Owls of Ohio - Ohio Department of Natural Resources

are commonly known as “owl pellets.” Withinseveral hours of consuming a meal, indigestiblematerials are compacted into small oblongpellets comprised mainly of bone and fur,and eventually expelled through the mouth.Researchers studying the diets of owls can pickthrough these pellets and determine what typeand how many animals are being consumed.The presence of owl pellets often leads birdersto roosting owls, too.S o u n d s owl morphologyIn general, owl sounds are easily recognized,and in many cases even the uninitiated will beable to recognize the call as that of an owl. Anumber of species deliver what could best bedescribed as “hoots,” such as the great hornedowl, and no one should have any difficultydetermining that the singer is an owl. Somecalls, however, are not as obviously owloriginated,such as the odd quavering whistlesof Eastern screech-owls or the monotonepiping of Northern saw-whet owls. In manyspecies, the calls of the male are lower in pitchthan the female, and the sexes can be easilydifferentiated when a pair is calling back andforth. Most if not all owl species also delivernon-vocal sounds such as bill snapping, or in thecase of short-eared owls, wing clapping duringcourtship display flights. The accompanyingCD contains many typically heard calls andsounds produced by North American owls.Owl MythologyBarred owl effigy pipe. Created by HopewellIndian craftsmen between 100 B.C. and500 A.D. Found in the Tremper Moundnear Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio.Photo Courtesy of the Ohio Historical SocietyHistory is filled with strangelore about owls. Interesting talesregarding owls date back to thebeginning of recorded history;after all, given their mysteriousnocturnal habitats and ofteneerie vocalizations, owls areripe fodder for superstitions.By turns, owls have beenconsidered omens of good luck,bad fortune, impending doom,wisdom, foolishness, evil andwitchcraft, and even predictorsof weather.As far back as ancient Greece,owls were making their markon the cultural psyche. Athene,the mythical Goddess ofWisdom, was deeply impressedby the charisma of owls, andthus caused them to be held inhigh regard. In fact, a genus ofowls is named after her – Athene,which includes the burrowingowl, Athene cunicularia, of NorthAmerica.