Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 11, 1994                   TAG: 9408110035
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Joel Achenbach
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

OWLS ARE BASICALLY EYEBALLS WITH WINGS

A: Owls are constantly doing that Exorcist thing. The head seems to rotate on ball bearings. As you approach an owl from behind you think you're dealing with a cuddly, soft bird but then suddenly the head pivots obscenely and it stares at you directly over its back with those big appalled eyeballs that seem to suggest that you will burn in hell. Creepy.

Owls, we have learned, not only can turn their heads 180 degrees, but can keep turning them even further, a full 270 degrees. In other words an owl can turn its head to the right and look over its left shoulder. (Try that, Linda Blair.)

The swivel-headedness of owls is a necessity. ``Unlike many birds they have significantly forward-positioned eyes,'' says Pam Osten, curator of birds at the Baltimore Zoo. Owls, with their flat facial disk, have a visual field of only 110 degrees, compared to about 180 degrees for humans and 340 degrees for a homing pigeon.

The limited visual field is more than compensated for by the improved binocular vision. An owl is basically a pair of eyeballs with wings attached. It is a sit-and-wait predator, scanning the terrain for any sign of movement. It sees clearly at night. If it hears something in the woods behind it, the head can silently pivot and search for the noise-making creature, the body remaining still.

``The neck is fairly short and composed of 14 cervical vertebrae, which allows for enough rotation of the neck that an owl can turn its head and peer directly over its back,'' writes Paul Johnsgard in ``North American Owls.''

An owl's softness is related to its quietness. The tiny fibers that make up the owl's feathers are not bonded together on their outermost edges as in most birds. This makes it a bit harder to fly but easier to fly quietly.

Are owls wise? No, they just look a little bit like they're wearing glasses. The truth is, if there's any creature on Earth that really doesn't need glasses, it's the owl.