The Owl In Nature and Belief

The Owl  Owls are a group of mainly nocturnal birds  Owls are raptors or birds of prey  They hunt for their food  Belong to the order Strigiformes  Eighteen species belong to the family Tytonidae – the Barn Owls  More than 194 known species belong to family Strigidae  Found on every continent except Antarctica  Great variety of habitats  Thick forests to open prairies  Range in size from 4½″ to 33″  Females are about 25% larger

Behavior Most Owls hunt at dusk and dawn Spend daytime at a quiet, inconspicuous roost Owls normally do not migrate, except in severe Northern climates Normally roost singly or in pairs – may form flocks A flock of Owls is called a Parliament Great Horned Owl staff.washington.edustaff.washington.edu great_horned_owl_02tk.jpg

Snowy Owl snowy-owl-1.4.jpg

Senses Range of hearing similar to humans Highly sensitive to noises made by movement of potential prey Can accurately detect direction of sounds Extremely acute eyesight Sees well night or day Eyes fixed in sockets Can only look straight ahead Turns head to see surroundings Head can swivel 270° burrowing%20owl_012_2s.jpg Burrowing Owl

Spectacled Owl staff.washington.edustaff.washington.edu spectacled_owl_03tk-.jpg

Hunting and Diet Owls are usually opportunistic feeders Prey includes invertebrates, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and small mammals. Barn Owls eat mostly mice, shrews, and voles Eagle Owls will eat hares, small foxes, and birds as large as ducks Regurgitate pellets composed of indigestible parts Highly skilled hunters Special feathers muffle sounds of flight About 24" from prey, the Owl spreads its talons When striking thrusts legs in front of its face Often close their eyes before the kill staff.washington.edustaff.washington.edu barn_owl_03tk.jpg Barn Owl

The Owl as a Totem Animal The Owl is the totem of psychics and clairvoyants Has the courage to follow its instincts Owl's medicine includes Wisdom Seeing behind masks Silent and swift movement Keen sight Messenger of secrets and omens Shape-shifting Link between the dark, unseen world and the world of light Comfort with shadow self Freedom Moon power item/photos/si_pgl06.jpg

Great Horned Owl staff.washington.edustaff.washington.edu great_horned_owl_01tk.jpg

The Owl in Greek Mythology Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, honored the night bird by making him her favorite among feathered creatures Athena's bird was a Little Owl, (Athene noctua) As the symbol of Athene, the Owl was a protector If an Owl flew over Greek Soldiers before a battle, they took it as a sign of victory The Little Owl also kept a watchful eye on Athenian trade and commerce from the reverse side of their coins Athenian silver tetradrachm Hellenistic style, 2nd century BC Athenian silver tetradrachm Classical style, 5th century BC owlpages.com/mythology/greek.html

owl-puffed-2.4.jpg Snowy Owl

The Owl in Ancient Rome To hear the hoot of an Owl presaged imminent death The death of Julius Caesar was apparently predicted by an Owl Another Roman superstition was that witches transformed into Owls, and sucked the blood of babies A dead Owl nailed to the door of a house averted all evil that it supposedly had earlier caused owl.html/dscf0222-s.jpg

Western Screech Owl w_screech4_dl.jpg

English Folklore A screeching Barn Owl meant cold weather or a storm was coming Nailing an Owl to a barn door to ward off evil and lightning persisted into the 19th century If you walked around an Owl in a tree, it would turn and turn its head to watch you until it wrung its own neck Alcoholism was treated with raw Owl egg jeffschuler.net/ archive/2003_07.html/Woodstock_totem_owl.jpg

Native American Owl Mask Owl Mask, Front View © 2000, Coastal Arts,Ltd. Owl Mask, SideView © 2000, Coastal Arts,Ltd.

The Owl in Native American Beliefs The Hopis Indians see the Burrowing Owl as their god of the dead, the guardian of fires and tender of all underground things, including seed germination In the Sierras, native peoples believed the Great Horned Owl captured the souls of the dead and carried them to the underworld To an Apache Indian, dreaming of an Owl signified approaching death Native Northwest coast Kwagulth people believed that owls represented both a deceased person and their newly- released soul California Newuks believed that after death, the brave and virtuous became Great Horned Owls. The wicked, however, were doomed to become Barn Owls ! otyokwa/totem_pole_east.html/totem_pole_east.jpg

I can dance! [Burrowing Owl] owling.com burrowing11.jpg The End

Works Consulted Burrowing Owls cw99-schurig.jpg The Owl Pages. 23 Nov < physiology/general.html>. Ellie Crystal. Crystalinks Nov Ann Fearrington. North of the Border Nov The Owl Pages. 26 Nov < mythology/Default.htm>. Spirit of the Owl Nov Title Page Credit: staff.washington.edu - barn_owl_flying_01tk.jpg

Puget Sound PugetSound.jpg

Samish Bay [Puget Sound] Samish_Bay_Puget_Sound.jpg