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Canku Ota |
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(Many Paths) |
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An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America |
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June 14, 2003 - Issue 89 |
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Why the Owl Has Big Eyes |
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by Iroquois Legend |
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Raweno,
the Everything-Maker, was busy creating various animals. He was working
on Rabbit, and Rabbit was saying: "I want nice long legs and ears
like a deer, and sharp fangs and claws like a panther." "I do them up the way they want to be; I give them what they ask for," said Raweno. He was working on Rabbit's hind legs, making them long, the way Rabbit had ordered. Owl, still unformed, was sitting on a tree nearby waiting his turn. He was saying: "Whoo, whoo, I want a nice long neck like Swan's, and beautiful red feathers like Cardinal's, and a nice long beak like Egret's, and a nice crown of plumes like Heron's. I want you to make me into the most beautiful, the fastest, the most wonderful of all the birds." Raweno said: "Be quiet. Turn around and look in the other direction. Even better, close your eyes. Don't you know that no one is allowed to watch me work?" Raweno was just then making Rabbit's ears very long, the way Rabbit wanted them Owl refused to do what Raweno said. "Whoo, whoo," he replied, "nobody can forbid me to watch. Nobody can order me to close my eyes. I like watching you, and watch I will." Then Raweno became angry. He grabbed Owl, pulling him down from his branch, stuffing his head deep into his body, shaking him until his eyes grew big with fright, pulling at his ears until they were sticking up at both sides of his head. "There," said Raweno, "that'll teach you. Now you won't be able to crane your neck to watch things you shouldn't watch. Now you have big ears to listen when someone tells you what not to do. Now you have big eyes--not so big that you can watch me, because you'll be awake only at night, and I work by day. And your feathers won't be red like Cardinal's, but gray like this" --and Raweno rubbed Owl all over with mud--"as punishment for your disobedience." So Owl flew off, pouting: "Whoo, whoo, whoo." Then Raweno turned back to finish Rabbit, but Rabbit had been so terrified by Raweno's anger, even though it was not directed at him, that he ran off half done. As a consequence, only Rabbit's hind legs are long, and he has to hop about instead of walking and running. Also, because he took fright then, Rabbit would have been an altogether different animal. As for Owl, he remained as Raweno had shaped him with anger--with big eyes, a short neck, and ears sticking up on the sides of his head. On top of everything, he has to sleep during the day and come out only at night. Print
and Color Your Own Great Horned
Owl Picture |
Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus |
The Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus, is one of Canada's commonest large birds of prey. As such, it is often displayed in local zoos and museums. There are few rural residents, hunters, or vacationing city dwellers who have not either observed this magnificient bird in the woods or listened on a still evening to its legendary hooting a soft yet vibrant whoo-hoo-ho-o-o. Range With no need to make the seasonal migrations that carry other birds from the Arctic Ocean to the Straits of Magellan and back again, Great Horned Owls are likely to be year-round residents of limited hunting ranges of about 8-10 km², throughout their vast region. Such adaptation by a species is truly remarkable and has few parallels in ornithology. Appearance Nesting
and young Breeding densities commonly average one pair per 7.5 to 10km², although one to three pairs per 2.5km² have been reported. Active nests tend to be rather evenly spaced within suitable habitats, owing to the species' strongly territorial behaviour throughout the year. It seems likely that pairs mate for life, share in the defense of a territory against other Great Horned Owls, and occupy essentially the same territory for several years. Most Great Horned Owls first breed at two years of age, although there is evidence that year-old birds occasionally attempt to nest when food is especially abundant. Bird banders often witness the aggressiveness of these owls in defending their nests. Indeed, many have had clothing torn or suffered severe lacerations during repeated attacks. So risky is it to work with these birds under such circumstances that biologists wear heavy jackets and industrial hard hats for protection. Great Horned Owls are very early nesters, even in northern latitudes, with egg laying and incubation underway well before the snow disappears. Laying begins approximately one month before hatching. In central Alberta (latitude 54°), average hatching dates range from mid-April to early May. Nesting occurs earliest during years of peak snowshoe hare populations, suggesting that it is the adequacy of the owls' food supply that determines how early or late the birds will nest in any year. The number of eggs per nest ranges from one to five, and the size of the average clutch (a nest of eggs or a brood of chicks) differs from place to place and from year to year. Differences in clutch sizes between years seem tied to major changes in availability of food. When large numbers of meadow voles and snowshoe hares are in the area, providing an abundance of food for the owl, the size of the clutch increases. The young owls are almost fully feathered and capable of short flights around eight weeks of age. However, they remain largely dependent upon their parents for food during most of the summer and likely do not disperse from their natal territories until fall. The period between fledging and dispersal is a critical time for all young birds of prey, because it is then that they must develop the hunting skills that will make them self-supporting. The young normally do not move far from the area in which they were born: over 90% of nestlings that have been banded, and later recovered, moved less than 80km. Diet
and feeding habits The Great Horned Owl hunts mostly between dusk and dawn, and its night vision and hearing are acute. Like other owls, the great horned can approach its prey in total silence thanks to specializations of the flight feathers. As well as being a silent hunter, this owl is swift, and its talons are effective weapons. It swallows small prey whole, but larger prey are first dismembered. Fur, feathers, teeth, and bones that are indigestible are compacted in the owl's stomach and later regurgitated as "pellets." One or more of these may be disgorged daily, depending upon the volume and type of food eaten. Scientists obtain information on the food habits of owls by identifying the remains of prey animals in such pellets. Limits
to population Nestlings are sometimes taken by Red-tailed Hawks, and other predators. Young chicks often fall from nests; others are killed and eaten by larger nestlings. Deaths from severe weather and starvation also occur. About 50% of the young that leave the nest die within their first year from various causes. Although various infectious diseases and parasites have been found in the Great Horned Owl, no one really knows how many die of them. Adult Great Horned Owls face the possibility of death due to various human activities. Some owls fly into power lines or are struck on highways. Others are shot by irate farmers or thoughtless hunters. Fortunately, laws that protect Great Horned Owls from needless persecution have been passed in each province. Owls that die of natural causes can reach a great age. Future
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