What do owls eat? A list of common prey species

Owls are the common name for birds of the order Strigiformes, nocturnal birds of prey with more than 130 species in total, found on every continent except Antarctica. Because of the arrangement of their eyes, facial discs and ear tufts, the heads of Strigiformes birds look extremely similar to those of cats, hence the common name "owl". Let's take a look below at what owls eat!

What do owls eat?

Owls mainly feed on farmland rodents such as the striped field mouse, striped hamster, greater long-tailed hamster and brown vole, as well as residential-area rodents such as the house mouse and brown rat. They also eat some small birds, mammals and insects, such as finches, warblers, bats, beetles, scarabs, locusts and mole crickets. The owl is the bird with the strongest mousing ability, and a single owl can eat more than 1000 mice a year, equivalent to protecting several tons of grain for humans. It truly deserves great credit.

The protection level of owls

Owls are Class II nationally protected animals in China. All species of the order Strigiformes are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and there are no captive-bred varieties. It is prohibited to sell or buy nationally protected wild animals or their products. When special circumstances such as scientific research, captive breeding or exhibition require the sale, purchase or use of Class I nationally protected wild animals or their products, approval must be obtained from the wildlife administrative department under the State Council or a unit authorized by it. When the sale, purchase or use of Class II nationally protected wild animals or their products is required, approval must be obtained from the wildlife administrative department of the provincial, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government government or a unit authorized by it.

Superstitions and misunderstandings about owls

In Chinese folk culture there are sayings such as “when the night cat enters the house, nothing good comes” and “fear not the night cat's call, but the night cat's laugh”, and owls are often regarded as “birds of ill omen”, called soul-chasing birds, death-announcing birds and so on. In ancient books they were also called strange owl, ghost chariot, demon soul or wandering spirit, and taken as symbols of misfortune and death. The main reason these views arose is that owls, with their keen sense of smell, can detect the scent on people who are gravely ill and will make a laughing sound. In many places, people really do die within a few days of hearing an owl's call, so it is truly not superstition, and that is why the owl is called the death-announcing bird. In addition, an owl's call in the dark night sounds as gloomy and desolate as a ghost, making people feel even more terrified, and in ancient times it was called the “bird of evil voice”. Furthermore, owls are active at night and hide by day, and when they fly they drift silently like ghosts, often appearing as nothing more than a flash of black shadow, which also made it easy for people who did not understand their behaviour well to form all kinds of terrifying associations.