Tawny Owl

True Wild Life | Tawny Owl | The tawny owl is a small to medium sized bird of prey that is found across Europe and in parts of Asia but tawny owls are mainly found in woodlands across Eurasia. The tawny owl is the most widespread owl in Europe and is the most of common bird of prey found in the UK. Tawny owls tend to be around 40cm tall with a wingspan of about 100cm, with the tawny owl therefore being a much stockier bird than many other species of owl in the world.

The tawny owl is a nocturnal bird of prey, that takes advantage of their fantastic night vision to quickly catch their prey. Tawny owls prey on small rodents such as voles and mice, and also insects and small reptiles. In the same way as other species of owl, the tawny owl swallows it's prey whole and then regurgitates the bones that it cannot digest within a few hours of eating, in the form of a small pellet. Typically, tawny owls can be found nesting in tree holes during the daylight hours when they are resting. During the breeding season in the early spring, the male tawny owls can be seen hunting during the day as well as at night as they are collecting food to present to their mate.

Tawny owls are known to mate for life although this is not always the case. The female tawny owl lays an average of 3 eggs in the late spring to early summer and incubates her eggs while the male tawny owl brings her food. The tawny owl chicks hatch out of their eggs after an incubation period of around a month. The tawny owl chicks are reared by their parents until they are usually around 2 months old, although it is not uncommon for the tawny owl chicks to be looked after until they are nearly 3 months of age.

Due to the fact that tawny owls are relatively small birds (particularly in comparison to other birds of prey), the tawny owl has a number of natural predators within it's environment. Predators of the tawny owl include dogs, cats and foxes along with birds of prey such as hawks, eagles, buzzards and even larger species of owl. Rats and squirrels are the main predators of the tawny owl's eggs. Tawny owls inhabit dense forest and woodland where they cannot be disturbed resting during the day. During the night, tawny owls can often be heard making noises such as hooting and screeching which they do to communicate with other tawny owls, to mark their territory and to find a mate.

Snowy Owl

True Wild Life | Snowy Owl | The snowy owl is also known as the Arctic owl or the great white owl. The snowy owl is primarily found within the Arctic Circle with the range of the snowy owl ranging across Canada, Greenland, Europe and Asia. The snowy owl is the official bird of Quebec in the North-east of Canada. The snowy owl is one of the largest species of owl in the world, with the average adult snowy owl growing to about 65cm tall with a wingspan of around 140cm. Snowy owls however can be smaller than this, and can even grow to more than 75cm in height.

Despite the vast range of the snowy owl within the Arctic Circle, it has been reported for snowy owls to travel further south in search of food. Snowy owls have been spotted as far south as Texas in the USA and even in the Caribbean. Snowy owls are also commonly spotted throughout Europe and Asia, from the UK to the southern China. Snowy owls make their nests on the ground but they chose their nesting place very carefully. A nest site for the snowy owl must have good visibility so that the snowy owl is able to keep and eye on it's surroundings, and the nest of the snowy owl must also have a good source of food so that the snowy owl does not have leave the nest for long (if at all) in order to eat.

Snowy owls breed in may and the female snowy owl lays up to 14 eggs although the average clutch size of the snowy owl is about 7. The pure white snowy owls chicks hatch out of the eggs after an incubation period of around 5 weeks. Both the male snowy owl and the female snowy owl parents help to feed and fear their young, and also protect the snowy owl chicks from predators. Although snowy owls are omnivores, they have a primarily carnivorous diet. Lemmings and other small rodents such as mice and voles are the main source of food for the snowy owl. Snowy owls are opportunistic hunters meaning that they will take advantage of an opportunity to hunt larger animals. Snowy owls have been known to hunt fish (when they can find them), squirrels, rabbits, rats, birds and even large mammals such as gophers and foxes.

Like other species of large bird, the snowy owl is known to swallow it's food whole and then regurgitate the bones in the form of a pellet up to 24 hours after feeding. In order to sustain itself, the snowy owl must eat around 5 lemmings or mice every day which is nearly 2,000 in one year. The snowy owl is known to have bright white feathers that are often flecked with black and grey. The snowy owl also has large eyes, a sharp, curved beak and large head, along with feathers on it's feet. All of these features of the snowy owl allow the snowy owl is survive as successfully as possible within the Arctic Circle.

Due to it's large size the snowy owl has few natural predators within it's environment. Humans hunting the snowy owl are the main predators of the snowy owl, along with large foxes, wild dogs and wolves.

Long-Eared Owl

True Wild Life | Long-Eared Owl | The long-eared owl is a fairly widespread bird, found throughout Europe, North America and parts of Asia, where it spends the warmer summer months breeding. Like all migratory birds, the long-eared owl migrates south during the winter months, before returning north when the weather warms again the spring. The long-eared owl is a small species of owl that is primarily found in parts of the Northern Hemisphere. As it's name suggests, the long-eared owl is named after the long, black ear-tufts, which are feathers found on either side of the middle of the long-eared owl's head.

The two most of distinctive features of the long-eared owl are it's black ear-tufts and the reddish/brown disks that are marked around it's eyes and are characteristic of this species. The long ear-tufts of the long-eared owl are mainly used to make the long-eared owl look larger than it really is to other animals, when it is perched in the trees. Long-eared owls are nocturnal meaning that they are most active under the cover of night. In a similar way to other owl species, the long-eared owls are generally solitary animals that are only really seen together during the mating season, or small groups of long-eared owls are sometimes spotted migrating to the warmer south together.

Long-eared owls are carnivorous birds, only hunting and feeding on other animals in order to survive. Small mammals such as mice and voles are the most common prey for the long-eared owl along with smaller birds and reptiles. Owls do not chew their food but instead swallow it whole, regurgitating the bones in a small pellet some time later. The long-eared owl has few ground-dwelling predators as it is only really seen at ground level when swooping down from the sky to catch it's dinner. Airborne predators are the biggest threat to the long-eared owl, particularly large birds of prey such as bigger owls and eagles.

Long-eared owls breed in the warmer spring months between February and July, often nesting in the trees, occupying nests previously built and abandoned by other large birds. The female long-eared owl lays around 5 small eggs which she sits on (incubating them) for up to a month. Today, the long-eared owl is becoming more threatened in the wild, with population demise primarily caused by habitat loss across much of their native range, and the decreasing amount of rodents for the long-eared owls to feast on.

Barn Owl

True Wild Life | Barn Owl | Barn owls are one of the most widely distributed birds found everywhere around the world apart from the polar and desert regions. Although this is the case, the barn owl population is more predominant in the Southern Hemisphere due to better climate conditions for the barn owl. Barn owls tend to measure between 25 and 40cm tall and adult barn owls can have a wingspan of up to 110cm long. The wing span of the barn owl is however dependent on the species of barn owl so some owls may be smaller, where other species of barn owl may be much bigger.

Surprisingly, these common barn owls do not make the hoot sound that can often be heard at night. Instead the owls produce a high-pitched scream and can also hiss in a similar way to a cat or snake if the barn owl feels threatened. Barns owls can be most commonly seen in the open countryside and along river banks, fields and even the verges on the side of the road. Barn owls are nocturnal animals meaning that typically barn owls rest during the light day time hours and emerge at dusk to begin a night of hunting.

Barn owls most commonly hunt small mammals such as mice, voles and rats but barn owls also hunt fish close to the surface of the water and smaller birds in the tree tops and even in the air. Barn owls swallow their prey whole and then bring back up (regurgitate) the indigestible parts such as bones in the form of a small pellet. Barn owls are well suited to their nocturnal lifestyle. The large eyes of the barn owl enable the barn owl to have fantastic eyesight even in the darkness of night, but barn owls also have incredibly accurate hearing. The ears of the barn owl are set with one higher than the other giving the barn owl better hearing in general but it also means that when the barn owl is hunting for prey, it can use one ear to detect noise on the ground below and the other ear is used to detect noise from the air and trees above.

Female barn owls lay a clutch of up to 7 eggs in the warm months of spring. The female barn owl nests in a hollow tree or rock, and the barn owl eggs usually hatch after about a month. The male barn owl is known to help feed the barn owl chicks and the barn owl chicks are able to fly by the time they are 12 weeks old. Although the barn owl, is not considered to be a threatened species of animal, the barn owl population numbers have severely decreased over the years due to pollution and habitat loss as the barn owls are finding it harder and harder in some areas to find food. Despite this being true, the barn owl population in the UK is thought to be increasing again.

There are more than 30 different species of barn owl found across Europe, Africa, Asia and parts of Australia and the Americas. All barn owl species have a similar appearance but can differ great in both size and colour.