Did You Hear Something?
Owls have broad wings, so you’d expect to hear a whole lot of swooshing sounds when an owl flaps its humongous wings. Instead, owls have a specialized feather design which allows them to be as silent as mice in mime school.
What’s the reason for the silent flight? One theory is that they need to be quiet when they are swooping down for a sneak attack on their prey. Another idea is based on the way owls use their amazing sense of hearing to locate prey. If their wings are noisily flapping, it might interfere with the ability to track a meal.
This answers the question pondered by philosophers for ages. If an owl flies through the woods and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? No. No, it doesn’t.
When you look, you see. But you might not hear.
Since owls do a lot of their flying in the evening hours, it can be hard to see it in person, but not impossible. I’ve been lucky enough to see wild barred owls in flight a few times. The first trick is to find a territory where an owl is living, and that doesn’t always mean somewhere deep in a forest. There is a park not far from where I live where a pair of barred owls nest and I often see them swooping past a tennis court and perching on the lights from time to time. You can check out Copper’s Distract Fact on asymmetrical ears for some tips on finding barred owls, and her Distract Fact on owl tufts for some hints on finding great horned owls.
Another option for seeing (and still not hearing) the stealthy flight of owls in person is to visit an environmental education center that specializes in birds of prey or raptors. These education centers often do flight demos with some of their special birds, and you’ll truly be amazed at just how quiet these big owls can be! Check out Copper’s Distract Fact on mantling behavior for some tips on how to find a raptor education center near you.
Want to sneak up on some more stuff about stealthy owls?
Below are a few links that you might want to ambush!
Kids, remember to ask a parent, teacher, or librarian for help whenever you are looking for books or using the Internet. I always try to make sure to share kid-friendly books and resources, but websites are changing all the time, so always check with an adult first.
- Watch a short video from PBS LearningMedia about the many adaptations owls have for hunting, including a description of how they fly so quietly. https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/idptv11.sci.life.oate.d4kowl/owls/
- The experts at Audubon have a fantastic article which takes you deep into the details of silent flight: https://www.audubon.org/news/the-silent-flight-owls-explained
- Take a deep look into the stealth skills of owls in this video, also from PBS LearningMedia: https://scetv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/owls-quiet-deep-look/owls-quiet-deep-look/