Post #14993

Barn owl: Cat on bird iron - What do you have? - Barn owl. - Ah-ah-ah, but I thought it was an owl. If you had a barn owl in your hands, this is what a meeting with an ornithologist would look like. After all, these savvy guys know that the barn owl is not an owl! More precisely, it is not a real owl. What is she like then? Fake, or what? No, comrades, she just belongs to a different family. I'll explain now. There are two families in the order of owls: true owls and barn owls. The first includes owls, tawny owls and eagle owls, in a word, the whole honest company. And barn owls are on their own. But they did not separate because barn owls are obsessed with purity of blood and the conquest of owl kingdoms, as was explained in the books and film “Night Watchmen”. And by the will of taxonomists. Still, barn owls differ impressively from owls. It is written right on their faces, or rather, lined with feathers. The snow-white heart-shaped board is the exclusive property of barn owls. This concave “plate” on the face perfectly collects sound and helps to quickly identify a rustling carcass in the foliage. But the main trick of barn owl hearing is hidden from view. While the rest of the planet carefully places their ears exactly opposite each other, these birds stuck them diagonally (photo 2)! This trick allows you to instantly target unwary mice, frogs, lizards, birds - barn owls eat anyone. The main thing is that it fits into the mouth. The bird swallows the victim just like that, without even cutting it up. Fortunately, the stomach copes with such a test - the barn owl spits out the bones and fur back in the form of a pellet (photo 3 - the pellet is spat out, although it is a different owl). This indifference extended to the choice of living space. The barn owl is the most common representative of owls. The feathered species populated all of Europe and North Africa, both Americas and Australia. Barn owls are also not shy about human society: they settle in village barns, haylofts and farms - a great place to enjoy the abundance of mice. But the villagers had never heard the barn owl's hoot. This is because birds prefer to squeal and screech hoarsely. An unpleasant shout in the dark serves a specific purpose - meeting a potential mate. Barn owls approach family responsibilities with all responsibility, choosing a partner once and for all. The acquaintance begins with real pandemonium and bird performances. The male, with squeals and screams, twists somersaults in the air and brings goodies, trying to impress the lady. But there are a couple of creepy secrets in this idyll. The construction of a cozy nest is not happening. Barn owls occupy ready-made dwellings: they master comfortable hollows and nooks in attics. All they use when beautifying their living space is the undigested remains of their prey, those same filth. The chicks stay in a brutal environment for about a month. There can be up to nine eggs in a clutch. But