Owl

July 16, 2012 | In: Animal facts for kids

I’m sure you all can remember a Scooby Doo episode. Almost certain, the action took place in a forest or at an old Mansion. What was the sound that spooked Shaggy and Scooby: the sound of an owl. Yes, that bird which didn’t make anything except owling and scaring the two.

We all know how an owl looks like. But did you know there are more than 150 species all over the world? The US houses only 19 species.

The only place where owls don’t live is Antarctica.

The owls can turn their heads 270 degrees, meaning they have an incredible eye site.

Humans have 3 eyelids. The owl has 3: one for blinking, one for sleeping and one for keeping clean. I wonder how does it manage not to mix them up…

An owl can eat up to 1000 mice in one year. That means almost 3 per day. Despite that, many farmers kill the barn owl, because they think it brings bad luck.

Now all owls are nocturnal birds. This depends mostly on the climate and their diet. If an owl eats day living mice, for example, it would surely die of hunger trying to hunt them at night.

The owls inhabit our planet for the last 60 million years. Studies have showed that back in the old days, the owl stood more than 3 feet tall. Because of its rich history, the owl still remains an omen or a symbol in many cultures. The ugly thing is that, in many cases, it’s considered to bring bad luck.

And a funny thing for you: a group of owls is called a parliament. Please don’t make any connections.