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A Parliament of Owls

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Mike Unwin, who has watched and admired owls all over the world, captures the essence of each species, while explaining the unique natural history that has made these silent assassins the most effective feathered predators of darkness. Along the way he describes a fascinating range of breeding and hunting behaviour, the unusual calls that have given rise to so much superstition, and the cultural impact of owls around the world. People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you", [66] and in most Native American folklore, owls are a symbol of death.

Sexual dimorphism is a physical difference between males and females of a species. Female owls are typically larger than the males. [12] The degree of size dimorphism varies across multiple populations and species, and is measured through various traits, such as wing span and body mass. [12] Owl taxonomy has been further revised by examination of DNA. Owl populations that look like others but are isolated reproductively are likely also to differ genetically. Geography can isolate a population as well as vocalization, and many of the new look-alike species are limited to one of the many small islands in the Indian Ocean and the Indonesian Archipelago. Although DNA analysis is much more expensive and cumbersome than digital recording, some of the new species portrayed in Taylor’s book have been identified by this method. Genetic analysis and sound recording have greatly expanded the owl family tree in just a couple of decades.

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Hearing is even more important to owls than seeing. Their ears make it possible for them to locate prey in total darkness. In some owls, one ear is larger than the other and located higher on the head, so they can locate rustling mice by aural triangulation. Some of the photographs in The Enigma of the Owl by Mike Unwin and David Tipling show arctic species, such as the great grey owl, diving deep into snow to capture rodents that they have located entirely by sound. The ear-like tufts on some owls’ heads have nothing to do with this superb hearing system, which is covered by feathers. The tufts probably evolved as a device for camouflage in daylight. In Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian culture, the owl was associated with Lilith. [57] This association also occurs in the Bible (in some translations) in Isaiah 34:14. [58] Ancient European and modern Western culture

Still, it’s fun to learn the collective noun for animal groups, often quirky or peculiar, but also spot on at times, and that knowledge may win you a trivia game in the future. Giraffes 'tower,' hippos 'bloat' and crocodiles 'bask' For instance, a “Parliament” of owls refers to their perceived knowledge and wisdom. Owl groups also have been called a “Congress” or “stare,” but the 1950s children’s book “The Chronicles of Narnia” (which later became a movie), cemented Parliament as the go-to word for a group of owls.Of course, inevitably, there is rebellion in the Kingdom of Birds, pitting a fiery tiny female fire-finch against Arum Tindi, thunderous ground hornbill and chief propagandist for the parliament of Owls. Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile (September 1994). "A large owl from the Paleocene of France". Palaeontology. 37 (2): 339–348 . Retrieved 27 March 2021. Another popular theory suggests that females have not been selected to be smaller like male owls because of their sexual roles. In many species, female owls may not leave the nest. Therefore, females may have a larger mass to allow them to go for a longer period of time without starving. For example, one hypothesized sexual role is that larger females are more capable of dismembering prey and feeding it to their young, hence female owls are larger than their male counterparts. [12]

For fossil species and paleosubspecies of extant taxa, see the genus and species articles. For a full list of extant and recently extinct owls, see the article List of owl species. a b c d Mueller, H.C. (1986). "The evolution of reversed sexual dimorphism in owls: an empirical analysis of possible selective factors" (PDF). The Wilson Bulletin. 19 (5): 467. doi: 10.1007/s10682-005-0293-9. S2CID 22181702.

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Owls are divided into two families: the true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn-owl family, Tytonidae. [2] However, Iron Lady Owl leads some owls in rebelling against bad governance. The rebel owls, together with Day Birds, Grain Eaters and some Night Birds and Omnivores ( like Fleshy Carcass Vulture) join hands to support a tiny female Day A lot of the group names come from either the sound the species makes (gaggle of geese, scold of jays) or how they look (“stand” of flamingos).

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