Screech-owl

This predatory bird inhabits mainly the northern hemisphere of our planet. Its range extends from Latin America to Egypt, India, South China, Pakistan, including all of Western Europe and Asia.

A long-eared owl has a rather slender physique. Females are usually much larger than males. The body length of the bird is about 40 centimeters, and its wingspan is more than 100 cm long. The owl's tail is long. When the animal is in a sitting position, its large rounded wings, folded on the back, overlap each other. The head of the owl is large, slightly elongated. Black in color, the ears are very large, and the skin folds bordering them are highly developed. However, when flying birds they are practically not guilty. The eyes of the animal are bright-orange with large black pupils. A long-eared owl has a light brown color with vertical strips. Under the beak and above the eyebrows there are small white spots, due to which the obverse disc seems lighter than the body. The belly of the bird has a ginger or yellowish tinge. The coloring of females is more saturated and darker than that of males. Newborn chicks of the owl have a rare light fluff, which by ten weeks is replaced by a soft, loose plumage.

The bird can be found in open forests bordering on fields and meadows, as well as in marshland and in the taiga.

An animal hunts at night on open plains. However, during the nesting period, the bird can go hunting before sunset. A long-eared owl is an active predator. Its prey is pursued, guided by the sounds issued by the victim. What do owls eat? The basis of their diet consists of mouse-voles, earthen squirrels and other all kinds of rodents. They rarely hunt snakes, small birds and insects.

The owa- bird is monogamous. In winter, from February, the mating season begins. The male makes certain sounds reminding the song, which he calls the female, after which he circumnavigates his chosen one, demonstrating his beauty. Then he sits down on a branch, where he begins to pick up and spread his wings. Then follows the process of pairing, which usually lasts no more than three seconds. After mating games, birds clean each other's feathers on their heads.

The owl nests in the trees, settling in abandoned nests of other birds of prey or pigeons. In April, before starting egg laying, the female explores several nests and chooses one of them. The incubation period lasts 28 days, after which it lays between three and ten eggs. At this time the male is engaged in prey for the female. 21 days after the appearance of the young offspring leaves the nest. Nestlings are not yet able to fly independently, therefore spend all the time on neighboring branches. The first flights the youngsters make after the onset of 35 days of age. In July, the owl chicks finally leave the nest and begin to lead an independent life. The period of sexual activity in these animals begins with one year.

A big-eared owl is a silent bird. Most often her voice can be heard in the early spring - from the forest comes a dull hooting, whining screams and whistling. The bird is able to show aggressiveness only in the defense of the nest. In all other cases, she is quite peaceful. An owl can let a man to a distance of at least two meters. In winter, some birds migrate to warmer countries for quite a long distance. However, many of them do not leave the boundaries of their nesting territory.

Long-eared owls are useful in agriculture for birds. Going to big flocks, they are able to destroy a large number of harmful rodents in the kitchen gardens, currents and threshing floors. Also this predatory bird destroys shrews, moles and all kinds of harmful insects.

That is why a long-eared owl needs protection and protection from the state.