Combined with its sharp, curved beak, an owl can deal a fatal blow to prey on the first strike. They swallow mice and birds whole through wide mouths concealed by facial feathers. Later, they spit up pellets of the indigestible stuff like fur, feathers and toenails. After a night on the prowl, an owl needs to disappear into the background to rest and digest. Roosting on a tree branch near its trunk, still as a statue, the white spots of its plumage blend perfectly with dappled sunlight, while vertical stripes in its breast match the texture and shadow of tree bark.
Owls are generally territorial, defending an established home base against intruding neighbors.
For this reason, male owls signal their mating readiness with special calls and dance displays, and they may present food to the female. Not skilled nest builders, larger owls usually use the abandoned nests of other birds, like hawks. Smaller owls use tree cavities pecked out by northern flickers or yellow-bellied sapsuckers. Fledging owlets takes several months of parents racing to keep them in rodents and insects. But by autumn, the young owls are full size and ready to mate.