Are Owls Carnivores?

It is true that owls are carnivores, they eat meat. They are nocturnal animals that hunt their prey during the night by using their keen sight to track their prey down. An owl’s eyes are large and face forwards, unlike other bird’s whose eyes are placed on the sides of their heads. This gives owls the advantage of having binocular vision and a very precise depth perception. They are able to move their head about 270 degrees. Another thing to note is the circle of feathers radiating and circling each eye, which gives them a wide eyed and intimidating appearance. What prey wouldn’t be frightened by this appearance?

Their acute sense of hearing is also quite helpful in carrying out the task of hunting prey. They are also often successful in easily sneaking up upon their prey due to the fact that their fluffy feathers enable an almost completely silent flight. Their thick, fluffy feathers absorb the sounds that they make during flight. Some owls, have feathered ear tufts, these are also helpful in sneaking up on prey, because they are camoflauge.

There are about one hundred sixty two different species of owls known to be alive today. Owls are found worldwide in a great range of habitats, residing everywhere from rainforests to grasslands and tundra. Owls have two methods of hunting. The first is known as perch and pounce, when using this method the owl waits on a low branch until it spots its prey and then swoops down onto the prey. This method is often practiced most often by owls who live in relatively dense wooded areas such as a forest. The second hunting method owls used is known as quartering. When quartering, owls fly low over the ground looking for prey to feast upon. This method is often used by owls that reside in relatively clear landscapes.

An owl’s diet consists of a variety of different animals ranging from small mammals to medium sized mammals. A few mammals they have been known to eat include: rabbits, skunks, voles, rats, mice, and shrew. Smaller owls have been known to feast upon insects, and other invertebrates such as snails, moths, crickets, and scorpions. Frogs and smaller birds are also often victims for a hungry owl searching for a quick bite to eat.

Everything an owl eats is eaten in chunks. They regurgitate the inedible parts of their prey (hair, teeth, bones, feathers, insect exoskeletons) in oval shaped pellets. Another interesting fact about the owl is that it is at the top of the food web. It has no major predators among it.

Owlets may sometimes become prey to a fox or another animal of the like when learning to fly if they are on the ground, and every once in a while a snake may be a problem in tropical areas where owlet’s reside, as there are a few species that have been known to climb up into nests, though these are very rare occurrences, and often if mama owl catches it first, the snake in most cases ends up becoming the meal instead of finding a meal for itself. Crows have been known to harass owls a great deal, but don’t actually cause any harm to the owl.

Smaller owls such as the screech owl may rarely be preyed upon by larger hawks or owls, and are vulnerable on a nest to raccoons. Whereas eggs and nestlings of owls may be preyed on by a range of nest predators such as squirrels, or other birds. However, again owls are not often preyed upon at all.