Night Owls Are Good Listeners

Favorite subjects in popular art and fables, owls have been cast in many roles from messenger of death and evil omen to symbol of wisdom and good luck. Few people, however, actually see owls in the wild, and fewer still are familiar with their habits. For many, the hooting or screeching of an owl at night offers perhaps the most telling clue about owl behavior, suggesting as it does that the birds are nocturnal. To the human listener stumbling along in the dark, the obvious questions are, how do owls get about at night and how, in particular, do they manage to hunt down their prey