{{automatic taxobox |fossil_range = |image = Athene noctua (cropped).jpg |image caption = Little Owl, ''Athene noctua'' |taxon = Strigiformes |authority = Wagler, 1830 |subdivision_ranks = Families |subdivision = Strigidae Tytonidae Ogygoptyngidae (fossil) Palaeoglaucidae (fossil) Protostrigidae (fossil) Sophiornithidae (fossil) |synonyms = Strigidae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist }} Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions (e.g. the Northern Hawk Owl). Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland and some remote islands. Though owls are typically solitary, the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a ''parliament''. Living owls are divided into two families: the typical owls, Strigidae; and the barn-owls, Tytonidae.

Description

Owls have large forward-facing eyes and ear-holes; a hawk-like beak; a flat face; and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a ''facial disc'', around each eye. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted in order to sharply focus sounds that come from varying distances onto the owls' asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Most birds of prey sport eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl's forward-facing eyes permits the greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting. Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets — as are those of other birds — so they must turn their entire head to change views. Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270 degrees in either direction. As owls are farsighted, they are unable to see clearly anything within a few centimeters of their eyes. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of filoplumes — small hair-like feathers on the beak and feet that act as "feelers". Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good.

The smallest owl — weighing as little as 31 g (1.1 oz) and measuring some 13.5 cm (5.3 inches) — is the Elf Owl (''Micrathene whitneyi''). Some of the pygmy owls are scarcely larger. The largest is the Great Grey Owl with 72 centimeters average, the second and third largest are two of the eagle owls; the Eurasian Eagle Owl (''Bubo bubo'') and Blakiston's Fish Owl (''Bubo blakistoni'') — which may reach a size of 60 – 71 cm (28.4 in) long, and have a wingspan of almost 2 m (6.6 ft), and an average weight of nearly 4.5 kg (10 lb).).

Different species of owls make different sounds; this wide range of calls aids owls in finding mates or announcing their presence to potential competitors, and also aids ornithologists and birders in locating these birds and recognizing species. As noted above, the facial disc helps owls to funnel the sound of prey to their ears. In many species, these discs are placed asymmetrically, for better directional location.

The plumage of owls is generally cryptic, but many species have facial and head markings, including face masks, ear tufts and brightly coloured irises. These markings are generally more common in species inhabiting open habitats, and are thought to be used in signaling with other owls in low light conditions.

Owl eggs usually have a white color and an almost spherical shape, and range in number from a few to a dozen, depending on species. Eggs are laid at intervals of 1 to 3 days and do not hatch at the same time. This fact accounts for the wide variation in the size of sibling nestlings. Owls do not construct nests, but rather look for a sheltered nesting site or an abandoned nest in trees, underground burrows, or in buildings, barns and caves.

Behavior

Most owls are nocturnal, actively hunting their prey only in darkness. Several types of owl, however, are crepuscular — active during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk; one example is the pygmy owl (''Glaucidium''). A few owls are active during the day also; examples are the Burrowing Owl (''Speotyto cunicularia)'' and the Short-eared Owl (''Asio flammeus'').

Much of the owls' hunting strategy depends on stealth and surprise. Owls have at least two adaptations that aid them in achieving stealth. First, the dull coloration of their' feathers can render them almost invisible under certain conditions. Secondly, serrated edges on the leading edge of owls' remiges muffle an owl's wing beats, allowing an owl's flight to be practically silent. Some fish-eating owls, for which silence has no evolutionary advantage, lack this adaptation.

An owl's sharp beak and powerful talons allow it to kill its prey before swallowing it whole (if it is not too big). Scientists studying the diets of owls are helped by their habit of regurgitating the indigestible parts of their prey (such as bones, scales and fur) in the form of pellets. These "owl pellets" are plentiful and easy to interpret, and are often sold by companies to schools for dissection by students as a lesson in biology and ecology.

Adaptations for hunting

All owls are carnivorous birds of prey and live mainly on a diet of insects and small rodents such as mice, rats and hares. Some owls are also specifically adapted to hunt fish. They are very adept in hunting in their respective environments. Since owls can be found in nearly all parts of the world and across a multitude of ecosystems, their hunting skills and characteristics vary slightly from species to species, though most characteristics are shared among all species.

Flight and feathers

Most owls share an innate ability to fly almost silently and also more slowly in comparison to other birds of prey. Most owls live a mainly nocturnal lifestyle and being able to fly without making any noise gives them a strong advantage over their prey that are listening for any sign of noise in the dark night. A silent, slow flight is not as necessary for diurnal and crepuscular owls given that prey can usually see an owl approaching. While the morphological and biological mechanisms of this silent flight are more or less unknown, the structure of the feather has been heavily studied and accredited to a large portion of why they have this ability. Owls’ feathers are generally larger than the average birds’ feathers, have fewer radiates, longer pennulum, and achieve smooth edges with different rachis structures. Serrated edges along the owl’s remiges bring the flapping of the wing down to a nearly silent mechanism. Research has shown that the serrations are more likely reducing aerodynamic disturbances, rather than simply reducing noise. The surface of the flight feathers are covered with a velvety structure which absorbs the sound of the wing moving. These unique structures reduce noise frequencies above 2 kHz, making the sound level emitted drop below the typical hearing spectrum of the owl’s usual prey. and also within the owl’s own best hearing range [4,5]. This optimizes the owl’s ability to silently fly in order to capture prey without the prey hearing the owl first as it flies in. It also allows the owl to monitor the sound output from its flight pattern.

Vision

Another characteristic of the owl that aids in their nocturnal prey capture is their eyesight. Owls are part of a small group of birds that live nocturnally, but do not use echolocation to guide them in flight in low-light situations. Owls are known for their disproportionally large eyes in comparison to their skull. An apparent consequence of the evolution of an absolutely large eye in a relatively small skull is that the eye of the owl has become tubular in shape. This shape is found in other so-called nocturnal eyes, such as the eyes of prosimians and bathypelagic fishes. Since the eyes are fixed into these sclerotic tubes, they are unable to move the eyes in any direction. Instead of moving their eyes, owls swivel their head to visualize their surroundings. The swiveling radius of the owl’s head is around 270˚, easily enabling them to see behind them without relocating the torso. This ability keeps bodily movement at a minimum and thus reduces the amount of sound the owl makes as it waits for its prey. Owls are regarded as having the most frontally placed eyes amongst all avian groups, which gives them some of the largest binocular fields of vision. But owls are farsighted and cannot focus on objects within a few centimeters of their eyes. While it is commonly believed that owls have such great nocturnal vision due to their large (and thus very light-gathering) eyes and pupils and/or extremely sensitive rod receptors, the true cause for their ability to see in the night is due to neural mechanisms which mediate the extraction of spatial information gathered from the retinal image throughout the nocturnal luminance range. These mechanisms are only able to function due to the large sized retinal image. Thus, the primary nocturnal function in the vision of the owl is due to its large posterior nodal distance; retinal image brightness is only maximized to the owl within secondary neural functions. These attributes of the owl cause the nocturnal eyesight to be far superior to that of its average prey.

Hearing

Owls exhibit specialized hearing functions and ear shapes that also aid in hunting. They are often noted for the asymmetrical ear placements on the skull in some genera. Owls can have either internal or external ears, but the genera exhibiting asymmetrical ear geometry only have external ear placements. Asymmetry has not been reported to extend to the middle or internal ear of the owl. The asymmetrical ear placement on the skull allows the owl to pinpoint the location of its prey. This is especially true with the strictly nocturnal species such as the barn owls ''Tyto'' or Tengmalm’s Owl. With the ears set at different places on the skull, the owl is able to determine the direction in which the sound is coming from by the minute difference in time that it takes for the sound waves to penetrate the left and right ear. The owl turns its head until the sound reaches both ears simultaneously, at which point it is directly facing the source of the sound. This time difference between ears is a matter of about 0.00003 seconds, or 30 millionths of a second. In coordination with this left to right calibration, some owls (like the barn owl) have slightly asymmetrical ears up and down that allow the owl to recognize whether the sound being received is higher or lower in vertical space by the volume of the sound in each ear. If the sound is louder in the ear facing more upwards, then the prey is higher up than the owl’s focus. Like the eyes, that utilize feather movements to focus light, the ears are surrounded by feathers to maximize hearing capabilities. Behind the ear openings there are modified, dense feathers which are densely packed to form facial ruff which creates an anteriorly-facing concave wall which cups the sound into the ear structure. This facial ruff is poorly defined in some species and yet prominent and nearly encircling the face in other species. The facial disk also acts to direct sound into the ears and a downward-facing, sharply triangular beak allows for little sound reflection away from the face. The shape of the facial disk is able to be adjusted at will to focus sounds more effectively. Owls have an audible range similar to that of humans, but are far more acute to certain frequencies which allow it to detect even the slightest movements of its prey. Once the owl has determined the location of its prey, it flies towards it according to the last sound perceived. If the prey moves, the owl is able to adjust its flight pattern mid-flight.

Talons

While the auditory and visual capabilities of the owl allow it to locate and pursue its prey, the talon and beak of the owl does the final work. The owl’s prey is killed by using these talons to crush the skull and knead the body. The crushing power of an owl’s talon varies according to prey size and type as well the size of the owl itself. The Burrowing Owl (''Athene cunicularia''), a small partly insectivorous owl, has a release pressure of only 500 grams. The larger Barn Owl (''Tyto albo'') needs pressure of 3000 grams to release its prey, and one of the largest owls, the Great Horned Owl (''Bubo virginianus'') needs pressure of over 13,000 grams to release prey in its talons. An owl’s talons, like most birds of prey, can seem massive in comparison to the body size outside of flight. The Masked owl has some of the proportionally longest talons of any bird of prey and appears enormous in comparison to the body when fully extended to grasp prey. The foot design of owls differs from that of diurnal birds of prey because owls have a zygodactyl toe arrangement, with two toes directed forwards and two toes directed backwards during perching. During flight, the outer front toe swivels forwards due to a flexible joint so that three of the four toes are forward facing. Some owls’ talons have been adapted to include filoplume feathers that aid in sensing the prey once it is close or has in fact made contact with the talon, which is useful during the capturing of small prey at night. The underside of the talon foot is covered in a rough, knobby surface which allows the owl to grasp its prey and hold it without having to keep the muscles tightly contracted. An owl’s claws are sharp and curved. The family Tytonidae have inner and central toes of about equal length while the family Strigidae have an inner toe which is distinctly shorter than the central one. These different morphologies allow for more effective capturing to prey specific to the different environments in which they inhabit.

Beak

The beak of the owl is short, curved and downward-facing. The beak is typically hooked at the tip for gripping and tearing its prey. Once prey is captured, the scissor motion of the top and lower bill is used to tear the tissue and kill. The sharp lower edge of the upper bill works in coordination with the sharp upper edge of the lower bill to deliver this motion. The downward-facing beak allows to the owl’s field of vision to be clear, as well as direct sound into the ears without deflecting sound waves away from the face.

Camouflage

The coloration of the owl’s plumage plays a key role in its ability to sit dormant and blend into the environment, making themselves nearly invisible to prey. Owls tend to mimic the colorations and sometimes even the texture patterns of their surroundings, with the common barn owl being an exception. ''Nyctea scandiaca'', or the White Owl, appears nearly bleach-white in color with a few flecks of black which mimic their snowy surroundings perfectly. Likewise, the Muted Wood-Owl (''Strix ocellata'') displays shades of brown, tan and black which make the owl nearly invisible in the surrounding trees, especially from behind. Usually, the only tell-tale sign of a perched owl will be vocalization outside of a hunt or their vividly colored eyes.

Evolution and systematics

The systematic placement of owls is disputed. For example, the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy finds that, based on DNA-DNA hybridization, owls are more closely related to the nightjars and their allies (Caprimulgiformes) than to the diurnal predators in the order Falconiformes; consequently, the Caprimulgiformes are placed in the Strigiformes, and the owls in general become a family Strigidae. A recent study indicates that the drastic rearrangement of the genome of the accipitrids may have obscured any close relationship of theirs with groups such as the owls . In any case, the relationships of the Caprimulgiformes, the owls, the falcons and the accipitrid raptors are not resolved to satisfaction; currently there is an increasing trend to consider each group (with the possible exception of the accipitrids) a distinct order.

There are some 220 to 225 extant species of owls, subdivided into two families: typical owls (Strigidae) and barn-owls (Tytonidae). Some entirely extinct families have also been erected based on fossil remains; these differ much from modern owls in being less specialized or specialized in a very different way (such as the terrestrial Sophiornithidae). The Paleocene genera ''Berruornis'' and ''Ogygoptynx'' show that owls were already present as a distinct lineage some 60 - 57 mya (million years ago), and, hence, possibly also some 5 million years earlier, at the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. This makes them one of the oldest known groups of non-Galloanserae landbirds. The supposed "Cretaceous owls" ''Bradycneme'' and ''Heptasteornis'' are apparently non-avialan maniraptors.

During the Paleogene, the Strigiformes radiated into ecological niches now mostly filled by other groups of birds. The owls as we know them today, on the other hand, evolved their characteristic morphology and adaptations during that time, too. By the early Neogene, the other lineages had been displaced by other bird orders, leaving only barn-owls and typical owls. The latter at that time were usually a fairly generic type of (probably earless) owl similar to today's North American Spotted Owl or the European Tawny Owl; the diversity in size and ecology found in typical owls today developed only subsequently.

Around the Paleogene-Neogene boundary (some 25 mya), barn-owls were the dominant group of owls in southern Europe and adjacent Asia at least; the distribution of fossil and present-day owl lineages indicates that their decline is contemporary with the evolution of the different major lineages of typical owls, which for the most part seems to have taken place in Eurasia. In the Americas, there was rather an expansion of immigrant lineages of ancestral typical owls.

The supposed fossil herons ''"Ardea" perplexa'' (Middle Miocene of Sansan, France) and ''"Ardea" lignitum'' (Late Pliocene of Germany) were more probably owls; the latter was apparently close to the modern genus ''Bubo''. Judging from this, the Late Miocene remains from France described as ''"Ardea" aureliensis'' should also be restudied. The Messelasturidae, some of which were initially believed to be basal Strigiformes, are now generally accepted to be diurnal birds of prey showing some convergent evolution towards owls. The taxa often united under ''Strigogyps'' were formerly placed in part with the owls, specifically the Sophiornithidae; they appear to be Ameghinornithidae instead.

For fossil species and paleosubspecies of extant taxa, see the genus and species articles.

Unresolved and basal forms (all fossil) ''Berruornis'' (Late Paleocene of France) - basal? Sophornithidae? Strigiformes gen. et ap. indet. (Late Paleocene of Zhylga, Kazakhstan) ''Palaeoglaux'' (Middle – Late Eocene of WC Europe) - own family Palaeoglaucidae or Strigidae?

''Palaeobyas'' (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of Quercy, France) - Tytonidae? Sophiornithidae?

''Palaeotyto'' (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of Quercy, France) - Tytonidae? Sophiornithidae?

Strigiformes gen. et spp. indet. (Early Oligocene of Wyoming, USA)

Ogygoptyngidae

''Ogygoptynx'' (''Middle/Late Paleocene of Colorado, USA)

Protostrigidae

''Eostrix'' (Early Eocene of WC USA and England - Middle Eocene of WC USA) ''Minerva'' (Middle – Late Eocene of W USA) - formerly ''Protostrix'', includes ''"Aquila" ferox'', ''"Aquila" lydekkeri'', and ''"Bubo" leptosteus'' ''Oligostrix'' (mid-Oligocene of Saxony, Germany)

Sophiornithidae

''Sophiornis''

Strigidae: Typical owls

''Aegolius'': saw-whet owls, four species

''Asio'': eared owls, 6–7 species

''Athene'': 2–4 species (depending on whether ''Speotyto'' and ''Heteroglaux'' are included or not)

''Bubo'': horned owls, eagle-owls and fish-owls; paraphyletic with ''Nyctea'', ''Ketupa'' and ''Scotopelia'', some 25 species

''Ciccaba'': four species

''Glaucidium'': pygmy-owls, about 30–35 species

''Gymnoglaux'': Bare-legged Owl or Cuban Screech-owl

''Jubula'': Maned Owl

''Lophostrix'': Crested Owl

''Megascops'': screech-owls, some 20 species

''Micrathene'': Elf Owl

''Mimizuku'': Giant Scops-owl or Mindanao Eagle-owl

''Ninox'': Australasian hawk-owls, some 20 species

''Nesasio'' - Fearful Owl

''Otus'': scops-owls; probably paraphyletic, about 45 species

''Pseudoscops'': Jamaican Owl and possibly Striped Owl

''Ptilopsis'': white-faced owls, two species

''Pulsatrix'': spectacled owls, three species

''Pyrroglaux'': Palau Owl

''Strix'': earless owls, about 15 species

''Surnia'': Northern Hawk-owl

''Uroglaux'': Papuan Hawk-owl

''Xenoglaux'': Long-whiskered Owlet

''Mascarenotus'': Mascarene owls, three species; extinct (c.1850)

''Sceloglaux'': Laughing Owl; extinct (1914?)

''Grallistrix'': stilt-owls, four species; prehistoric

''Ornimegalonyx'': Caribbean giant owls, 1–2 species; prehistoric

Fossil genera

''Mioglaux'' (Late Oligocene? - Early Miocene of WC Europe) - includes ''"Bubo" poirreiri''

''"Otus/Strix" wintershofensis'': fossil (Early/Middle Miocene of Wintershof West, Germany) - may be close to extant genus ''Ninox''

''Intutula'' (Early/Middle –? Late Miocene of C Europe) - includes ''"Strix/Ninox" brevis''

''Alasio'' (Middle Miocene of Vieux-Collonges, France) - includes ''"Strix" collongensis''

Placement unresolved

''"Strix" edwardsi'': fossil (Middle Miocene)

''"Asio" pygmaeus'': fossil (Early Pliocene of Odessa, Ukraine)

Ibiza Owl, Strigidae gen. et sp. indet.: prehistoric

Tytonidae: Barn-owls

Genus ''Tyto'': typical barn-owls, stand up to tall. Some 15 species and possibly one recently extinct

Genus ''Phodilus'': bay-owls, 1–2 extant species and possibly one recently extinct

Fossil genera

''Nocturnavis'' (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene) - includes ''"Bubo" incertus''

''Necrobyas'' (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene - Late Miocene) - includes ''"Bubo" arvernensis'' and ''Paratyto'' ''Selenornis'' (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene) - includes ''"Asio" henrici''

''Prosybris'' (Early Oligocene? - Early Miocene)

Placement unresolved Tytonidae gen. et sp. indet. "TMT 164" (Middle Miocene) - ''Prosybris''?

Relationship with humans

Africa

Among the Kikuyu of Kenya it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die. In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today.

The Americas

In the culture of the Uto-Aztec tribe, the Hopi, taboos surround owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils. The Aztecs and Maya, along with other Natives of Mesoamerica, considered the owl a symbol of death and destruction. In fact, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, was often depicted with owls. There is an old saying in Mexico that is still in use: ''Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere'' ("When the owl cries/sings, the Indian dies"). The Popol Vuh, a Mayan religious text, describes owls as messengers of Xibalba (the Mayan "Place of Fright"). The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hočągara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hočągara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief's lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, "From now on the Hočągara will have no luck." This marked the beginning of the decline of their tribe. An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon afterwards she died. People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you."

Middle East

In Arab mythology, owls are seen as bad omens.

Hinduism

In Hinduism owls are the ''vahana'', mount, of Goddess Lakshmi.

Western culture

The modern West generally associates owls with wisdom. This link goes back at least as far as Ancient Greece, where Athens, noted for art and scholarship, and Athena, Athens' patron goddess and the goddess of wisdom, had the owl as a symbol. Marija Gimbutas traces veneration of the owl as a goddess, among other birds, to the culture of Old Europe, long pre-dating Indo-European cultures.

Use as rodent control

Encouraging natural predators to control rodent population is a natural form of pest control, along with excluding food sources for rodents. Placing a new box for owls on a property can help control rodent populations (one family of hungry barn owls can consume more than 3,000 rodents in a nesting season) while maintaining the naturally balanced food chain.

Owl conservation issues

All owls are listed in Appendix II of the international CITES treaty (the Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Although owls have long been hunted, a 2008 news story from Malaysia indicates that the magnitude of owl poaching may be on the rise. In November 2008, TRAFFIC reported the seizure of 900 plucked and "oven-ready" owls in Peninsular Malaysia. Said Chris Shepherd, Senior Programme Officer for TRAFFIC's Southeast Asia office, "This is the first time we know of where 'ready-prepared' owls have been seized in Malaysia, and it may mark the start of a new trend in wild meat from the region. We will be monitoring developments closely." Traffic commended the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Malaysia for the raid that exposed the huge haul of owls. Included in the seizure were dead and plucked Barn Owls, Spotted Wood Owls, Crested Serpent Eagles, Barred Eagles, and Brown Wood Owls, as well as 7,000 live lizards.

Footnotes

==References==

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Bachmann T., Klän S., Baughmgartner W., Klaas M., Schröder W., & Wagner H. (2007): Morphometric characterisation of wing feathers of the barn owl ''Tyto alba pratincola'' and the pigeon ''Columba livia''. ''Frontiers in Zoology'' 4: 23.

Calaprice, Alice & Heinrich, Bernd (1990): ''Owl in the House: A Naturalist's Diary''. Joy Street Books, Boston. ISBN 0316354562

Einoder, Luke D. and Alastair M. M. Richardson (2007): Aspects of the Hindlimb Morphology of Some Australian Birds of Prey: A Comparative and Quantitative Study. ''The Auk'' 124(3):773-788.

Haaramo, Mikko (2006): Mikko's Phylogeny Archive: "Caprimulgiformes" - Nightjars. Version of May 11, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2007.

Heinrich, Bernd (1987): ''One Man's Owl''

Hughes A. 1979): A schematic eye for the rat. Vision Res, 19:569-588.

Johnsgard, Paul A. (2002): ''North American Owls: Biology and Natural History'', 2nd ed.. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC. ISBN 1-56098-939-4

König, Claus, Friedhelm Weick & Jan-Hendrik Becking (1999). Owls: A guide to the owls of the world. Yale Univ Press, 1999. Print.

Lewis, Deane P. (2007): Owl ears and hearing. Owl Pages [Online]. Available: http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Physiology&title;=Hearing [2011, April 5].

Marti, Carl D.(1974): Feeding ecology of four sympatric owls. The condor, 76(1):45-61

Martin G.R. (1982): An owl’s eye: schematic optics and visual performance in ''Strix aluco'' ''L. J Comp Physiol'', 145:341-349.

Mayr, Gerald (2005): "Old World phorusrhacids" (Aves, Phorusrhacidae): a new look at ''Strigogyps'' ("''Aenigmavis''") ''sapea'' (Peters 1987). ''PaleoBios (Berkeley)'' 25(1): 11-16 HTML abstract

Mortimer, Michael (2004): The Theropod Database: Phylogeny of taxa. Retrieved August 14, 2008.

Neuhaus W., Bretting H.,& Schweizer B. (1973): Morphologische und funktionelle Untersuchungen über den,,lautlosen” Flug der Eulen ''(strix aluco)'' im Vergleich zum Flug der Enten ''(Anas platyrhynchos)''. ''Biol Zbl'', 92:495-512.

Norberg, R.A. (1977): Occurrence and independent evolution of bilateral ear asymmetry in owls and implications on owl taxonomy. ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences'' 280: 375-408.

Olson, Storrs L. (1985): The fossil record of birds. ''In:'' Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): ''Avian Biology'' 8: 79-238. Academic Press, New York.

Peters, Dieter Stefan (2007): The fossil family Ameghinornithidae (Mourer-Chauviré 1981): a short synopsis. ''Journal of Ornithology'' 148(1): 25-28. PDF fulltext

Sánchez Marco, Antonio (2004): Avian zoogeographical patterns during the Quaternary in the Mediterranean region and paleoclimatic interpretation. ''Ardeola'' 51(1): 91-132. PDF fulltext

Sibley, Charles Gald & Monroe, Burt L. Jr. (1990): ''Distribution and taxonomy of the birds of the world: A Study in Molecular Evolution''. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. ISBN 0-300-04969-2

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Willott J.F.(2001): Handbook of Mouse Auditory Research CRC Press;.

External links

The Owl Pages

Animal Diversity Web Page: Owls

Owl Brain Atlas

Smithsonian Snowy Owl Info

Owls of the Harry Potter movies - learn about the owls featured in the films, threats to the species, and conservation activities

World Owl Trust

Athenian Owl coins

Owl videos on the Internet Bird Collection

Eurasia

World of Owls - Northern Irelands only Owl, Bird of Prey and Exotic Animal Centre

Current Blakiston's Fish Owl Research in Russia

North America

List of Owl Species Breeding In North American and Owl Photos

Australian Owls and Frogmouths

Category:Heraldic birds

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Coordinates	51°30′09″N0°07′39.7″N
name	Owl City
landscape	Yes
background	group_or_band
alias	Adam Young
genre	Electronica, Synthpop
origin	Owatonna, Minnesota, United States
years active	2007–present
label	Universal Republic
associated acts	Sky Sailing, Swimming With Dolphins, Matt Thiessen, Lights, Breanne Düren
website
current members	Adam Young }}

Owl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement. Like many musicians who achieved success in the late 2000s, Owl City developed a following on the social networking site Myspace before signing with Universal Republic in 2008.

After two independent releases, Owl City gained mainstream popularity with the 2009 major label debut album ''Ocean Eyes'', which spawned the quadruple-platinum hit single "Fireflies". The album was certified Platinum in the United States in April 2010.

In 2011, Owl City released his third studio album, ''All Things Bright and Beautiful''.

Early years (2007–2009)

Suffering from insomnia while working loading Coca-Cola trucks in his hometown Owatonna, Minnesota, Young turned to composing music. He began uploading songs recorded in his parents' basement to Myspace. He started to receive favorable attention for his music and then helped cultivate this nascent fanbase by being an open and accessible web presence, responding to any messages he received and constantly posting blogs. His manager Steve Burksy later highlighted the significance of Young's engaging online manner in building his following saying: "People feel like they know him, like they've got a direct connection to him because of how he approaches his connection with them online." Through a deal with the digital aggregator CD Baby, he then started making the songs available for sale through iTunes. In 2007, Owl City released an EP titled ''Of June'', followed by the 2008 release of the album ''Maybe I'm Dreaming''. ''Of June'' reached No. 15 on the ''Billboard'' Electronic Albums chart, and ''Maybe I'm Dreaming'' peaked on the same chart at No. 13.

The viral phenomenon that was building through Myspace caught the attention of Universal Republic presidents Avery and Monte Lipman who approached Young with a view to signing the artist. Republic recommended Young partner up with 27-year-old manager Steve Bursky of Foundations Artist Management and the two began working together in late 2008. When later asked by HitQuarters why the label chose him for a major label act given his relative inexperience, Burksy said:

"I think they saw Owl City as representing the future of our business. This idea of a kid in a tiny town in rural U.S. being able to make songs in his basement that sound like Top 40 radio could never have happened ten years ago. By hiring a young management company who understands the business circa 2011 over a seasoned industry vet, who might not understand the online spaces well, showed a lot of understanding of where this kid was going to end up having success."

Owl City's label deal with Universal Republic was finally confirmed in February 2009. According to Bursky there was initially some disagreement about the direction Owl City should follow, telling HitQuarters: "They were ready to send him into the studio with big producers and polish him up to try to become this thing that he wasn't. But we put our foot down and said, 'Look, the reason you signed this kid is because it’s working. Whatever it is about him - his music, his interaction with his fans, his brilliance in the online space - these things are connecting with people, and as soon as you change that you lose what’s special about this artist.' To their credit, they really listened and they got it."

''Ocean Eyes'' (2009–2010)

''Ocean Eyes'', Owl City's third full-length album and major label debut, was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, with the physical release following on July 28, 2009. The album debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200. Owl City has released three official singles from this album: "Umbrella Beach", "Vanilla Twilight" and "Fireflies". "Fireflies" topped the US and Canadian charts. ''Ocean Eyes'' reached the top ten on the US album charts, topped the US electronic charts, and also reached Amazon MP3's top 10 most downloaded album list. By April 2010, it was certified Platinum in the United States. On January 24, 2010, Owl City reached the No. 1 spot in the UK Top 40 Singles chart with "Fireflies". The song "Tidal Wave" also received significant airplay on Christian music radio stations. On January 2, 2011, it was revealed "Fireflies" was the 20th most downloaded song of all time in the UK.

Young is joined by Breanne Düren on several tracks; the most noted being "The Saltwater Room". Owl City's live band consists of Breanne Düren (background vocals/keyboards), Casey Brown (drums), Laura Musten (violin), Hannah Schroeder (cello), and Daniel Jorgensen (vibes).

Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen has toured and collaborated with Owl City on several tracks, including "Fireflies", where Matt can be heard providing the backup vocals. Young also produced Relient K's song "Terminals".

"Fireflies" was released as a free download on the game ''Tap Tap Revenge 3'' by Tapulous. Prior to the July 14, 2009 internet release of ''Ocean Eyes'', and the "Fireflies" single, Steve Hoover was hired as a director for a music video for "Fireflies". The video was to have had an exclusive premiere on MySpace, but had been leaked onto YouTube and Dailymotion hours earlier. "Fireflies" became a big sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for the week ending November 7, 2009.

Owl City is featured on ''Soundtrack 90210'' with a song titled "Sunburn", which was released on October 13, 2009. Owl City has toured with The Scene Aesthetic, Lights, John Mayer, Maroon 5 and Brooke Waggoner. He was also guest featured in the soundtrack to Tim Burton's ''Alice in Wonderland'' with a song entitled "The Technicolor Phase" that had already been featured in his debut album.

In 2010, Young revealed a new musical project known as Sky Sailing, which moved away from his usual electronica genre of music and introduced acoustic guitar and piano accompaniments into his work. The unrefined tracks were recorded in the summer of 2007 before he began making music as Owl City. His first album under this new project is entitled ''An Airplane Carried Me to Bed'', and was released July 13, 2010 via iTunes.

In May 2010, Adam Young collaborated with high-profile British electronic composer, producer, musician, and songwriter Nick Bracegirdle. Under his Chicane alias, Bracegirdle released the single "Middledistancerunner" on August 1, 2010 featuring Adam Young on vocals. This is the first single from the fourth Chicane album ''Giants''. He also worked with famed Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, appearing on a track called 'Youtopia' from the van Buuren album ''Mirage'' on September 10, 2010.

On September 21, 2010 "To the Sky" was officially released via iTunes on the soundtrack for Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole.

On October 25, 2010, Young released a cover version of the praise and worship song "In Christ Alone" as a streaming mp3 on his website,

On November 13, 2010, a new album was also released for one of his other musical projects, "Windsor Airlift", called "Flight" on iTunes.

On November 23, 2010, a new Christmas single called "Peppermint Winter" was released. A preview had been released the previous week on Facebook.

''All Things Bright and Beautiful'' (2010–2011)

Production on Young's third studio album began around mid-2010, with Young being announced as the executive producer of the album.

On October 18, 2010 Young wrote an entry on his blog regarding his third studio album, saying that the album was nearing completion.

In February 2011, the title of the album was announced to be ''All Things Bright and Beautiful'' and that the album would be released on May 17. However, on April 6, Young released a statement on his website, along with lengthy previews of four of his songs (Dreams Don't Turn to Dust, Alligator Sky Featuring Shawn Chrystopher, Galaxies, and Deer in the Headlights), that the release date for ''All Things Bright and Beautiful'' would be pushed back to June 14.

On March 22, Alligator Sky was released as the lead single from the album on ''iTunes''.

In Late March and Early April, tickets went on sale for The All Things Bright and Beautiful World Tour, and All Things Bright and Beautiful became available for preorder.

On April 19, Galaxies was released as the second single from the album.

On May 6, the music video for Alligator Sky was released. Young discussed the concept in a making-of video posted on Owl City's VEVO account, "The concept is basically about these two guys who are leaving Earth. Rather than it being this very dark post-apocalyptic vibe, it's very optimistic, and so it's like people are excited to leave earth."

On May 23, Deer in the Headlights, the third single from the album, was released on iTunes.

On June 14, All Things Bright and Beautiful was released on iTunes. Although only a few days prior on May 20, almost all of the album leaked onto the internet.

On June 30, the music video for 'Deer in the Headlights' was released. It features Young driving through the night in the DMC DeLorean featured in the Back to the Future trilogy and Canadian musician Lights makes a cameo appearance in the video.

On July 19, "Lonely Lullaby" was released as a single on iTunes, which was previously available only to Owl City Galaxy members.

Young was interviewed in the August issue of Cliché Magazine. He also appeared on the cover of the magazine and the issue also featured some of Young's very own art work.

On July 21, at the Club Nokia concert in Los Angeles, Young announced that the concert was being filming for a Live DVD to be released by the holiday season.

On November 28, the music video for "Youtopia", by Armin van Buuren Featuring Adam Young, was released on YouTube.

Fourth Studio Album (2011-Present)

In Young's final tour dates of 2011, he said that he had begun the recording process of his fourth studio album. He also performed a new song entitled "I Hope You Think of Me".

On January 2, 2012, Young wrote an entry on his blog regarding his fourth studio album. Young said that he would be collaborating with more producers and songwriters, also saying that his new record "Marks a flying leap in this direction". Young expects the album to be released around late Summer to Fall 2012.

Musical styles and influences

Owl City's music is described as indietronica and synthpop and is often described as belonging under the broad "alternative music" label. Young has stated that he is inspired by disco and European electronic music, as well as instrumental genres such as drone, ambient, and post-rock. He cites his biggest influences as Johnathon Ford of Unwed Sailor and Thomas Newman. Young also incorporates a large amount of his Christian faith into his music, since he is a vocal Christian. Young's faith is evident on the new album, "All Things Bright and Beautiful", especially in "Galaxies". Explaining why the faith-filled song was added to the mix, he said, "I feel like if I were ever to hide the fact that that’s what’s so important to me, it would be a crime, that I should probably be put in jail for that."

Owl City also has been compared to The Postal Service, often critically, for his combination of fuzzy synths, ironic lyrics and use of female guest singers. Pitchfork.com goes far enough to say that "The surprise No. 1 single in the country, Owl City's 'Fireflies,' jacks the Postal Service in such a bald-faced, obvious manner that getting into specifics feels redundant at best and tacky at worst." In response to the suggestion that his work is derivative, Adam Young suggested in a 2009 interview with The New York Times that ''Ocean Eyes'' is perhaps the "next chapter" after American band The Postal Service: "The Postal Service released a record in 2003, and that was it. There was really nothing to compare it to until some one else came along and wrote the next chapter. Maybe that's this record. Maybe that's this band."

Other projects

Young also produces music under a wide variety of other projects, which include Port Blue, Dolphin Park, Windsor Airlift, Insect Airport, Seagull Orchestra, Novel, Aquarium, Sky Sailing, and Swimming with Dolphins. Most of these projects were started before Owl City propelled Young to fame. Many of these projects were formed alongside some friends, including Austin Tofte of Swimming with Dolphins.

Young was featured on the track "All About Us" by He Is We released on August 29, 2011, on iTunes. He was also featured on the track "First Noel" on TobyMac's album ''Christmas in Diverse City'' released October 4, 2011.

Band members

;Current members

Adam Young – lead vocals, programming, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, guitars, bass guitar, drums, percussion, vibraphone, accordion

;Current touring members While Young writes, composes, records, and produces all of Owl City's music, during live performances he is accompanied by a group of supporting musicians:

Breanne Düren – keyboards, backing vocals

Daniel Jorgensen – guitar, vibraphone

Laura Musten – violin

Hannah Schroeder – cello

Casey Brown – drums

Concert tours

Discography

;Extended Plays

''Of June'' (2007)

;Studio albums

''Maybe I'm Dreaming'' (2008)

''Ocean Eyes'' (2009)

''All Things Bright and Beautiful'' (2011)

''Untitled Fourth Studio Album'' (2012)

References

External links

Owl City Official Website

Category:Musical groups from Minnesota Category:American indie rock groups Category:American New Wave musical groups Category:Electronic music groups from Minnesota

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