Trivia question for Oct-23-2011

Carter loves owls so it is no wonder he picked this bird for todays trivia.  These guys feed mainly on Voles and other small rodents.  They are stealthy in attack, its dense plumage and soft flight feathers allow it to swoop silently on prey.

These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. Their large facial disks, also known as “ruffs”, focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night. They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 2 feet of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. These owls can crash through snow that could support the weight of a 180-pound person.

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what kind of owl this is and tell us how far away they can detect their prey?  Also, these guys are known to tolerate humans in their area as long as you don’t get too close to their nest.  Tell us what these guys have done to humans who have made the mistake of getting too close to their nest?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations goes out to Serbraga from Ahmedabad India for being the first with the correct answer.  The cool looking owl we featured is the Great Gray Owl.  The Great Grey Owl or Lapland Owl is a very large owl, distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. In some areas it is also called the Great Gray Ghost, Phantom of the north, Cinereous Owl, Spectral Owl, Lapland Owl, Spruce Owl, Bearded Owl and Sooty Owl.

They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 2 feet of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. These owls can crash through snow that could support the weight of a 180-pound person.  When guarding its nest, the owl utters a menacing, piglike grunt.  It attacks any humans who come too close, and has plucked out eyes and broken cheekbones.  Here is more on these silent birds:  Great Gray Owl

Thanks for playing along 😉