Owl Printout Owls are nocturnal hunting birds with eyes that face forwards. They are closely related to hawks.
Owls sleep during the day and emerge at night to hunt small prey.
There are about 162 different species of owls alive today, inhabiting a huge variety of ecological niches, from rainforests to tundra. This eye placement gives them binocular vision and very precise depth perception. Also, there are circles of radiating feathers surrounding each eye, giving them a wide-eyed, alert look. Owls cannot move their eyes within their sockets like we can. Flight Many owls have thick feathers that absorb the sounds that their wings make in flight.