OWLS

Edward Lear (1812-1888) wrote:

"The owl and the pussycat

Went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five pound note."

(After being married by the turkey who lives on the hill, and eating with a runcible spoon:)

"They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,

They danced by the light of the moon." 

I hope you heard this delightful "nonsense poem" when you were a child.  I remember it well.

How about this poem written by our old friend "anonymous" in the 1800's:

"A wise old owl lived in an oak.

The more he saw, the less he spoke,

The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?"

Some say this was written to enforce the 19th century dictum that "children should be seen but not heard."

My MENSA (high IQ) group adopted the "wise old owl" as their logo for a while, and as every crossword puzzle addict knows, Minerva (Athena) was the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, and her animal symbol was a little owl. 

Here are a few owl facts that you might already know.

An owl's tubular eyes cause owls to always look straight ahead. An owl needs to rotate its head to see anywhere else.

An owl can rotate its head 135 degrees in either direction, which gives it 270 degrees of movement.

An owl has the best night vision of any creature.

Owls hoot and can also whistle and squeak. Scary sounds in the country-side.

Contrary to some statements, "Hoot Mon!" has nothing to do with owls.  It is an archaic Scottish exclamation expressing dissatisfaction in a kind-of humorous way.

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PS. Don't forget to read An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce.