Page 32 - Boca ViewPointe - November '23

Page 32, Viewpointe November 2023
Book Review

What An Owl Knows: The New most commonly – depending on the owl species and size – reason why owls are
Owls are nocturnal, hunting at night for prey that includes
Perhaps the major
Science Of The World’s Most rodents, insects, mice, rabbits, squirrels, possums, lemmings so popular worldwide
Enigmatic Birds in the case of snowy owls, and other small mammals and is their most instantly
birds. Because of their incredible hearing, and the fact that
recognizable feature as
the unique design of their wings enables them to swoop the only bird whose big
By Nils A. Shapiro down on prey in complete silence, they are among the natural round eyes face forward,
world’s most efficient hunters. They do not even have to be like ours, in the front
Author Jennifer able to see their prey in order to be successful! of their faces. All other
Ackerman could just as “A Great Gray Owl is listening, always listening. Its birds’ eyes are situated on
well have retitled her book head rotates to glean the source of a sound. Its ears are so the sides of their heads.
What We Know About Owls, acutely tuned, it can discern the faint footfall of a shrew in But unlike we
packed as it is with many the forest, the wingbeat of a Canada Jay, the muffled rustle humans, who can move
hundreds of fascinating facts of a vole tunneling deep beneath the snow. It will fly to the our eyes left and right
about the 260 owl species to spot, hover over it, head facing down toward the sound, then with a limited degree of
be found throughout almost just before impact thrust its legs forward and punch through peripheral vision in order
every continent, from the snow more than a foot and a half deep to seize its prey.” to see what is happening on each side of us, an owl’s eyes
tiny elf owl, the size of a But Ackerman has equal respect for the professional are fixed facing forward. However, they make up for that
pine cone only a few inches high, to the massive Eurasian scientists, students and volunteers who often dedicate years by being able to swivel their heads around in a way that
eagle-owl that can take down a deer – or Blakiston’s fish of their lives under the most incredibly difficult physical we cannot:
owl, the world’s biggest owl, the size of a fire hydrant with and stressful conditions worldwide, studying every aspect “While it’s a myth that owls can rotate their heads from
a 6-foot wingspan! of owls’ lives in order to build the base of knowledge that a starting point facing forward, some species, like Great
The recipient of numerous awards and fellowships will help protect the survival of owl species at a time when Grays and Barn Owls, can turn their heads almost three
and author of five earlier successful books – including many are at risk of extinction due to climate change and quarters of the way around, 270 degrees – three times the
The Bird Way and national bestseller The Genius of Birds other human influences. twisting flexibility humans possess … that an owl’s neck can
– Ackerman’s own awe and appreciation for the skills One chapter, Who Gives a Hoot, includes the move swiftly and smoothly through those 270 degrees of
and natural physical attributes that these extraordinary experiences of researcher Karla Bloem, who devoted rotation is due to some clever adaptations, a loose S shape
creatures have evolved over the 100 million years since an extensive amount of time studying variations in owl that gives it flexibility, and a system of bones and blood
they have existed on this planet is clear from first page language at just one site: vessels that minimizes disruption of blood flow through the
to last. The following brief passages serve as examples, “After hundreds of hours of meticulous observation, neck to the eye and the brain when the head rotates.”
some of the text has been omitted for lack of space here, Bloem managed to characterize and describe fifteen And I haven’t even touched upon an owl’s vision, with
Klein | law | Group
and been replaced by ellipses (…): separate vocalizations: six sorts of hoots, four types of its ultraviolet spectrum.
“With a head designed for listening … the flat, gray head chitters, and five kinds of squawks, including an alarm There is so much more here to enjoy, and from which
disk of a Great Gray Owl is like one huge external ear, a squawk like an eerie shriek. She also noted that the owls to learn. Plus 50 black-and-white photos and a section of
feathered satellite dish for collecting sound … The facial have nonvocal communication. When they’re fearful or full-color photos that add greatly in helping you to identify
disk in owls that hunt primarily by sound is outlined with a agitated, they’ll hiss or clack their bills.” different owl species.  freedom to start fresh
ruff of stiff interlocking feathers that capture sound waves
and channel them toward the ears, like people cupping their
hands around their ears. Feathers in the back of the disk Alisa R. Lebensohn, Esq.*
direct high-pitched sounds toward the ears, so the owl hears
less noise from its surroundings and can focus on prey cues. Now Associated with Klein Law Group!
“(The owl) can even change the shape of the disk by using (561) 353-2800
muscles at the base of the feathers, shifting from a resting *Licensed in FL and NY with 30 years combined experience
state to the alertness of an active hunt. It’s remarkable to
watch an owl do this, adjust its facial disk when it hears Boca Pointe Resident, Providing Concierge Legal Services to Palm Beach and
something interesting. It’s like the disk itself is a kind of Broward County Residents since 2015 (practicing law since 1992)
aperture, an ‘eye,’ that opens wide to let in more sound and Specializing in family law matters, including divorce, custody,
bounce it toward the ears.” modification, child support, adoptions, pre and post nuptial agreements
Note: The use of the term “ears,” in owls, even in such
species names as long-eared owls or short-eared owls, is REsuLts DRivEn; tRustWORtHY; CARinG; EFFiCiEnt
confusing. The actual ears used by owls for listening are Sanctuary Centre
vertical slits on the sides of their heads. 4800 N. Federal Highway Klein | law | Group T: 561-353-2800
Suite 307B freedom to start fresh ALebensohn@KleinAttorneys.com
Please Be Courteous, Boca Raton, FL 33431 www.KleinAttorneys.com
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If you have purchased a new vehicle within the past or email at nicolemarks52@gmail.com
6 months, please make sure the Boca Pointe Community
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information in our system. Please fax it to (561) 395-5936
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