Tawny owl

The tawny owl or cat-hooting is one of the night raptors most widespread in Europe. Its Latin name is Strix aluco , of strix, strinx = owl, and ulucus = small-duke.

Description

The brown owl is a night raptor but it can live during the day. The brown owl measures forty centimetres. Its silhouette is squat, even when it flies. Its head is large with dark eyes. Its plumage is gray or brown/russet-red, the breast piece clearer and is striated with dark stripes. Some white spots on the wings and the shoulders clear up a little the unit. Its very flexible neck, it can completely turn the head backwards, without moving the body. Thanks to its powerful and sharp-edged greenhouses, the owl seizes its preys in full vol. Once captured, they do not have any chance to escape to him. Its plumage enables him to pass incognito in the branches and to watch for its preys in all peace. When it threw its reserved on a rodent well dodu, it spreads its large wings of almost a meter of scale and sinks above to him! The night, thanks to its very developed hearing, the tawny owl perceives the least rustle in the neighborhoods. The tawny owl gobe any round its preys. How it cannot them entirely digest, it recrache their bones and their hairs, in the shape of balls! They are the balls of rejection.

Weights and measures:

Weight: 400 to 550 G (the females are heavier);
Length: approximately 38 to 40 cm;
Scale: 92 to 95 cm;
Longevity: up to 18 years.

Manners

She lives in couple, generally in forest, but also in the gardens of the cities. It is a night predator which drives out with the mounting.

The brown owl drives out only the night, shortly after to lay down it sun until before its rising, except in period of breeding of the young people where it starts earlier.

She is not difficult and eats small rodents, bats, fish, frogs, snakes, small birds and large insects.

She trusts mainly her hearing hyper developed for the location of her preys.

Habitat

It is one of the most widespread owls in Europe; one finds some in France safe everywhere in midday and Corsica.

Its places of predilection are the forest and agricultural areas, the planted parks of old trees, the large gardens, the timbered cemeteries, and sometimes even downtown, the avenues.

It is not very demanding for the place of nesting and has a varied food: this is why one meets it in as many different places. It remains faithful to the same nest, which can be a hollow shaft, a hole of old wall or rock, or a nesting box. It never builds its own nest.

Reproduction

From February to April, the female only broods from 3 to 5 eggs during 28 to 30 days; the male brings food sometimes to him and it sometimes happens to him to relay it in the nest. As it starts to brood as of the laying of first eggs, the young people hatch gradually. After the blossoming of the very first, it remains still ten days in the nest. The male supplies all the family, especially with small mammals, bats, snakes, insects. Sometimes later the female it second, but during the day, it assembles the guard not far from the nest and gives to eat with its small while making use of the provisions of the night. The young people leave the nest at the end of 28 to 36 days and are held in the vicinity all the time that the parents bring food to them. It is only towards one about fifty days that they undertake their first vol.

Its eggs measure from 43 to 51 X 35 to 43 mm and are of white color.

Song

Its cry is at the period of the loves “Houou, hou, houououououououh” (hululement) but sometimes also “Youih” or “kouwitt”.

External bonds

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