Surprising Owl Facts | A Night in the Forest

Today, we follow an owl mother and her chick, who wake in the evening forest. Owls are birds that stay up through the night. Their ears and eyes hold many secrets. Let us watch their quiet night.

As the sun set and the forest turned sunset colors, beside a hollow in a big tree, the mother owl slowly opened her eyes. Beside her, the little chick woke up, too. Through the day, mother and chick had been sleeping quietly in this tree. The chick gave a small yawn.

The night was beginning. The pair's night quietly got under way.

The mother turned her head all the way around. She looked carefully, even behind her. An owl's neck can turn up to 270 degrees. It can turn its face almost all the way to the back. The neck has fourteen bones. A human neck has seven, so it is exactly twice as many.

Why can it turn its neck so far? An owl's eyes are very large. Its eyes are so big that it cannot move its eyeballs. In exchange, both eyes face forward, and it is very good at focusing on things. That is why it turns its whole neck to look.

An owl's face is round and flat. This shape of face works to gather the sounds around it and deliver them to its ears. The real ear openings are hidden under the feathers of its face. Even though they cannot be seen, the sounds reach them clearly.

What is more, the left and right ear openings are at different heights. One is a little higher, and the other a little lower. Thanks to that, the owl can tell, in three dimensions, where a sound comes from and at what height. Even in darkness, it can tell where a sound is, by ear alone.

The mother listened intently. It is said that an owl can pick up the small sound of a mouse stepping on a twig from twenty-three meters away. The chick copied her and tilted its face. The forest night was full of small sounds.

The mother left the branch to look for supper. Because the edges of her feathers are soft, she can fly without making a sound. Without a single wingbeat sound, the mother's shape disappeared into the twilight forest. The chick watched her go from the branch.

On the branch, the chick began to practice spreading its wings. Flapping away, it gripped the branch again. How to fly, and how to listen to sounds — it learns little by little at its parent's side. Tonight, too, was a time of small practice.

Before long, the mother returned, quietly. The chick happily drew close to its mother. A young owl is fed and protected by its parents for about three months after it is born. In that time, it builds the strength it needs to live.

The night deepened, and the stars began to twinkle. It is said that an owl's eyes have the best power to see in the dark of any animal. Under the moonlight, mother and chick gazed at the forest. The quiet night flowed by slowly.

Now it was the chick's turn. Gathering its courage, the chick flew a short distance to the next branch. The landing swayed a little, but it gripped the branch firmly. The mother watched over it nearby. The chick puffed out its chest proudly. A small step becomes a great strength.

The pair's home is this hollow in the big tree. Owls do not build nests of their own, and often use a tree hollow or another bird's old nest. Inside the hollow, they are sheltered from both wind and rain. It was a place where the pair could feel safe.

At about six months old, the chick will look almost the same as its parents. For now, it is still a small body with some downy feathers left. The mother gently arranged the chick's feathers with her beak. The chick narrowed its eyes, looking comfortable.

The edge of the sky began to turn pale. Owls rest quietly in the trees during the day. The pair's long night was drawing to its end. One day, the chick will leave the nest and have a place of its own. Adult owls are birds that usually live alone.

On the branch, the pair pressed their bodies together. The chick buried its face in its mother's feathers. A neck that turns well, a face that gathers sound, and eyes strong in the dark. Little by little, the chick was learning the ways of the night forest. Morning came to the forest. Mother and chick quietly closed their eyes.

A day in the forest begins at night and ends in the morning. Today, too, the pair's quiet night passed by.

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