Hunting and hiding

_Elsa_

‘Owls spend much of their waking time hunting for food. Many owl species are carnivores, or meat eaters. Small, rodent-like mammals, such as voles and mice, are the primary prey for many owl species. An owl's diet may also include frogs, lizards, snakes, fish, mice, rabbits, birds, squirrels, and other creatures. Occasionally, Great Horned Owls might even find skunks tasty enough to eat. Some owls, like the Flammulated Owl eat insects almost exclusively. Animals that eat insects are called insectivores.​

Owls hunt in various ways. One hunting technique is called perch and pounce. In this method owls perch comfortably until they see their prey, then glide down upon it; Northern Hawk Owls use this approach. Another approach to hunting, called quartering flight, is to search for prey while flying, as utilized by the Barn Owl.

Owls sometimes hide their food. They capture prey and use their bill to carefully stuff the food into a hiding spot. This is called caching (pronounced CASH-ing). Owls might cache prey in holes in trees, in the forks of tree branches, behind rocks, or in clumps of grass. Owls do this when the hunting is good in order to stock up and will usually go back for the prey within a day or two. 

At the end of a day or night spent hunting, owls return to a resting place, called a roost. Most owls roost alone, or near a nest during the breeding season. However, there are a few species that roost communally, or share a roosting area with other individuals of the same species.  

Although poorly understood, owls may benefit in one or more ways from sharing the same roost. The owls can watch for mobbing songbirds and predators. They may also huddle together to keep each other warm. Shared roosts probably make it easier for owls to find partners during the mating season. Owls may even pass along information about good hunting spots. The roost is commonly located next to good hunting grounds so owls can search for prey as soon as they leave or return to the roost.’ (Info here) 

Let’s continue to the next part – Mating season​

Start at the beginning – Who is Odus?