Barn Owl Skull Ears

The ears are located at the sides of the head behind the eyes and are covered by the feathers of the facial disc.

Barn owl skull ears.

The shape of the ear opening known as the aperture depends on the species of owl in some species the opening has a valve called an operculum covering it. Owls are birds from the order strigiformes ˈ s t r ɪ dʒ ɪ f ɔːr m iː z which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance a large broad head binocular vision binaural hearing sharp talons and feathers adapted for silent flight. For instance the barn owl has amazingly keen hearing that can detect the sound of prey under snow leaves or grass. Because owls are generally active at night they have a highly developed auditory hearing system.

Studies have shown that the barn owl is able to catch prey in zero light depending entirely on its sense of hearing. The ear tufts visible on some species are not ears at all but simply display feathers. The left ear and its opening are directed downward. This is supposed to help the owl detect the location of prey due to the tiny time difference in which the sound reaches each ear.

The barn owl s 2 different ears allow the owl s brain to work out exactly where its prey is hiding even in the dark or under long grass. During flight the left ear captures sounds below whilst the right ear focuses on sounds from above. This improves detection of sound position and distance and the bird does not require sight to hunt. For this reason the right ear is more sensitive to sounds from above and the left ear to sounds from below.

Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. Its ears are slightly offset which is thought to aid the bird in localizing its prey at night. Unlike other owls that hoot the sound made by the barn owl can be described more as a hiss or a snort. In a barn owl the left ear left opening is higher than the right so a sound coming from below the owl s line of sight will be louder in the right ear.

The temporal lobes of the owls were then removed from the skulls post fixed in 1 osmium tetroxide dehydrated then embedded in araldite to study the anatomy of the inner ear. Barn owl ears are hidden in the feathers at the side of the face one ear is higher than the other. The barn owl has a distinctive appearance with a white heart shaped face with no ear tufts and sharp black eyes. Specifically i have found that barn owls left ear is higher than the right.

After doing some more research online it seems that the offset ears are primarily found in owls that are nocturnal hunters. It is also known by many names such as white owl monkey faced owl silver owl demon owl ghost owl death owl night owl rat owl church. This study revealed that the basilar papilla of barn owls has two very unique features being a proliferation of lenticular cells and a thickening of the basilar membrane. The barn owl has acute hearing with ears placed asymmetrically.

This striking appearance of the bird is complemented by the rich apricot plumage covering the bird s head back and outer wings. Barn owl the difference in loudness also helps to specify elevation because of an unusual asymmetry in the owl s ears.