It’s A Fact: Owls Are Pretty Badass

The owl has long been a symbol of wisdom. With that classic stoic face and their ability to move in the night without making a peep, these things are pretty damn wicked. Let’s dive into some facts about them.

There are 220 species of owls in the world.

Owls can turn their heads 135 degrees either way, giving them 270 degrees of total head mobility. Scientists believe that blood vessels with contractile reservoirs, a supporting vascular network, and certain bone adaptations allow them to do this without cutting off blood flow to the brain.

Owl eyes aren’t spherical, but rather tubular. These “tube eyes” fit back into their skulls and don’t move- so they must turn their heads in order to look around.

An owl’s eyes account for 1-5% percent of the owl’s body weight.

Owl ears are asymmetric. The fact that they are different sizes allows them to receive sounds at different times and pinpoint their location with unbelievable precision.

The flatness of an owl’s face funnels sound directly to its ears

The Elf Owl is the smallest owl on the planet: it weighs 1.5 ounces and stands 5 inches tall.

The Great Grey Owl is the largest North American owl, standing at 32 inches tall when fully grown.

This is the Northern Hawk Owl. It has the ability to hear prey that is 12 inches deep in snow.

Owls consume their prey whole- skin, bones, everything.

Owls are among the most ancient birds on the planet along with chickens, pheasants, and turkeys.

The Great Horned Owl has the insane ability to curl its talons with a force of 300 pounds per square inch. That is about the same amount of pressure that a human can bite with.

The Ancient Greeks saw the owl as a representation of Athena, goddess of wisdom. However, the Ancient Romans saw owls as bearers of bad omens.

The Aztecs were scared shitless of owls. They saw them as symbols of death and destruction.

Ancient Egyptians saw owls as protectors of the spirit world that helped bring the dead into the underworld.

The Eurasian Eagle owl is among the largest owls on earth and has been known to eat fully grown foxes and young deer.

Owls have some of the best night vision of any animal.

An owl’s eye color indicates when it prefers to hunt. Owls with orange eyes prefer to hunt during twiligh); owls with dark brown or black eyes are nocturnal; and yellow eyes indicate owls that are diurnal. They also have 3 eyelids.