- Owls are divided into two families based on structural differences, the Barn Owls and Typical Owls. They have large heads with immobile eyes and fluffy plumage allowing for nearly soundless flight. - Screech Owls are small with feathered ear tufts. They nest in tree cavities and boxes and eat insects, small birds, and mammals. They hunt at night from low perches. - Snowy Owls are large Arctic birds that irrupt southward in search of food when lemming populations crash in the Arctic.

1. Interesting Owls By Kimberly Guthrie

2. All About Owls These distinctive birds of prey are divided by structural differences into two families, the Barn Owls (Tytonidae) and the Typical Owls (Strigidae). All have immobile eyes in large heads. Fluffy plumage makes their flight nearly soundless. Many species hunt at night and roost during the day. Hooked bills, hooked claws, and usually feathered feet (outer toe reversible). Some species have conspicuous feather tufts. Food: Rodents, birds, reptiles, fish, large insects. Range: Nearly cosmopolitan. Number of species: World: 134 (Barn Owls, 11; other owls, 123); West, 18. To find an owl, search the ground for regurgitated pellets of fur and bone below a nest or roost. Listen for flocks of small songbirds noisily mobbing a roosting owl.

3. Screech Owls Length: 7-10 inches, 19-24 inch wingspanWeight: 4.27-8.61 ouncesDescription: Small, reddish and grey phases with feathered ear tufts. Song: Whinnying or wavering series of notes. Most vocal in August. Nest: Builds in hollow trees and tree cavities, often using old woodpecker holes. Will also accept specially made boxes or take over wood duck boxes. Adds no nesting material. Eggs: 3-7 round white, most early April to late May Broods per year: OneFood: Variety of insects, small birds, mammals, reptlies and amphibians.Habits: Hunts at night from low perches.

4. Barn Owls The upperparts are light grey with numerous fine dark lines and scattered pale spots on the feathers. There are buff markings on wings and on the back. The under parts are white with a few black spots, occasionally none. Feathering on the lower legs may be sparse. The heart-shaped facial disc is white with a brownish edge, with brown marks at the front of the eyes, which have a black iris. Its beak is off-white and the feet are yellowish-white to brownish. Males and females are similar in size and color, females and juveniles are generally more densely spotted.

5. Snowy Owls Snowy owls -- large birds of prey perfectly adapted to life in the northern Arctic -- are rare visitors to the relatively balmy climes of the Harbor Bight, but a natural Arctic cycle brings them our way every so often. Their lives are intimately tied to those of their predominant food, lemmings. When tundra conditions are good, lemming populations explode, and snowies follow suit. Lemmings multiply so rapidly, however, that over the course of a few years they exhaust available food supplies, at which point the population crashes. When snowy owl populations are at a peak, lemmings are in decline; in response, snowies "irrupt" southward -- they wander into southern Canada and the northern United States in search of food,

6. Great Horned Owl At 18 to 25 inches and a wingspan of 4 feet 7 inches, the Great Horned Owl is the second-largest North American owl (the Great Gray Owl is larger at 27 inches). The Great Horned Owl occupies the same ecological niche as the Eagle Owl does in Eurasia. The two species are closely related. The Great Horned Owl is the only large North American owl with ear tufts. It is heavily barred beneath with a conspicuous white throat-collar and large yellow eyes. It is distinguished from the Long-eared owl by its size, bulky shape and white throat. In flight, it is as large as our largest hawks. It is aggressive and powerful and chiefly nocturnal.

7. Barred Owl The Barred Owl is a large, stocky, broad-winged forest owl with a short tail. This tuft-less owl has a brown plumage with dark barring on its upper chest, a round head and big dark eyes. Both male and female are similar in coloring. The Barred Owl occurs in suitable habitat in south-eastern North America, but over the past 30 years, its range has expanded to the northwest. With such a large and varied range, it can be found anywhere from the southern swamps of Florida and Texas to the dense, mixed forests of the north.