With around 200 different species, owls come in all shapes and sizes. Despite some small physical differences, all owls are very much alike. They have incredibly sharp senses and are always aware of what is happening around them. There’s no way you could ever sneak up on an owl.

Owls have super-hearing. One in particular, the great grey owl, can hear a mouse moving around under a layer of snow that is two feet deep! Some owls look like they have ears sticking up on their heads, but those aren’t actually ears at all . . . they are feathers, or ear tufts. An owl’s facial feathers help them hear by directing sounds to their ears. They can even hear the tiniest noises 75 feet away!

It’s a good thing that owls have big eyes. They are only active after dark, so their eyes must be extra sensitive in order to see anything at all. Owls don’t actually have eyeballs; instead, they have eye tubes which help them see in the dark, but prevent them from seeing in any direction other than straight ahead. That could be a problem for humans, but owls can rotate their heads around 270 degrees, making it easy for them to see what’s happening behind them.