What Makes Owls So Quiet and So Deadly? | Deep Look

It's stealth, not speed that makes owls such exceptional hunters. Zoom way in on their phenomenal feathers to see what makes them whisper-quiet.

DEEP LOOK: a new ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

--- How do owls hunt silently?

When birds flap their wings it creates turbulences in the air as it rushes over their wings. In general, the larger a bird is and the faster it flies, the larger the turbulence created and that means more sound.

The feathers at the leading edge of an owl’s wings have an unusual serrated appearance, referred to as a comb or fringe. The tiny hooked projections stick out and break up the wind as it flows over the owl’s wings reducing the size and sound of the turbulences.

Owl feathers go one step further to control sound. When viewed up-close, owl feathers appear velvety. The furry texture absorbs and dampens sound like a sound blanket. It also allows the feathers to quietly slide past each other in flight, reducing rusting sounds.

--- Why do owls hunt at night?

Owls belong to a group called raptors which also so includes with hawks, eagles and falcons. Most of these birds of prey hunt during the day and rely on. But unlike most other raptors, the roughly 200 species of owl are generally nocturnal while others are crepuscular, meaning that they’re active around dawn and dusk.

They have extremely powerful low-light vision, and finely tuned hearing which allows them to locate the source of even the smallest sound. Owls simply hide and wait for their prey to betray its own location. As ambush hunters, owls tend to rely on surprise more often than their ability to give chase.

--- Why do owls hoot?

With Halloween around the corner, you might have noticed a familiar sound in the night. It’s mating season for owls and the sound of their hooting fills the darkness.

According to Chris Clark, an an assistant professor of biology at UC Riverside,, “The reason why owls are getting ready to breed right now in the late fall is because they breed earlier than most birds. The bigger the bird the longer it takes for them to incubate their eggs and for the nestlings to hatch out and or the fledglings to leave the nest. Owls try to breed really early because they want their babies to be leaving the nest and practicing hunting right when there are lots of baby animals around like baby rabbits that are easy prey.”

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You're Not Hallucinating. That's Just Squid Skin.

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Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is supported by HopeLab, The David B. Gold Foundation; S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation; The Vadasz Family Foundation; Smart Family Foundation and the members of KQED.
#deeplook

[mitramirpour]

It was for some reason relaxing to watch the owl fly.

[danielcoupland]

Owls to me are really beautiful. Look at their eyes for instance.

[aaron]

The production value of these videos don't seem to match its view counts... they're so well made!

[erwinhadicandra]

falcon : when you hear their sound, you already late
owl : suddenly you are dead

[jadejadejadejadejadejadejade]

It's almost like the Owls were trained to pose

[anxietynova]

Owls are like Assasins quiet and dangerous

[josephlara]

I've figured out a new nickname for owls: "Cats of the Skies."

[sachin.maharathy]

"Less flapping means less noise" true wisdom for life.😂😂

[sc]

Beautiful, elegant and majestic creature.

[AHibbs-tuks]

Beautiful and interesting, as always!
After watching the hummingbird wind tunnel piece my 5-year old son said with awe "Wow. I want to be a scientist."
For reals.

[ShutterAuthority]

Awesome video! 'The Superb Owl' sent me here.

[TrinityGlory]

I've always held a special place in my heart for owls and it was really nice to see them being portrayed so beautifully in this video. I really appreciate the effort put in making this video :D

[Tymdek]

I two years ago I worked at a falconry for a work experience/internship, and I had to do with many owls like snowy owls, brown wood owls and eurasian eagle owls and some other birds of prey like bald eagles and two striated caracaras (They were hilarious and always tried to snatch away my cap). And what should I say...it was amazing.
Except that last day when one of the brown wood owls bit my finger. If you ever try to pet or feed or work with an owl, keep your fingers away from that beak. It hurts when you get bit, and I still have the scars.
Well, after that bit of rambling I wanted to say that I absolutely love your channel, you make some of the best science related videos I've ever seen on YouTube. Thanks for that and greetings from Germany :D

[ohisoise]

idk how I came across this but I'm captivated... new sub here🖒

[php]

Superlaminar aerodynamics. Owls had this for thousands of years. Man is just learning about it.

[pancakealien]

the videos you guys produce are absolutely stunning! very well done !!

[ResanChea]

They look so peaceful but so deadly... These close up clips really make owls even more awesome

[mundal]

So much effort in every three minutes. That camera man is awesome. That camera is awesome. That narrator is awesome. That info is awesome. That channel is awesome. Plz don't quit we need you. Youtube needs you. Just the problem is that most people are unaware

[nocturnalady]

You mean what makes owls so cute and so adorable? 🥺✨MAJESTIC BEAUTY

[algormortis]

I really love how you choose your words Deep Look. Every moment of your videos are nice to our eyes and ears.