Owls - The Darkness Is My Light

You may not see it as much as you see other birds, but you definitely know it by its sound. You can usually identify an owl by the "hoo" sounds it gives off. The owl has been loved and feared throughout its history. Ancient Babylonians thought that when an owl hooted at night, it meant a woman was dying from childbirth. People of Hungary called the owl the bird of death. Ancient Romans believed just seeing an owl would bring bad luck. Fortunately, everyone didn't see the owl as a sign of doom. The Buddhists saw the owl as a symbol for meditation; and the Greeks considered the owl to be a symbol of the Greek goddess Athena, who was the goddess of night, wisdom and liberal arts.

Owls are broken down into two classifications, the barn owls and the typical owls. The oldest evidence of the owl's existence dates back over 30 million years. Evidence indicates that the giant barn owls once lived in the Caribbean and Mediterranean regions over 10,000 years ago. The earliest owls were much bigger then the present day owls. There are over 130 species of owls in the world the Eurasian Eagle owl being the largest and the Elf owl the smallest.

The size of owls will vary, depending on the species, but what's odd about the great horned owls, is that the females are bigger then the males. People marvel at the way owls can see. The owl's night vision is considered to be the best of any creature. The problem is, the owl's eyes are basically flat and have very little movement. Because of this, the owls have to turn their heads to move their eyes. Most owls can rotate their heads about 270 degrees. Owls have great hearing and they use their hearing to help find prey that they can't see. The ears of owls are not lined up evenly and this helps owls better identify where sounds are coming from.

Owls usually reach sexual maturity when they're one year old, but the large species may wait 2 or 3 years before they start breeding. In the beginning, eggs are laid every 1 or 2 days, but this pattern will change over time. After eggs are laid, some owls may wait days before starting the incubation period. Owls are born with an egg tooth, which they use to break out of their shells. Although owls are born blind, many get their sight and are ready to fly by the time they're 2 months old. Unfortunately, once the young learn how to fly, their parents will no longer support them.

Even though owls are considered to be creatures of the night, many species of owls also enjoy the daylight. It's probably the owl's prowess in the dark that makes them so mysterious. But what isn't a mystery is that the owl population decreases when humans are around. As long as humans exist, there will be progress, but hopefully humanity can find a way to build what they need, without sacrificing nature and all the animals that depend on it.