Jennifer Ackerman (Oneworld)
OWLS occupy a special place in the human imagination. We have imbued the stealthy, wide-eyed birds with mystery for thousands of years and, in recent decades, unravelled surprising details about their mysterious lives.
In Jennifer Ackerman鈥檚 latest book, What an Owl Knows: The new science of the world鈥檚 most enigmatic birds, she investigates what it is about this elusive bird that captures our attention. 鈥淗ow long have we been obsessed with owls?鈥� asks Ackerman. 鈥淔orever it seems.鈥�
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Or nearly forever, we soon learn. Some of the earliest cave (and other) art by people in Europe depicts long-eared, swivel-headed owls. Because owls live almost everywhere, most cultures have developed unique meanings for these birds. They are seen as pretty much everything, from sentinels to symbols of good luck or harbingers of death.
鈥淲e evolved in their presence, lived for tens of thousands of years elbow to wing in the same woods, open lands, caves, and rock shelters, came into our own self-awareness surrounded by them, and wove them into our stories and our art,鈥� writes Ackerman. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e in our myths, our dreams, our DNA.鈥�
For much of her book, she leads readers through a scientific investigation rich in narrative detail. Her writing is at its most compelling when she lets her own delight and surprise at the birds slip through, and with more than 250 different owl species on Earth, Ackerman has no shortage of surprising birds to explore.
There is the housekeeping habit of eastern screech owls, which 鈥渂ring live blind snakes to their nestlings, not just for food, but perhaps to keep their nests tidy and sanitary, as well鈥�, writes Ackerman. The small snakes live alongside the young owlets, eating parasites, insect larvae and other bothersome houseguests. Researchers have found that nestlings with live-in blind snakes are more likely to survive and they grow 50 per cent faster than broods without them. Owls, it seems, know about pest control.
Ackerman also dispels common misconceptions while adding scientific nuance. Although owls can鈥檛 spin their heads all the way around, they have twice the neck flexibility of humans. Some, such as the great grey owl, can crane their necks up to 270 degrees in each direction. Flexible blood vessels and small reservoirs of blood keep oxygen entering the brain even when the head is twisted around.
Remarkably flexible necks help owls compensate for immobile, tube-like eyes. Unlike us, the birds can鈥檛 move their eyes in their sockets to look around. This is a worthwhile sacrifice for binocular vision, which helps owls home in on prey and boosts depth perception. Many species also have ears located at different heights on each side of the head, allowing them to more accurately pinpoint the location of a sound.
The birds also seem to have 鈥減lace cells鈥�, which help to map their surroundings as they move.
Ackerman explores the challenges of studying such secretive, nocturnal birds and how bird-ringing (bird-banding) and tracking technology have provided a more detailed peek at owls鈥� migratory movements. For example, the northern saw-whet owl, which Ackerman thinks is probably 鈥渢he world鈥檚 most adorable owl鈥�, was thought to stay in one area, until data from bird-ringing and lightweight GPS trackers revealed a more complicated picture. Some saw-whet owls stick to the same region for their whole lives, some migrate annually and others take off every four years.
Hopefully having inspired a love of owls among the book鈥檚 readers, Ackerman goes on to offer a sobering reality check about the many threats they face, from deforestation to climate change. She also highlights covert killers, such as poisoning from lead-core bullets, which owls can ingest when they eat animals that have been shot.
But Ackerman leaves readers with a note of hope: researchers are working tirelessly to save owls and you can join in. Community science databases like eBird and iNaturalist let anyone with an internet connection record the diversity of the species around them. With humans changing the world at breakneck pace, learning more about owls (and other birds) is crucial for their protection.
