Tag owl

Gilles Aillaud’s “Encyclopedia of All Animals including Minerals

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An exhibition of Gilles Aillaud’s artworks is presented at the Librairie Galerie Métamorphoses in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. 

Gilles Aillaud (1928-2005) was an internationally known French artist, set decorator, and scenographer. The exhibition is the artwork from his book “D’après nature – Encyclopedie de tous les animaux y compris les mineraux” (According to Nature – Encyclopedia of All Animals including Minerals). The current edition was reprinted in 2010 by editor Andre Dimanche. 

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Which Animal has Asymmetrical Ears?

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Which animal has asymmetrical ears? 

Asymmetrical means that two things, or two halves of the same thing, do not look the same – either the same size or the same shape. They look lopsided.

Many owls (but not all owls) have asymmetrical ears. The British Trust for Ornithology says that, in many owls, the left ear is positioned lower than the right ear. The two ears are also out of line on the vertical plane.

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Resettlement of Burrowing Owls in Southern California

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In Southern California, urban developers built over the burrows of the local Western Burrowing Owls, destroying their habitats.

The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged bird in the Strigidae family of owls. It measures 19-28 centimetres (7-11 inches) tall, with a wingspan of 50-61 centimetres (20-24 inches). It is native to North America and South America. It prefers grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts and other open dry areas. 

Unlike most nocturnal (night) owls, the Burrowing Owl is diurnal, active during the day. 

It nests in burrows underground that a prairie dog or a squirrel has dug into the soil. It also nests in other shallow, underground structures.

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance collaborated with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to relocate the Burrowing Owls that had lost their homes when humans began building in the area. 

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Western Barn Owl

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The Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is a medium-sized bird in the Tytonidae family of barn owls.

The Western Barn Owl has a wide, white facial disc with a light brown edge. Its underbelly is white and its wings are brown flecked with black. It has long, broad wings. It has big eyes, and a light-grey to beige beak. It does not have ear tufts that many other owls have. It has long legsand toes with sharp claws.

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Eurasian Eagle-Owl

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The Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) is a large, nocturnal bird of prey and a raptor. It is also known as the European Eagle-Owl. 

The Eurasian Eagle-Owl is heavily built with a large head, a grey facial disc, and tufted ears. It has tawny-brown feathers mottled with darker blackish feathers. It has freckling on the forehead and crown, and stripes on the nape, sides and back of the neck. Its wings and tail are barred. It has tufted feathers on its ears are called plumicorns. It has large orange eyes. It has feathered feet with sharp talons (claws). Its beak is dark-coloured. 

It can rotate its head, which gives it an arc of vision of 270 degrees. A human has an arc of vision of 120 degrees. 

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Northern Great Horned Owl

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The Northern Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus subarcticus) is a nocturnal bird of prey and a raptor. It is also known as the Tiger Owl, the Hoot Owl, or the Subarctic Great Horned Owl. It is closely related to the Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo). It is not horned – the ‘horns’ are really tufts of feathers, called plumicorns. 

The Northern Great Horned Owl is well camouflaged at night with mottled brown-grey and white feathers. Some have more white feathers than grey feathers. It does not have the reddish colour of other sub-species of Great Horned Owls. It is heavily built with a large head, a grey facial disc, and tufted ears. It has large yellow eyes. It has feathered feet with sharp talons (claws). Its beak is dark-coloured. 

It can rotate its head, which gives it an arc of vision of 270 degrees. A human has an arc of vision of 120 degrees. 

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Short-Eared Owl

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The Short-Eared Owl (Asio flammeus flammeus) is a medium-sized bird in the Strigidae family.

The Short-Eared Owl had mottled tawny-brown feathers with a barred tail and barred wings. It upper chest is streaked. It has short, hidden ear tufts, which are usually visible when it is defensive. It has a big head, a short neck, and large yellow-orange eyes wih black eye-rings. It has broad wings. Its beak is short, strong, hooked, and black.

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Caucasus Tawny Owl

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The Caucasus Tawny Owl (Strix aluco willkonskii) is a medium-sized nocturnal bird. It is also called the Caucasus Brown Owl or the Willkonskii Tawny Owl.

The Caucasus Tawny Owl has a stocky build with brown or grey upperparts and pale underparts with dark streaks. It has a large, rounded head with a facial disc. It has large dark eyes. It does not have ear tufts. It has rounded wings. The female is larger than the male.

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RESEARCH: Larks and Owls – Chronotypes: early riser or late to bed?

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The lark – a small diurnal songbird – rises early and is active during the day, whereas the owl – a large nocturnal bird – is active at night.

Psychology Today has documented a recent study on chronotypes – whether a person is a morning person (up with the lark) or a late night person (to bed with the owl) and who they attract as partners.

Many studies have been previously conducted on personality traits, but there has been limited studies on chronotypes. Chronotypical behaviour is a preference for rising early or going to bed late. Morning people are called larks (and they reach peak performance early in the day) and late night people are called owls (who perform well in the afternoon or evening).

However, there is a continuum, with most people clustering around the middle – a neutral chronotype.

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Barking Owl

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The Barking Owl (Ninox connivens connivens) is also known as the Winking Owl or the Barking BooBook.

The Barking Owl is grey-brown with white spots on its wings. It has a vertically-streaked chest. Its underparts are grey-brown with white spots, and its tail has brown and white bands. Its eyes are large and yellow. Its feet are yellow.

The Barking Owl makes a loud, barking noise (like a dog). They also growl, scream, and twitter.

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African Grass Owl

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The African Grass Owl (Tyto capensis) is a barn owl from Sub-Saharan Africa.

The African Grass Owl has a large, heart-shaped creamy-white face with a light brown rim. It has a cream crown and neck, brown-black back and wing feathers, and a beige chest speckled with black dots. It has a short tail with dark bars. Its eyes are brown-black, and it has a pink-white beak and grey legs with sharp claws.

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