Swivel Masters In a deep green rain forest in South America, two orange eyes stare out from the branches. With light circles around these eyes, the spectacled owl lives up to its name. It looks like it’s wearing glasses. T is owl is hunting. It’s watching a tree frog
leap from leaf to leaf in the forest below. T e owl follows each movement with its head by twisting its neck. It twists. It twists again. It’s still watching the frog, even though its
head has turned almost all the way around. T ough owls can’t turn their heads around completely, they can turn them leſt or right up to 270 degrees. T at’s like you facing forward and turning your head so far to the right you look over your leſt shoulder!
Turn Your Head While the owl can see the frog, the frog is unaware that it’s being watched. Without warning, the raptor flies from its branch, snatches the frog in its talons, and gobbles it up. Like all owls, the spectacled owl can’t
move its eyes if it wants to look in a diff erent direction. Its eyes take up a lot of space in its skull. As a result, there’s no room in its skull for the muscles it would need to move its eyes in their sockets. So, if an owl wants to see something, it has to move its head. To make this possible, an owl’s neck must be
very flexible. Owls have twice as many bones in their necks as people. T eir neck joints flex as their head turns. An owl’s blood vessels have adapted, too.
T ey move and expand so blood will continue to flow to the owl’s head even when an owl turns its head quickly. It’s a useful adaptation. Being flexible enough to look over its shoulders helps an owl catch prey. It also helps the owl keep a lookout for predators that might be trying to ambush it! From their twisty necks and silent feathers
to their superior hearing and powerful eyes, owls are some of the world’s most amazing predators. It’s no wonder they are thriving in many habitats around the world.
WORDWISE
adaptation: a behavior or body part that helps an animal survive
asymmetrical: something that has two sides that don’t match
diurnal: usually active in the daytime
habitat: the place where a plant or an animal lives raptor: a bird of prey
Spectacled owls get their name from the way their feathers ring their eyes.
rod cells: cells that help animals see in low light nocturnal: usually active during the night
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