Page 14 - PGA Community News- November '23

Page 14, PGA C.A.N.! November 2023 November 2023
Book Review

What An Owl Knows: the only bird whose up for that by being able to swivel their heads around in a
The New Science big round eyes face way that we cannot:
forward, like ours, in
“While it’s a myth that owls can rotate their heads from
Of The World’s Most the front of their faces. a starting point facing forward, some species, like Great
Grays and Barn Owls, can turn their heads almost three
All other birds’ eyes
Enigmatic Birds are situated on the quarters of the way around, 270 degrees – three times the
sides of their heads. twisting flexibility humans possess … that an owl’s neck can
By Nils A. Shapiro But unlike we move swiftly and smoothly through those 270 degrees of
Author Jennifer humans, who can rotation is due to some clever adaptations, a loose S shape
Ackerman could just as move our eyes left and that gives it flexibility, and a system of bones and blood
well have retitled her book right with a limited vessels that minimizes disruption of blood flow through the
What We Know About Owls, degree of peripheral neck to the eye and the brain when the head rotates.”
packed as it is with many vision in order to see And I haven’t even touched upon an owl’s vision, with
hundreds of fascinating facts what is happening its ultraviolet spectrum.
about the 260 owl species to on each side of us, There is so much more here to enjoy, and from which
be found throughout almost an owl’s eyes are to learn. Plus 50 black-and-white photos and a section of
every continent, from the fixed facing forward. full-color photos that add greatly in helping you to identify
tiny elf owl, the size of a However, they make different owl species.
pine cone only a few inches
high, to the massive Eurasian eagle-owl that can take down
a deer – or Blakiston’s fish owl, the world’s biggest owl, Experience Dentistry with a Woman’s Touch
the size of a fire hydrant with a 6-foot wingspan!
The recipient of numerous awards and fellowships and
author of five earlier successful books – including The
Bird Way and national bestseller The Genius of Birds – Cosmetic & Comprehensive Restorative Dentistry
Ackerman’s own awe and appreciation for the skills and
natural physical attributes that these extraordinary creatures State of the Art & Same Day Restorations
have evolved over the 100 million years since they have
existed on this planet is clear from first page to last. The Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen Sedation Available
following brief passages serve as examples, some of the text
has been omitted for lack of space here, and been replaced
by ellipses (…): Joanne Green, D.D.S.
“With a head designed for listening … the flat, gray head
disk of a Great Gray Owl is like one huge external ear, a 10887 N. Military Trail, Suite 6
feathered satellite dish for collecting sound … The facial Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
disk in owls that hunt primarily by sound is outlined with a
ruff of stiff interlocking feathers that capture sound waves (561) 622-2815 • www.joannegreendds.com
and channel them toward the ears, like people cupping their
hands around their ears. Feathers in the back of the disk Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry - Cum Laude
direct high-pitched sounds toward the ears, so the owl hears Hospital of the University of Penn - General Practice Residency Training
less noise from its surroundings and can focus on prey cues. Harvard Dental School - Former Instructor
“(The owl) can even change the shape of the disk by Boston Brigham and Women’s Dental Group - Staff Dentist
using muscles at the base of the feathers, shifting from
a resting state to the alertness of an active hunt. It’s
remarkable to watch an owl do this, adjust its facial disk
when it hears something interesting. It’s like the disk itself
is a kind of aperture, an ‘eye,’ that opens wide to let in more
sound and bounce it toward the ears.”
Note: The use of the term “ears,” in owls, even in such
species names as long-eared owls or short-eared owls, is
confusing. The actual ears used by owls for listening are
vertical slits on the sides of their heads.
Owls are nocturnal, hunting at night for prey that
includes most commonly – depending on the owl species
and size – rodents, insects, mice, rabbits, squirrels,
possums, lemmings in the case of snowy owls, and other
small mammals and birds. Because of their incredible
hearing, and the fact that the unique design of their wings
enables them to swoop down on prey in complete silence,
they are among the natural world’s most efficient hunters.
They do not even have to be able to see their prey in order
to be successful!
“A Great Gray Owl is listening, always listening. Its
head rotates to glean the source of a sound. Its ears are so
acutely tuned, it can discern the faint footfall of a shrew
in the forest, the wingbeat of a Canada Jay, the muffled
rustle of a vole tunneling deep beneath the snow. It will
fly to the spot, hover over it, head facing down toward the
sound, then just before impact thrust its legs forward and
punch through snow more than a foot and a half deep to
seize its prey.”
But Ackerman has equal respect for the professional
scientists, students and volunteers who often dedicate years
of their lives under the most incredibly difficult physical
and stressful conditions worldwide, studying every aspect
of owls’ lives in order to build the base of knowledge that
will help protect the survival of owl species at a time when
many are at risk of extinction due to climate change and
other human influences.
One chapter, Who Gives a Hoot, includes the
experiences of researcher Karla Bloem, who devoted
an extensive amount of time studying variations in owl
language at just one site:
“After hundreds of hours of meticulous observation,
Bloem managed to characterize and describe fifteen
separate vocalizations: six sorts of hoots, four types of
chitters, and five kinds of squawks, including an alarm
squawk like an eerie shriek. She also noted that the owls
have nonvocal communication. When they’re fearful or
agitated, they’ll hiss or clack their bills.”
Perhaps the major reason why owls are so popular
worldwide is their most instantly recognizable feature as