Life Science ORGANISMS


As you read, note that owls have adaptations that help them survive.


? By Lynn Brunelle


The sun has set. Only the stars are shining in the inky blackness. A mouse moves quietly through a tangle of grass. The mouse is being stalked by one of the night’s most supreme hunters. Like a shadow, a barn owl swoops silently. It


hovers above the grasses without a sound. In the blink of an eye, the owl catches the mouse with its razor-sharp talons. It fl ies to a tree and swallows the mouse whole. The mouse never had a chance. Owls are birds of prey. They’re built for hunting. Their eyes are large and keen. Their feathers are soft and silent, and their hearing is as sharp as their talons and beaks. These physical adaptations help them survive. Owls can thrive in extreme environments—


from broiling deserts to dense rain forests to the frozen Arctic. To see how, let’s take a look at four very different kinds of owls that live in four very different environments.


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