Why the most fascinating and dangerous? It has a small head, but it is known as a night killer and sniper, why does it like to be active at night so much, is it because it eats too much supper?
Today we enter the world of owls and at the same time understand how Chinese and foreign owls are different, and what are the differences in cultural meaning they represent.
First of all, let's take a look at the owl as a whole, which is a carnivorous bird that belongs to the owl family. That is, it is a collective term for all owls of the order of owls.
There are about 250 species of owls in the world, among which brown owls, ferret owls, forest owls, etc. are common owls in China. Except for Antarctica, owls can be found on almost all continents.
The more famous owls abroad are the Arctic owl and the horned forest owl.
Despite the differences in their species, they look similar, and almost every member of the owl family has a round face, a pair of big round eyes, and a swollen body. He has a hook-like mouth and looks cute and fierce.
The following is an introduction and differences about owls at home and abroad
1. Distribution area and variety
Common owls in the mainland are mainly distributed in Northeast China, North China and Gansu, Tibet and other places. Widely distributed throughout most of the continent is the eagle owl
And it is often hidden in agricultural land and on the edge of forests. Snowy owls and long-tailed forest owls are common in Northeast China, and yellow-footed fishing owls are common in North China.
Foreign owls are mainly distributed in North America, as well as the European continent. In the Nordic region, snowy owls live.
North America is the main distribution area of owls. It is mainly distributed American horned owls, steppe owls, etc. The body size is usually large. It is worth mentioning that Eurasia and North America are the regions with the highest number of owls, with a total of about 70 species.
Among them, the snowy owl is a species of owl forced to migrate to northern Europe, mainly living in the Arctic and alpine regions. The eagle owl is the largest owl species in Europe, and its population has gradually improved after a hundred years of human hunting, and there are signs of recovery.
Snowy owls are rare on the mainland, and can be seen in parts of the northern part of the continent during wintering.
2. Physical characteristics
We have already roughly described the basic appearance of owls, but due to different breeds, owls still have different appearances.
For example, the barn owl is the most easily identifiable white owl, with a body length of about 34 cm,
The body weight is about 1000 grams. The tail is about 119–130 mm long , with a wide white heart-shaped face being its most prominent physical feature. It looks as cute as an apple that has been nibbled on. It has an orange-yellow neck circumference and mottled grey upperparts.
Another example is the snowy owl, which is known as the face of the owl, and more people are familiar with it because of a popular film and television drama, Harry Potter, in the play, it is a messenger shuttling through the wizarding world, and the snowy owl has since been known as the husky in the owl.
One of the largest owls in the world, the snowy owl is the provincial bird of the Canadian province of Quebec. The body length is more than half a meter, the weight is about 1.5-3 kg, and the wingspan can reach about 1.52 meters,
The average female is 66 cm, the male is about 59 cm, and the female is significantly larger than the male.
They have a huge head and tail, a round face, small and bright eyes, yellow mouth and paws, thick body feathers, and the whole is white, very beautiful, so as to adapt to the cold environment of the mountains.
3. Life habits
Most of the owls are active at night, about this life habit of owls, some people speculate whether it is because the owl is a selfish guy in his bones, usually does not deal with other animals, always alone, will only bully defenseless mice and birds, in order to hide from other birds, owls choose to be active in the dead of night.
It can be seen from the distribution area of owls that owls are extremely adaptable. From the North Pole to the South Pole, it is found almost everywhere, and the owl does not need to migrate, as long as it is given a stone cave, it can live in it until the sky is old.
Our domestic owls are mainly active at nightfall and at the beginning of the morning, and their main habitat is the forest and the field. There are also very few who prefer to inhabit rocks and meadows.
There are many habitats for foreign owls, including woodland, mountains, grasslands and deserts, and different owl species will choose different habitats.
But there is also an owl that likes to be active during the day, such as the spot-headed grebe, and the longitudinal-bellied owl, etc., and can not bear the loneliness during the day, and will go out to fly and play.
4. Eating habits
Owls mainly eat some mice, rabbits, etc. Foreign owls mainly feed on small mammals and birds, squirrels, but large ones like the aforementioned ones, eagle owls and snowy owls are fed on large prey such as goats and pheasants.
There are also smaller owls that eat small insects, such as barley bugs and crickets.
Domestic owls mainly eat small mice, as well as some sparrows, pigeons, etc., according to estimates, we know that an owl eats in one night, about four to five small mice. At the end of the year, basically about 1400 little mice will enter the owl's belly.
5. Symbolism
The cat's head at home and abroad has different meanings, because of its sharp cry in the middle of the night, and in the East it always has a bad adjective on its head.
But abroad, the owl represents fairness and wisdom, and the national bird of the United States is also the owl.
There are also some cold things about owls that we need to know.
1. The owl is the only colorblind bird in the world that cannot distinguish colors. Their eyes are still tubular and cannot be rotated freely in the eye socket.
2. Although the owl perches on the tree for a long time, the owl also has the ability to sleep on its stomach, because its small body cannot withstand the big head, so it will lean forward and finally fall to sleep. I have to say that the appearance of owls sleeping on their stomachs is no different from our domestic cats sleeping, or even cuter.
3. Under the thick feathers of each owl, there is a pair of long legs, which can be said to perfectly interpret what it is called, and there are legs below the neck.
4. The last cold knowledge is that the feathers of owls have a certain ability to muffle, isn't it amazing? If you look closely at the owl's feathers, you will find that its feathers are different from those of other birds, its feathers are fluffy and soft, and the feathers have a structure like combs, and it is these "combs" that can stabilize the airflow in the air. Achieve the effect of sound dampening.
It is such a cute little baby, but now it is also facing severe living environment problems and food shortages. Due to the deterioration of the ecological environment and the ruthless hunting of humans, the number of owls is declining, and now we also list owls as national second-class protected wild animals. In 2014 alone, about 20 owls were sent to aid stations in our country due to environmental pollution.