This little Boobook Owl chick is one of the smallest owls. The ninox family of owls in the Northern Rivers consists of the Boobook or mopoke owl, the Barking owl which is endangered as its diet relies on small native wildlife and the Powerful Owl which is the largest and enjoys a diet of possum and larger animals and has been know to take the odd cat or small dog due to habitat loss.
You may notice that nocturnal australian wildlife have large heads in comparison to their body size. This is because they have larger eyes than the diurnal day time birds.
Like all raptors or birds of prey the Boobook has needle like talons and a very sharp beak which is used to clasp its food very tightly. It is difficult for owls to catch their prey so the sharp talons ensure that the food will not drop as they fly to a high branch to eat.
On the edge of the owls feathers their is a cerated edge which only exists on owls. This special edge allows silent flight so the owl can successfully hunt without making a sound. They also have a large wing surface which enables them to manouvre very well and hover silently.
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