Ciekawostka: Owls are one of the only birds who can see the color blue

Evidence: 53 • authority: 80

Evidence: 53 • authority: 88

Evidence: 53 • authority: 92

Size, not color, drives assortative mating and influences fledging survival, weight and immunity in a polymorphic owl.. The persistence of color polymorphism in nature may be driven by disassortative mating based on color. In vertebrates, body size sometimes correlates with coloration, complicating mating patterns, as the selective pressures favoring mixed-color pairs might be counterbalanced by those influencing body size. This complexity is heightened in species with reversed sexual size dimorphism, such as owls, where males are smaller than females, and average dissimilarity in mate size may reflect sexual size dimorphism rather than an active disassortative mating pattern. Here we inves…

Evidence: 53 • authority: 92

Evolutionary history reveals information on the functionality of ear tufts in owls (family: Strigidae).. Background Ear tufts are plumage features which have particularly high prevalence in owls (Strigidae). Several hypotheses have been developed to explain their function, mostly including camouflage, species recognition, deterring predators/mobbers, and visual signaling among conspecifics. In the present study, we used phylogenetically-informed comparative approach to reconstruct evolutionary history of ear tufts across the entire Strigidae family (184 species). Specifically, data on the occurrence and relative size of ear tufts compiled from color plates and photographs were analyzed in r…

Evidence: 53 • authority: 72

The snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat and lifestyle, which are quite distinct from other extant owls. One of the largest species of owl, it is the only owl with mainly white plumage. Males tend to be a purer white overall while females tend to have more extensive flecks of dark brown. Juvenile male snowy owls have dark markings and may appear similar to females until maturity, at which point they typically turn whiter. Th…

Evidence: — • authority: 35