Ural+Owl

Basic Information
The Ural Owl, //Strix uralensis//, is a medium-large sized owl commonly mistaken for the Tawny Owl. It is nocturnal but at an intermediate level. It is apart of the Strigidae family which is known for its molted coloration. They normally have darker shaded plumage. Ural Owls typically have round or oval faces but not heart shaped faces. They are found in many different forests and have a wide range of prey choices.




 * < Domain  ||<  Eukarya  ||
 * < Kingdom  ||<  Animalia  ||
 * < Phylum  ||<  Chordata  ||
 * < Class  ||<  Aves  ||
 * < Order  ||<  Strigiformes  ||
 * < Family  ||<  Strigidae  ||
 * < Genus  ||<  //Strix//  ||
 * < Species  ||<  //uralensis//  ||

Habitat
The Ural Owl is found in two different continents. It spreads across Scandinavia and Baltic regions to Korea and Japan. This species prefers to live in older, more open forests. They avoid dense areas and instead stay closer to lowland forests.There is also several subspecies of Strix uralensis that can be found in the mountains of Eastern Europe. This subspecies stays in the open woodlands and look for more moist areas. Because of these different locations, ural owls can inhabit boreal and deciduous forests.

In boreal forests, that means the climate on average is between 5 to -5 Celcius. There is about 20 to 200cm of annual rainfall, most of which comes in the form of snow. Because of these temperatures, the winters a usually long while summers are short.

In deciduous forests, the averager temperature is about 10 Celcius. There is about 76 to 115 cm of annual rainfall. This climate have four distinct seasons- spring, fall, winter, and summer. During the fall, the colors of the trees begin to change.

In these forests, the Ural owl would come in contact with hares, frogs, insects, and birds like the Jay and Willow Grouse. Also, in the boreal forests, many Scots pine, Norway spruce and other conifer type trees can be found. In deciduous forest, oak, beech and birch trees can be found. Animals that can be found interacting with the ural owl are squirrels, salamanders, insects, birds, frogs and mice.

An adaptation of the Ural owl for its environment would be their molted coloration. This helps them blend in with their environment at night and sneak up on prey. Also the feathers on their wings have serrated edges. Basically, it eliminates a lot of noise when they are flying. This allows them to catch more prey in the forest. Another adaptation that provides to be useful in forests is being able to eat a variety of prey. Unlike some other animals who are dependent on one species, the ural owl eats from different groups and does not have to worry about that as much.

Species Interactions
In the food chain, the Ural Owl can be found among the secondary consumers or possibly tertiary level. This species is known to consume on voles and shrews and insects. They mainly eat small mammals and game birds. They do not have a lot of predators but the ones mostly noted are large birds like hawks or eagles. In some cases, if there are no larger birds the ural owl can be the top consumers. The ural owl has sharp talons to crushits prey. The strength exertedwhen catching it is enough to kill the prey immediately. Not only that but if attacked withthe beak, the prey is greatly injured. This is because the ural owl has a beak that is very sharp and somewhat curved so as it is injured it is also easy to pickup. Not only that but they perch on branches as a waiting spot to find their prey and make the perfect movement to capture it.

Reproduction
The ural owl life cycle starts out as an egg. From there, they hatch out of their egg using their egg tooth. This tooth falls off soon after this hatching process. At this stage the owls are rather fuzzy (downy feathers) and do not have the smooth flight feathers of adults. Their colors are not quite what they will look like, rather it is grayish. From there, the owls are protected by their parents until the owlets molt their downy feathers and get flying feathers. This new stage allows them to start training for flight and hunting skills. They then leave the nest and start their own family. This in which they will mate and raise their own chicks and the cycle starts again.

This species is known to be fully mature to mate at around one year. The male tries to attract a female to a nesting site by offering food, using calls or courtship flights. They try to make themselves seem bigger and in response the female owl will respond similarly. The most obvious acceptance of mating though is when a female accepts the offering of food or primping one another. These bonds usually last for quite a while unlike other owl species that only stay together for a season.

Ural owls tend to rather use nest that are already prepared instead of creating their own. They lay about three to four eggs. The incubation period starts when the first egg is out and can last up to thirty days. The females rarely leave the eggs at this point. They allow their brood patches (an area of their stomach that has little feathers) to heat the eggs for as much as possible. Unfortunatley if in the hatching season, there is not enough food. Those first to hatch are more likely to survive since they will get food from their parent without much competition. But it also depends upon the strength of the owlet as well. The parents still go out to hunt for about two or three months after the owlet has left the nest. This is because the owlets are still dependent upon their parents. But after this time, they are left to find their own nesting area and catch their own food.

Cultural Significance
The ural owl is surrounded by myths and old wives tales. But delving deeper into the orgins of "Owl" will help to understand just why these tales were created. In Icelandic, owl can be deviated from the word "ugla" which is similar to the word "uggligr." This same "uggligr" jump started the Scandinavian "ugly" which is has led to the Modern English word of "ugly." This Islandic root though does not have the modern conotation of ugly but rather it means fearful or terrifying. Because most ural owls come out out mostly at night, many humans label them to be creature of the dark. This has led to ural owls being paired up with magic, witches, mystery, and the unknown. As in Sweeden where owls are associated with witches and in Celtic cultures they are seen as a sign of the underworld. Russian tradition believes that owls bring forth death and disasters but if a hunter were to catch an owl and keep its talons, those talons can be used to climb up to heaven after death. This eerie conotation can be explained since many pirates and conquerers of Europe would start an attack after the owl hoots. These conquests and pillages have created a psychological inhatibation that when a owl hoots, trouble is approaching.

Also the Ural Owl is paired with fertilitly as well. The Wend people bleived that seeing an owl will make child birth easier. Not only that but in Siberia the owl is seen as a helpful spirit because it can lead lost travelers to where they need to be. All of these fertility and guidance are seen to dervie from the fact that Owls come out at night and thus are close to the Moon. The moon being a symbol of fertility and also a light in the darkness.