Page 1, ***2: Page 1 Page 1 Page 2 Introduction (Markku Ulander/AFP/Getty)

Owl since word *** iths ( Linguists have discovered something that has been in the spotlight ever since late-night comedian Stephen Colbert started using the term "Super Owl" to get around the trademarked word "Super Bowl." Owls are loved by many and now the Harry Potter series has popularized them, perhaps too much, as they are the flying postmen of the wizarding world. (Pictured above is that the Eurasian hawk-owl can swim (Steve Spitzer | YouTube)

Great horned owls can swim using their powerful wings.

On behalf of the owl, "If you chase in the water If you accidentally get something wet, sometimes it's easier to swim to shore. Julia Ponder, executive director of the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, previously told Live Science: "When birds fly When it gets to shore, it usually shakes off its feathers." That's exactly what happened in Lake Michigan in 2014, when a birder and photographer named Steve Spitzer saw two peregrine falcons. Chasing a great horned owl into the water

Not all owls are night owls

Owls are known for their nocturnal lifestyle, but not all owls are night owls

Some owls are diurnal, meaning they hunt during the day. These include the great gray owl (Strix nebulosa, pictured), northern hawk owl (Surnia ulula), and northern pygmy owl (Glaucidium gnoma), Ithaca, New York. Marc Devkaitis, public information specialist at the Ornithological Laboratory, may be diurnal hunters because their preferred prey, such as songbirds or small mammals, are also diurnal. In addition, owls and hawks are also diurnal. Are closely related, and hawks are diurnal birds, but it's unclear whether the common ancestor of owls and hawks was diurnal, like hawks, or nocturnal, like most owls, Devokaitis said. Owls have impressive necks (Susan Cocking/Miami Herald/MCT/Getty)

Owls have 14 cervical vertebrae, twice as many as humans. This unique anatomy helps owls— —The barreled owl (Strix varia), pictured here—turns its head 270 degrees.

Owls can accomplish this feat because their vertebrae have holes about 10 times the size of the animal's blood-carrying arteries. Live Science previously reported that because owls have so much wiggle room, arteries can easily pass through the vertebral foramen when the owl turns its head.

This ability is key to the owl's survival: Not easy for owls. To move their eyes, they need to turn their necks to look around. The largest owl has ever been extinct (Copyright D. Finnin/AMNH)

The largest owl ever recorded was Cuba's extinct giant owl (Ornimegalonyx). , a model is on display at the American Museum of Natural History's "Cuba"

Experts are not sure whether the 3.6-foot-tall (1.1-meter) owl can fly, but its long, powerful legs suggest it is. A gold medal runner. If it could fly or glide, it would be one of the largest flying birds known in the world.

Researchers found remains of Ornimegalonyx (Ornimegalonyx) in Cuban caves, often surrounded by remnants of bird prey, including sloths and now-extinct rodents Hudias.

Owls are helping bring peace to the Middle East

Barn owls (Tyto alba) are bringing peace to the Middle East, or at least they're getting scientists and farmers from both sides talking and working with each other.

These raptors are trappers of mice and voles, prompting farmers in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories to build owl nesting boxes. "kd" SPS "A pair of owls can eat 6,000 rodents in a year, meaning farmers don't need to use as many toxic pesticides to protect their crops," Live Science previously reported. Cooperation is still expanding, and a pilot project between Israel and Cyprus is already underway. Some Owls Have False Eyes (Michael Durham/Minden Pictures/Newscom)

The Northern Pygmy Owl has bright yellow eyes on its face...with black feathers on the back of its head, giving it a scary look. Observe the eyes.

These "eye" spots may "slow or prevent a predator from jumping on them from behind," McGowan told Live Science Predators don't like to attack prey when they're staring at them, and The eyespots slow them down, so no matter how they approach the little owl, predators will have their eyes on it. Owls are not waterproof

It is rare to see an owl hunting in the rain.

They give up the oils found in many feathers that protect other birds from rain. "Silent feathers are more valuable for clandestine hunting," Leigh Salvez writes in The Hidden Life of Owls (Sasquatch Books, 2016),

Simply put, "Owls' fluffy body feathers absorb a lot of water," McGowan told Live Science, "Owls Recycle Nests

Owls are Moorish in nesting, Salvez writes: "Some great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) even live in cavities made by gilded owls and gilded woodpeckers in giant cacti, and they do not build their own nests. , instead using nests or tree cavities left by other birds, such as the hairy woodpecker or northern flasher.

Likewise, burrowing owls (Athene cuniculaia) do not dig their own burrows, except for one subspecies found in Florida, Salvez writes. In the western United States, she noted, these long-legged owls live in areas where Abandoned prairie dog or badger burrow. Owls have opposable toes (All photos from Canada/Alami)

Owls have zygomatic claws, which means they have two "opposable thumbs," Pretty much.

Owls have two talons pointing forward and two points back. "The movable toes actually extend more to the side than forward or backward," McGaugh said. Wen told Live Science that it forms a complete circle of claws when catching prey. Snowy owls fly far

Snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) normally live in the Arctic, but often, these magnificent birds fly south, a journey known as "the breakout" .

One of the largest breakouts of the last century occurred in the winter of 2013-2014. According to the Snowstorm Project, which studies and tracks snowy owls, the southernmost areas of the snowy owl include Florida and Bermuda. One owl tracked by the project, named Baltimore, was the star of a YouTube video, Salvez wrote.

Another snowy owl even flew nearly 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) to Hawaii, landing at Honolulu International Airport on Thanksgiving Day 2011. But federal officials killed the owl out of fear it might collide with a plane.

"For the first time ever in Hawaii, they shot it!" Denver Holt, director of the Charlo Owl Research Institute in Montana, told ***, 12

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