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| The wise birds of Nowhere Wood | the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, including food webs… [KS3 Science] | owls are hunters of small mammals that rely on sound to locate their prey at night. The ‘twit-too’ call of a barn owl is made my male and female birds in a pair bond calling to each other | adventures in time and space folklore pass on information winter stories the sustainable park Harmony principles: Adaptation Oneness |
The characteristic ‘tu-wit, tu-woo‘ call of a tawny (brown) owl is made by a female calling and a male bird responding. The female nests in a hole in an old tree – probably the favourite oak.
Today we look at these owls through the lens of modern science – as apex predators and specialised hunters of small mammals. Even the call is taken as evidence of pair bonding in preparation for the breeding season.
Two hundred odd years ago, before the birth of electric street lights and Charles Darwin, people saw owls very differently. The Ancient Greeks regarded them as wise birds.
Shakespeare saw them as messengers of doom.
This story explores both ways of viewing these owls.
Notes:
the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, which gives the sternest good night is taken from Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Act 2, Scene 2).
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tu-whit;
Tu-who, a merry note,
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot
Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act V, Scene 2 [Winter]
The Greek goddess the goddess Athena’s had a little owl as a symbol of her wisdom and knowledge, because of its alertness and ability to see in low light. It epitomised insight and vigilance, “seeing what others cannot”, and protection of the city, especially Athens.