Identification - This is the bird most people think of when they hear the phrase "wise old owl." It is a large brown owl, only slightly smaller than a goose. It has bright yellow eyes, large ear tufts set wide apart, a white throat, and heavily barred underparts.
Morsels - Owls typically have a flattened face with feathers forming what is called a facial disk. This disk, like a TV dish that collects radio waves, collects sounds of prey rustling on the ground and funnels those sounds to the owl's ears that are located asymmetrically on the sides of the head. The asymmetry of the ears gives the bird "binocular" hearing, and allows it to effectively locate the prey by sound alone.