A Hoot of History: Owls Can Rotate their Heads 270 Degrees

They might frighten or terrify. And for others, they swoop in at night relatively unnoticed. But for the curious kind, here's a little history on what you didn't know about our owl friends.

Did you know that owls are known for their nocturnal habits and silent flight? And with their various rankings in pop culture, they may be quoted as one of the most celebrated Halloween creatures throughout all of history, even before bats and spiders. They've also been used quite a bit in many pop culture and media references. For instance, do the books and television shows "Winnie the Pooh" and "Harry Potter" have any owl characters in them? Of course they do!

But what about the scientific mechanics of the owl that make this creature so unique. First off, there are typically two common types of owls. The barn owl and the true owl. Let's look at the Barn owl, first.

The Barn owl has a heart-shaped face, long legs and very powerful talons ready to grasp up a small morsel as it's preparing to fly away. These are typically medium size birds with a wingspan of around 3.5 feet. And there are over 16 species of barn owls, including the greater sooty owl, the Australasian grass owl, the ashy-fashed owl, and the Sulawesi owl.

True owls on the other hand, are a bit more diverse than the barn owls, with up to 190 different species in about 23 genera. Some of them have horns and are known to screech. They can also vary in size.

What's particularly fascinating about most owls is the way they are able to turn their heads almost completely around, or at about 270 degrees. This is because their unique physical bone structure and a highly developed vascular system bestows extra mobility, allowing them to more easily focus on predators while flying and preparing landing, according to a recent study by scientists at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

There's only one thing to say about this--what a hoot!