07 Apr 🦉Introducing Owldelle🦉



🦉HEY KIDS!🦉
Here’s another of our friends we would like to introduce you to.
Owdelle, our sound expert, recently took a break from performing in our Sound Factor show to visit her relatives in the UNE Natural History Museum.
Owldelle is a Barn owl (𝘛𝘺𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘢). Barn owls are very widespread, occurring in every continent except Antarctica. Owdelle got very excited, and hungry, when she discovered the rodents on display at the museum. Barn owls feed on small mammals (mainly rodents), birds, insects, frogs and lizards.
Did you know that barn owls can find their prey in total darkness using only their incredible sense of hearing to pinpoint exactly where their food is?
Barn owls have some special features on their heads that allow them to hear so well. Their faces are shaped like satellite dishes to channel sounds towards their ears, which are located beneath the feathers on each side of their face. Their ears are also not in the same spot as each other! Their left ear sits slightly above their eyes, whereas their right ear is slightly below the eyes. This means that sounds coming from above or below the owl will reach the owl’s ears at slightly different times (because its ears are in different spots). This allows the owl to work out where things are.
Curious?
See the video from the BBC below for more information on how these amazing ears work!
You can also download our Owldelle activity sheet to explore native Australian Barn Owls, and which of our Discovery characters Owldelle might like to have for her dinner!