Owls, after dark.
How they fly without a sound, hear a vole under the grass and turn their heads (not all the way round). UK species, the world’s strangest owls, pellets, calls and practical ways to help. Every fact is traced to a source, and an eraser called Useless is on owl watch.
The short version
Owls make up the order Strigiformes: mostly solitary, nocturnal birds of prey with an upright stance, a big broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons and feathers adapted for silent flight. Wikipedia
There are two living owl families: the typical owls (Strigidae) and the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). source How many owl species are there? It depends who is counting. Wikipedia’s owl article says “over 200” in one place and “some 220 to 225” in another. source Owl experts Martin & Mikkola (2014) noted that recognised species had risen from about 130 in 1984 to over 250, with more than 100 of those still waiting on DNA confirmation. Martin & Mikkola
Britain has five regular breeding owls: barn, tawny, little, long-eared and short-eared. The snowy owl is a rare, less-than-annual visitor to Britain from the Arctic. source
Start somewhere
Silent flight & super-hearingSoft feathers, lopsided ears and eyes that can’t move.
Pellets, and how to dissect oneWhat the owl couldn’t digest, and what it tells you.
Found an owl or owlet?When to leave it be, and when it needs help.
The UK’s owlsFive residents, a couple of visitors, and the world’s oddest.
Isle of ManNight hags, plantation owls, and a tawny surprise.
Help owls near youLong grass, safer rat control, nest boxes and floats.Tile photos are credited on their pages and on the credits page.
Things to do instead of sleeping
Myth, meet fact
“Owls can turn their heads right round.” They can’t. Owls can turn their heads as much as 270°. They cannot turn them all the way round. source Special blood-vessel plumbing keeps blood reaching the brain while the head turns. The holes the arteries pass through are about ten times wider than the arteries themselves. source
“Twit twoo” is one owl. It’s usually two. The classic “tu-whit tu-who” is really a duet: the female’s kew-wick and the male’s answering hooo. source
“Ear tufts are ears.” Ear tufts are not ears. They are just feathers; the real ears are on the sides of the head. source
Isle of Man: a correction
You may have read that the Isle of Man has no tawny owls. That used to be true. Historically, the Isle of Man had no tawny owls. A 1924 Manx account says “the tawny owl, as in Ireland, absent.” Manx Note Book Manx BirdLife now says small populations of tawny owl “appear to have become established in recent years.” Manx BirdLife
The picture is still unsettled, and we explain why on the Isle of Man page.
Enjoying the owls? Help keep the lights on.
This site is hand-built, fact-checked and free to read. If a fact, a game or one of Useless’s notes made you smile, a little support keeps it going and helps the network grow.
Support this site Visit the ReallyByte shop on Etsy
Pellet-ID sheets, a UK owl spotter card and colouring pages are on the way. Nothing to buy yet.