what are the features in an owl that helpd it to hunt the prey even at night?
Answers
Owls generally have a hunting territory away from their daytime roost. All Owls are equipped with special adaptations that make them efficient predators. Keen eyesight allows them locate quarry even on dim nights. Sensitive, directional hearing helps locate concealed prey.Some species can even hunt in complete darkness using sound alone to guide them to a successful kill. An Owl's flight is silenced by special wing feathers, that muffle the sound of the air rushing over the surface of the wing. This allows an Owl to hunt by stealth, taking their victims by surprise. It also allows the Owl to listen for prey movements while still flying.
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Owls, especially those that hunt at night, are able to locate even faint sounds with remarkable accuracy. The best studied of these nocturnal predators is the Barn Owl. Barn Owls can locate and capture prey by sound alone. The Barn Owl's sensitive hearing is enhanced by its facial ruff, a concave surface of stiff dark-tipped feathers. The ruff functions as a reflector, channeling sounds into the ears. Once a sound is detected, the owl orients toward it and accurately pinpoints its location to within 1.5 degrees in both horizontal and vertical planes.
The cue used to determine whether a sound comes from the right, left, or straight ahead is the difference in time that it takes for a sound to reach each ear. When the sound source is dead ahead, no time differential occurs. Another cue, the difference in intensity of sound received by each ear, is used to localize a sound vertically. Barn Owls (Tyto species), along with owls of at least eight other genera, have asymmetrical openings to their ears -- as shown in the accompanying figure. A sound coming from above will seem slightly louder in the ear with the higher opening; if a sound is equally loud in both ears then the source must be at eye level.But their auditory systems are not the only reason that some owls can hunt successfully in the dark. Their sensory abilities are coupled with sedentary habits. As shown in studies of Tawny Owls in England, individuals hold a hunting territory in which they operate night after night. Familiarity with the environment, especially such things as the heights of favorite perches above the ground, seems to be essential to the owls' ability to pounce on prey. Hearing helps to replace the absence of sight, but intimate knowledge of the habitat completes the job.