(CNN) — Superb Owl. No wait, Super Bowl.
Too late.
Instead of information about the Super Bowl, all it takes is a small typo to fill your search results with owl content. And we would like to encourage you to lean towards that mistake. Because owls are really “superb”.
These birds are a long way from the world of American football, but over the years the trend has gained significant popularity. So much so that many people flood the internet with photos of owls before the Super Bowl every year. (And you know what an owl gathering is called, right? A parliament.)
This internet phenomenon puts these feathery creatures in the spotlight, which ultimately helps raise awareness, says Matt Williams, director of conservation for The Nature Conservancy’s Indiana division.
“Anything that helps spread the message about the importance of conservation is good,” he said.
A cold blooded predator
Owls are quite interesting. Some people think they’re innocent balls of fluff, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, according to Williams.
“Owls are voracious predators that hunt mostly at night and use a very acute sense of hearing to locate their prey,” he explained in an email.
Their disk-shaped face directs sound toward their ears, allowing them to hear the quietest noises, Williams said. Their feathers are designed to be almost completely silent when they fly, a useful trick for sneaking up on prey, he added.
Most owls are content to feast on small mammals like mice and shrews, said Seth Magle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
Some larger owls, like the great horned owlthey can catch rabbits, skunks or even other owls, Williams said.
Super Bowl Mascot Owls
The Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals may already have mascots of their own, but it doesn’t hurt to add a few owls to the mix.
Williams thought the barred owl could represent the Bengals because the birds share a similar stripe pattern as the team’s helmets.
“In the case of the Rams, I would have to say the snowy owl, of Harry Potter fame, because their quarterback Matthew Stafford has been a wizard throughout his playoff run so far,” he explained.
Magle chose the eastern screech owl for the Bengals because it is located in Ohio and is similar in color to the team.
The California spotted owl would look great on the Rams, he added.
“He’s got a four-note call that’s sometimes described as ‘hup, hoo-hoo, hooo,’ which sounds like it could be an audible call at the line of scrimmage,” Magle said.
See an owl in the wild
Your experience with owls does not have to be limited to the internet. Communities across the United States host educational events about these nocturnal animals that include a nature walk.
The Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, hosted a special owl event on the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend.
The Leslie Science & Nature Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, will host an owl event on Sunday morning. The center will have resident owls on display, and people will be able to dissect the owls’ pellets, which are the undigested parts of their food that they regurgitate.
Why not venture outside this weekend to meet these fascinating creatures? It will be fun.
Now meet some magnificent owls
There are over 250 species of owls, and we’d like to introduce you to some of our favorites.
The great gray owl eschews the traditional hoot and opts for a low-pitched “hoo.”
Many people believe that all owls make a hooting noise, but this is not the case. The great gray owl he doesn’t hoot, Williams said, but instead makes a series of low-pitched “hoos.”
The short-eared owl chooses a variety of landscapes to make its home.
The short eared owl it can be found in grasslands and wetlands, unlike most other owls that live in forests, Williams said.
If you expect to hear an owl hoot, keep an eye out for the barred owl.
The barred owls they are highly vocal birds that can often be heard making the traditional hooting noise, said Charles Eldermire, head of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Bird Cams project.
When you think of an owl with bright eyes and an impressive face, you probably think of the great horned owl.
The great horned owls they’re known for their iconic ear tufts and cat eyes, Eldermire explains. You can see what’s going on in a pair of great horned owls’ nest near Savannah, Georgia on a live camera.
The burrowing owl marches to the beat of its own drum.
The burrowing owl he lives his life unlike most owls. Instead of being active at night and living in trees, this bird spends the day awake and makes its home on the ground, Magle said.
