Owl (Tawny) - Tawny Owl Habits

Daily Life: the tawny owl is a resident bird and stays in its breeding area throughout the year. Hunting takes place at night and the owl is perfectly adapted for this. It has extremely sensitive eyes and ears which enable it to locate its prey in very dim light. The tawny owl's hearing is so good that it can pinpoint prey even when it is too dark for its sharp eyes to see. The soft plumage and comb-like leading edge to the wing-tip enable it to fly silently. The owl waits quietly on a perch, then glides down and pounces on its unsuspecting victim, killing it with its talons or with a quick bite after capture.

The tawny owl's diet often depends on the habitat it is living in. In woodland, mice and voles are mainly eaten with some birds, shrews, worms and beetles. In urban areas, small birds may form the main part of the diet such as sparrows and starlings. They have been known to take goldfish from garden ponds.

A tawny owl spends the day roosting on the branch of a tree and is often mobbed noisily by small birds such as chaffinches, house sparrows, blue tits and blackbirds, though they seldom manage to disturb the dozing owl!