Owl eyes

"The owl is the wisest of all birds because the more it sees, the less it talks."

— African Proverb

This little guy (or gal) was so sleepy. One eye open. One eye closed. Was this a wink? It felt like we were sharing a moment. Could he (or she) see me as well as I could see it? Before I knew it both eyes closed on me. I panned over to mom and hers were closed too. I guess they were getting some shut-eye in before the nocturnal hunt. It made me wonder about their binocular vision.

As it turns out owl pupils dilate when they hear a new or odd noise. The link between sight and hearing enhances their hunting skills. And over thousands of years, owls shed the genes for seeing colors and seeing during daylight to develop and refine the genes for nocturnal vision.

Oddly enough, studying owls has made some improvements for human babies. Turns out that hearing loss is difficult to diagnose in babies. But one researcher discovered that a baby’s pupils -like an owl’s- dilate when they hear an odd or new sound. This discovery led to new diagnostic tests for hearing loss in babies.

The other fun thing I watched was a squirrel checking out the owls. Let me tell you those owls did not react one bit to how close the squirrel ventured. Are they not prey? Great Horned owls will hunt prey as large as a skunk, but squirrels are of no interest.

Thanks for being curious with me.