GHO owls and eagle owls are great predators they can take a wide range of prey and their has been some success as falconry birds but this is limited. I have talked to falconers that have worked with owls and they all say they are real picky with there slips. You could flush a bunny right at a owls feet and nothing then get a wide slip and bang dead bunny. They just are not reliable for falconry, but as predators hats off.
We have a European Eagle Owl that can catch food that we throw in the air. I've heard this is quite rare, has anyone else heard of owls catching food in the air?
We have a European Eagle Owl that can catch food that we throw in the air. I've heard this is quite rare, has anyone else heard of owls catching food in the air?
Not hear of it before. This would seem exceptional as all the owls I know act like they can't see their own feet.
They don't act like they can't see their own feet...They actually can't! Owls are long sighted so anything far away they can see well but anything up close is one big blur. Yeah i though it was a bit special that he can catch food in the air...
Post by profalconer on Oct 19, 2006 1:50:36 GMT -5
its probably the acute hearing they use to catch something in the air but i dont know if that would be enough noise to allow them to locate it like that. but if an owl can locate a mouse and catch it in complete darkness i could take a guess thats how they would do that.
Eagle owls don't hunt in complete darkness, they're crupuscular... Their hearing isn't quite as good as the barn owl so I'm guessing he uses a combination of hwaring, sight and practise to catch the food!
Post by jfneumann57 on Oct 19, 2006 14:55:46 GMT -5
owls can hunt but not fly in total darkness which is almost the same as not hunting. The problem is they can hear the prey and know where it is just not if there's nething in the way like branches. And ur right the barn owl is known as having the best hearing.
Last Edit: Oct 19, 2006 14:56:37 GMT -5 by jfneumann57
08 season: 51squirrels 16 rabbits 43miscellaneous
I'm sorry, but you said "it's impossible" when you really meant "I don't know how yet".
That's the reason why they need such good hearing. If they hunted in the light then they wouldn't need such good hearing in order to locate their prey. They're supposed to be able to hear the heartbeat of a vole from 8 metres away
Post by jfneumann57 on Oct 23, 2006 12:25:54 GMT -5
I don't know about it being that good bacause i've seen some videos with barn owls demonstrating their hearing and it only noticeably reponded when the mouse moved.
08 season: 51squirrels 16 rabbits 43miscellaneous
I'm sorry, but you said "it's impossible" when you really meant "I don't know how yet".