(CNN) — Super Bowl. Wait, the Super Bowl.
too late.
One small typo and the search results are filled with Owls content instead of Super Bowl information. And I encourage you to lean into that mistake. Because owls are truly “excellent.”
These birds are far from football, but over the years this trend has gained great popularity. Every year, before the Super Bowl, many people post tons of photos of owls on the Internet. (You know what they call a gathering of owls, right? Parliament.)
Matt Williams, conservation director for the Nature Conservancy’s Indiana chapter, said the internet phenomenon brings attention to these feathery creatures and ultimately leads to increased awareness.
“I say anything that helps spread the message about the importance of conservation is a good thing,” he said.
stone cold predator
Owls are quite interesting. Some people think they are innocent furballs, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, Williams said in an email.
“Owls are voracious predators that hunt primarily at night, using their very keen sense of hearing to locate prey,” he added.
Their disc-shaped faces allow sound to travel to their ears, allowing them to hear even the quietest sounds, Williams said. Their wings are designed to be almost completely silent when flying, a useful trick for sneaking up on prey, he added.
Most owls are content eating small mammals such as mice and shrews, said Seth Margle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo.
Some large owls, such as great horned owls, can catch rabbits, skunks and even other owls, Williams said.
see wild owls
Owl encounters are not limited to the internet. Communities across the United States have been hosting educational events about nocturnal animals for several years.
The Leslie Science and Nature Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will host an owl event on Sunday.
The center will feature native owls, and people will be able to dissect owl pellets (the undigested parts of their meals that are regurgitated).
Why not head outdoors this weekend to get to know these fascinating creatures? It’s going to be a challenge.
Meet the amazing owl
There are over 250 species of owls. Among them, I would like to introduce my favorite owl.
Many people think that all owls hoot, but that’s not true. Williams said great owls don’t croak, but instead emit a series of low, “whoosh” sounds.
Unlike other owls that live in forests, short-eared owls are found in grasslands and wetlands, Williams said.
Charles Eldermire, bird cam project leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said barred owls are singing birds that can often be heard making their traditional booing call.
Great horned owls are known for their iconic ear tufts and cat-like eyes, Eldermeyer said.
Burrowing owls live the opposite way to most owls. Rather than being active at night and living in trees, the birds are awake during the day and make their home on the ground, Muggle said.
If you’d like to support these amazing owl conservation efforts, CNN’s Impact Your World has a vetted list of organizations you can click to donate to. here Or use the form below.
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