Don’t be fooled by its cute and sloppy appearance, it is actually the domineering “Elvis”!

The Shanghai Zoo recently completed the artificial breeding of the eagle owl, a national second-class protected animal, which is the first case in China . The eagle owl's "cute and cute" appearance is loved by netizens.

In fact, the eagle owl, which looks "sloppily cute", is the best among birds of prey. It even dares to challenge the "king of eagles", the golden eagle. It can be said to be the domineering "Elvis".

"Sloppy Cute" Eagle Owl Image source: See watermark

Elite birds of prey protection

Among the six major ecological groups of birds, the most ferocious and at the top of the food chain are birds of prey. They are mainly carnivorous, have superb flying abilities, strong beaks and claws, and are good at catching other small birds and animals. They are the elite among birds of prey.

From the perspective of biological taxonomy, birds of prey can be divided into three major categories: Accipitridae, Falconiformes, and Strigiformes. Among them, Strigiformes birds of prey have obvious differences in morphology from other birds of prey. Their heads are similar to those of cats, so they are commonly known as owls. Owls were also called "owls" in ancient times. Although the two have the same meaning, they are different in usage. "鸮" is more used to describe the biological characteristics of owls, while "枭" is often combined with other characters to form derogatory words, such as 枭雄, 枭首, etc., which have certain negative connotations.

Several species of Strigiformes. Source: veer photo library

Among the more than 130 species of Strigiformes birds of prey, the eagle owl stands out for its strong and ferocious characteristics. The eagle owl is an owl of the family Strigiformes, with the scientific name Bubo, including the great eagle owl, eagle owl, rock eagle owl, Malay fishing owl and other species. The eagle owl has a variety of habitats, including mountain forests, plains, wilderness, forest edge shrubs, sparse forests, and exposed mountains and cliffs. They usually move alone and are nocturnal, hiding in dense forests during the day.

In addition, the eagle owl is strictly protected in China and is listed in multiple protection lists, including the "National Key Protected Wildlife List" and the "China Red Data Book of Endangered Animals" (birds). Due to their small numbers and threatened living environment, it is particularly important to protect the eagle owl and its habitat.

The King of the Night Mouse Catcher

The eagle owl looks cute, but it is actually a fierce king of the sky, and it is even more powerful at night. In the dark night, the eagle owl even dares to prey on birds of prey of the subfamily Kitinae of the order Falconiformes, and it is well-deserved to be called the "king of the night." Usually, the eagle owl starts to get excited at dusk, flying out from the place where it hides during the day, gliding like a ghost over the sky of hundreds of square kilometers of territory, ready to give mice, hares, hedgehogs and other birds a fatal blow at any time.

Eagle Owl Image Source: Veer Gallery

The food chain of the eagle owl is very extensive, and its prey is divided into three categories: first, mice. Each eagle owl can prey on more than 10 mice a night, and can catch three to four thousand mice a year. It is known as a "rat catcher"; second, small animals on the ground, such as porcupines, hares, hedgehogs, etc.; third, other birds. For example, the great eagle owl native to America will prey on snowy owls (raptors), great blue herons (wading birds), ducks (wading birds), etc.

The advantages of eagle owls in hunting are threefold:

01

Large size

The average length of an eagle owl can reach 0.7 meters, the wingspan can reach 1.8 meters, and the largest one can weigh more than 4 kilograms. Because the head of the eagle owl looks like a cat, and when it spreads its wings, it looks like a ferocious king returning, so people call it "Elvis".

Eagle Owl in flight

02

Special body organs

The beak, eyes, feathers, claws, etc. of the eagle owl are all effective tools for hunting with high efficiency and accuracy. They have a hard beak that bends downward like a thorn, and its bite force is almost equal to that of a wolf ; they have a pair of bright eyes similar to those of an owl; their feathers are soft and act as natural silencers, and every flight is as quiet as a ghost, which is extremely difficult to detect even for mice with quick reactions; their claws are more than 4 cm long and have a gripping force of about 317 kg per square inch, which can easily crush and pierce prey.

03

The hearing is very sensitive and can hear sounds ten times smaller than humans can hear.

This extraordinary hearing ability enables the eagle owl to quickly detect and locate prey during hunting, thereby increasing the success rate of hunting. They usually choose to move in remote places where few people go, and mainly hunt at night. During the day, they will roost in trees with their necks retracted and their eyes closed. They will immediately be alert and observe the surroundings at the slightest movement.

When hunting or flying at night, the eagle owl will make a "hen, gu, hen, gu" sound, and when it encounters something unusual, it will change to a loud "da, da" sound. These sounds are particularly prominent at night, further enhancing its deterrent power to hunting. Because the sound is unpleasant and is emitted at night, the ancients believed that the eagle owl was an evil bird (except for the ancients in the northeast region).

Category Source is not eagle or eagle

The eagle owl, as an important member of the owl family, is actually neither a hawk nor an eagle. The taxonomic differences between them can be explored in the biological taxonomy of eagles and eagles.

In the early 20th century, scientists divided birds of prey under the class Aves into two categories, Falconiformes and Strigiformes, based on the classification of plants and animals by Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus. At that time, in addition to owls, eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, kites, harriers, etc. were all classified into Falconiformes.

Original classification of birds of prey Source: Veer Gallery

However, in 2008, with the advancement of science and technology, scientists conducted more in-depth genetic testing on Falconiformes birds. After this study, Strigiformes remained unchanged, but Falconiformes was further divided into Accipitridae and Falconiformes. Now, eagles are a general term for birds of prey in the genus Accipitridae of the order Accipitridae, while eagles belong to the subfamily Accipitrinae of the order Falconiformes.

The change in classification is mainly due to the significant differences between eagles and eagles in terms of size, morphology and prey. Generally speaking, eagles are relatively small to medium-sized, and the largest eagle in China, the goshawk, weighs only about 1.5 kilograms; while eagles are large and medium-sized birds of prey, such as the Steller's sea eagle, which is known as the "Siberian tiger among birds", which can weigh up to 10 kilograms.

The difference in size leads to a clear difference in the prey of eagles and hawks. Eagles usually prey on small animals such as mice and snakes. Even when catching poultry such as chickens and ducks, they mainly catch young ones. This is also the realistic basis of the game "Eagle Catches Chickens". In contrast, eagles usually prey on large animals such as goats, wolves, and foxes due to their powerful attack power.

In addition, eagles and hawks also have obvious differences in the morphology of the tarsus (the part between the legs and the toes of birds). The tarsus of eagles is partially or completely covered with feathers, which makes them more flexible and stable when hunting and walking, while the tarsus of eagles are bare and not covered with feathers. This difference is not only an important basis for the classification of the two, but also reflects the differences in their ecological niches and survival strategies.

The most obvious difference between an eagle and an eagle Source: Veer Gallery

Therefore, for eagles and vultures, the domineering eagle owl has unique features that they do not have.

First, the eagle owl has a unique cat-shaped head, which makes it unique among birds of prey. Secondly, the eagle owl is mainly active at night, and this unique habit also makes it clearly different from eagles and eagles. Therefore, the eagle owl is neither a hawk nor an eagle, but belongs to the order Strigiformes. It is worth mentioning that the appearance of the young eagle owl is particularly cute, giving people a feeling of "cuteness", which is also a trait that young eagles and young eagles do not have.

References:

1. "Study on the adaptive evolution of taste genes in raptors and their closely related groups", author Zhao Yuanqin, Journal of Northeast Normal University, 2019, No. 02

2. "Species Diversity and Research of Birds of Prey in China", by Lei Fumin, Man and the Biosphere, Issue 03, 2022

3. "A Preliminary Study on the Morphology of the Digestive System of the Eagle Owl", by Hao Haibang, Zhang Peng, etc., Sichuan Animals, No. 04, 2006

Author: Wei Deyong

Member of Guangdong Shenzhen Writers Association

Editor: Dong Xiaoxian