But they are primarily nocturnal birds, hunting in the dark by using exceptional hearing and eyes that gather light much better than our own. Since owls are night birds, they are difficult to see although their characteristic songs and calls can often be easily heard. I tend to enjoy a drink after the sun sets, and there are other things to do indoors at night. Perhaps this explains why my percentage of the world's owls seen is much lower than most other families. Finding new day roosts of owls is often pure serendipity, although sometimes one is clued in by pellets and white-wash on the ground below the roosts.
Owls have a variety of interesting breeding habits, but few make much of a nest.
There is a lot to say about about owls, and the literature is extensive. Perhaps the most mysterious of all owls are the little-known denizens of tropical forests. I've heard one and gotten close to seeing it, but this species still eludes me. I am unaware of any other photographs, taken in the wild, of this enigmatic species of the Congo Basin rainforest. The Great Gray Owl Strix nebulosa was photographed near Crane Flat, Yosemite Nat'l Park, California, on 22 May 1987.