THE OWL 猫头鹰

Owls are known as the order Strigiformes. The Owl has firmer feathers than other birds and these feathers are radial shaped. Finer feathers are arranged around the formation of its face, It's facial features take after that of a cat.. Decorative feathers are mostly brown, with thin spots which are dense and soft. The owl has the ability to engage in silent flight and its head is very developed.

Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, rats and other birds. Contrary to popular belief, an owl cannot turn its head completely backwards, however it can turn its head 135 degree in either direction; it can thus look behind its own shoulders, with a total 270 degree field of view.

Owls are a natural predator of swiftlets and are a danger to the success of a bird house. When owls are located in the vicinity, swiftlets will not be willing to stay or play in the area. There are not many known deterents to owls and care should be given to the selection of locations of bird houses so as to avoid this problem.