prey such as Brown Rats. It is largely nocturnal and very sedentary.

The Tawny Owl is found in deciduous and mixed forests and usually nests in holes in trees. Smaller woodland owls such as the Little Owl and the Long-eared Owl cannot usually co-exist with the stronger Tawny, and are found in different habitats. However, in Ireland, where there are no Tawnies, the Long-eared Owl is found in all suitable woodland.

This species is stocky with a large rounded head and rounded wings. It occurs in two colour phases, rufous brown and greyish brown, with all intermediate forms. The pale underparts are streaked with brown and the facial disc is rather plain. The eyes are black. The Tawny Owl has a strong direct flight.

This species probably injures more people than any other European bird. It is fearless in defence of its nest and young, and strikes for the intruders face with its sharp talons. Since its flight is silent, at night in particular it may not be detected until too late.

The call of the Tawny Owl is the tu-whit tu-whoo immortalised by William Shakespeare. However, it is known today that this call is actually a compound of two calls; the quavering hoo-hoo-hoo by the male and the reply of kew-wick from the female.

The Tawny Owl is believed to have the best developed eyes of all owls. Its retina has about 56,000 light-sensitive rods per square millimeter, enabling it to pick out prey several meters away by the light of one candle over 500 meters away. In low-level light conditions, this is about 100 times better than the eyes of humans.

Hume's Owl, Strix butleri was formerly sometimes considered to be a subspecies of Tawny Owl, but is now classed as a separate species.

Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org


Related Web Resources: The Owl Pages ... UK Safary ... Kielder Water Bird of Prey Centre



If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with the AvianWeb visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the AvianWeb Webmaster.
Photo contributions and articles are welcome!


Bird FeedersBirding / Bird Watching Products

Bird Houses / Nesting Boxes:

From Build-Your-Own to Collectibles and Practical Easy-Care Nest Boxes

Bird Houses

Ron's Nature Photography: Let Ron show you how to do it right ...


Electronics

Cameras / Binoculars

Floor & Carpet Cleaners

Air Filtration / Conditioning

Heaters



Environmentally safe, non-toxic products for your home:

Non-toxic Cleaning Products ... Personal Care

Floor & Carpet Cleaners

Air Filtration / Conditioning

Heaters





Home | © Copyright 2006 AvianWeb - Disclaimers | For questions or comments, please contact Website Administrator: Sibylle Faye | Advertise on the AvianWeb

All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. The Avianweb assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.