OWLS

1. OWLS WRITTEN AND CREATED BY ALEXANDER, AMELIA, ETHAN, JIANNA, JONAH, AND TRUTH

2. HABITATS • Owls live in lots of different habitats. Most owls prefer woods and forests for the nesting sites. Snowy owls are found in icy tundra and far north. Written by Jianna and Truth

3. HABITATS • Tiny elf owls live in deserts of north America. Other owls live in grass lands, farm lands and marshes. Screech owls live close to people in parts of New York city in buildings and gardens. Written by Jianna and Truth

4. TOGETHER • Male and female owls stay together for a long time. Owls stay in a nest for about twenty years. Some owls live in their nest year after year. Written by Jianna and Truth

5. NESTS • Most owls build nests. Snowy owls nests in the open in small hollows. But some owls find already made homes on trees and cliffs. Elf owls find cacti to live in. Spotted long eared owls live in nests made by eagles crows and magpies. Written by Jianna and Truth

6. OWL CHICKS • Owl chicks grow quickly. Their parents take great care of them. Their parents give them a constant supply of insects and small animals. Written by Jonah & Amelia

7. GROWING FEATHERS • Owl chicks have to be kept warm. Their mother stays close to them until their feathers grow. Barn owls take seven weeks to grow their feathers! Written by Jonah & Amelia

8. LEAVING THE NEST • When the nest gets crowded chicks spread their wings and hop on to nearby branches. When they are six to eight weeks old, the owlets fly away. Written by Jonah & Amelia

9. OWLETS • Young owls are paler in color and have different markings than their parents. Young Pels fishing owls stay in the nest for eight months and then leave! Written by Jonah & Amelia

10. HEARING • Owls have good hearing. They use sound to catch prey. They hunt in the dark. feathers are arranged to funnel sound toward their ears. Written by Jonah & Amelia

11. SENSES • Barn owls have one ear hire than the other. Sound reaches one ear first. They can find where sound comes from. Written by Jonah & Amelia

12. SIGHT • Owls have sharp eye sight. They can see in poor light. Owls eyes cannot move in their sockets. They have to swivel their head and look around. Written by Jonah & Amelia

13. HUNTING • Owls hunt in different ways. Owls that live in woods and forests sit in the tree tops and watch and listen for their prey. Then they swoop down from their branch and catch their food. Written by Ethan

14. PREY • Owls swallow their food whole including fur and feathers. Written by Ethan

15. PELLETS • Six or seven hours later they cough up a pellet that has these indigestible parts in it. Pellets look like a black sausage. They are about the same size as a thumb. Written by Ethan

16. FLYING • Owls are skilled flyers. Owls have broad wings. They can slow their flight so they can swoop down on their prey. Owls can fly quickly. Great horned owls can reach speeds of 60 kilometers an hour. Written by Alexander

17. WING FEATHERS • Owls fly silently. They have soft feathers at the edge of their wings. These muffle the sound so they can swoop Written by Alexander

18. MOULTING • Once a year their feathers fall out. They come out two or three at a time because they are damaged or worn out. New ones grow in. This is called moulting. Written by Alexander

19. HABITAT LOSS • Owl are under threat all around the world. People are starting to destroy their habitat. Forests are turned to logs and farm lands. Written by Jianna and Truth

20. POISON • Owls are getting poisoned by chemicals. Farmers put a spray on their crops to poison animals that try to eat their crops. Rats and mice eat their crops. They get poisoned and then owls eat them. Then the owl gets poisoned and dies. Written by Jianna and Truth

21. EGG THIEFS • People are starting to steal owl eggs even though it is illegal. That means owls never hatch. Written by Jianna and Truth