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93 free Owls trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free owls trivia questions with answers. Discover how much you know about one of nature's most captivating predators with our engaging owl trivia quiz. From their silent flight to their incredible hunting abilities, owls are remarkable creatures worthy of study. Test your knowledge with 50 challenging questions covering owl species, characteristics, and behaviors.
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Q 01What is unusual about how an owl's eyes sit in its skull?
They cannot move at all.
Bony sclerotic rings hold the eyes rigid, so an owl must swivel its whole head to look around.
Q 02Which large tufted owl with orange eyes can reach a wingspan near 188 cm?
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
The Eurasian Eagle-Owl is among the largest owls: females can reach about 75 cm long with wingspans near 188 cm, and its vivid orange eyes and tall ear tufts mark it across Europe and Asia.
Q 03What are the compact masses of indigestible prey remains that owls expel called?
Pellets
Because owls swallow prey whole when they can, the bones, fur and scales come back up compacted, which is why researchers pick pellets apart to study owl diets.
Q 04What collective noun is commonly used to refer to a group of owls?
A parliament
A group of owls is called a parliament, one of the fanciful collective nouns from the English tradition of venery; in practice most owls are solitary birds.
Q 05Roughly how far can an owl swivel its head in either direction?
270°
An owl can turn its head about 270° in either direction, thanks to an unusually flexible neck and blood-vessel adaptations, so it looks around without moving its body.
Q 06What unique feather adaptation contributes to most owls' ability to fly almost silently?
Serrated edges on leading flight feathers.
The serrated edges on the leading flight feathers of many owl species disrupt airflow, muffling the sound of their wingbeats and enabling silent hunting.
Q 07What quirk of an owl's skull lets it pinpoint prey by sound alone?
Asymmetrically placed ear openings.
Many owls have asymmetrically placed ear openings, one higher than the other, so sound reaches each ear at slightly different times and volumes and the brain pinpoints prey in both planes.
Q 08What do most owls mainly eat?
Small mammals and insects
Most owls hunt small mammals, insects and other birds; only a few species specialise in fish.
Q 09In Greek mythology, which goddess had the owl as her sacred animal?
Athena
The owl has long been associated with wisdom, particularly in Ancient Greece, where the little owl was sacred to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war.
Q 10What term describes female owls being larger than males in many species?
Reverse sexual dimorphism
In many bird species, particularly raptors including owls, females are typically larger than males, a phenomenon known as reverse sexual dimorphism.
Q 11Which owl species has the largest facial disc of any bird?
Great Gray Owl
The Great Gray Owl has the largest facial disc of any bird; the dish of feathers works like a parabolic reflector, funnelling sound so it can locate voles beneath deep snow by ear alone.
Q 12What is the primary function of an owl's facial disc?
To direct sound waves to their ears.
The distinctive facial disc of an owl is made of stiff feathers that can be adjusted to channel and focus sound waves directly to their ears, enhancing their hearing.
Q 13Which owl species is the smallest in the world, weighing only about 1.4 ounces?
Elf Owl
Q 21Which deep-hooting species is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas?
Great Horned Owl
It ranges from the subarctic to South America and is one of the few regular predators of skunk.
Q 22What term describes animals, like most owls, that are primarily active during the night?
Nocturnal
Most owl species are nocturnal, meaning they are active and hunt primarily during the night, an adaptation that reduces competition with diurnal predators.
Q 23What is the translucent 'third eyelid' that closes horizontally across an owl's eye called?
Nictitating membrane
Owls have a nictitating membrane, a transparent third eyelid that sweeps horizontally across the eye to clean and protect it, especially during hunting.
The Elf Owl, native to the southwestern United States and Mexico, averages about 40 g (1.4 oz), making it the world's lightest owl; the long-whiskered owlet and Tamaulipas pygmy owl rival it only in length.
Q 14Owls fall into two main families. One is Strigidae (true owls). What is the other?
Tytonidae
Owls are divided into two primary families: Strigidae, which includes the typical or true owls, and Tytonidae, which comprises barn owls and bay owls.
Q 15Which owl has the scientific name Bubo scandiacus?
Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl is Bubo scandiacus; once placed in its own genus as Nyctea scandiaca, it was moved into Bubo beside the eagle-owls and great horned owl after DNA studies showed they are close relatives.
Q 16Different owl species produce different calls; what is the primary purpose of an owl's hoot?
To attract mates and defend territory.
Owls hoot to attract mates and defend territory. Each species has its own calls, which also help ornithologists and birders tell them apart.
Q 17What lets owls turn their heads so far without cutting off blood to the brain?
Wide vertebral canals and joined arteries
Wide vertebral canals and joined arteries do it: the bony holes are about ten times the vertebral artery's diameter, giving slack, and connecting vessels link the carotid and vertebral arteries so flow continues during a twist.
Q 18When do most owls begin incubating their eggs?
After the first egg is laid
Most owls begin incubating after the first egg is laid, so eggs hatch in sequence and nestlings differ in age and size; in lean years the youngest chicks often starve.
Q 19What colour are a barn owl's eyes?
Black
A barn owl's eyes are black, set in its pale heart-shaped face; by contrast the snowy owl's eyes are yellow and the Eurasian eagle-owl's are orange.
Q 20The speckled brown plumage of the tawny owl lets it lie in wait unseen in which habitat?
Deciduous woodland
The tawny owl is a bird of deciduous woodland; its speckled brown plumage matches bark and leaf litter, so a roosting bird often gives itself away only by its calls or by mobbing songbirds.
Q 24Which of these owl species is often recognized by its heart-shaped facial disc?
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is distinctive for its pale, often heart-shaped facial disc, which plays a role in funneling sound to its ears.
Q 25What is a young owl called?
Owlet
The other three are real terms too: an eyas is a young hawk, a squab a young pigeon, and a poult a young turkey or game bird.
Q 26What are the 'ear tufts' on large owls thought to be for?
Visual signals in social displays
The tufts, called plumicorns, are thought to be visual signals in social displays and to break up the owl's outline; the real ear openings sit hidden under feathers at the sides of the head.
Q 27Which Disney film features Merlin's talking owl, Archimedes?
The Sword in the Stone
Archimedes is Merlin's grumpy, highly educated owl in Disney's 1963 film The Sword in the Stone; Bambi's owl is Friend Owl and The Fox and the Hound's is Big Mama.
Q 28What is the scientific order to which all owl species belong?
Strigiformes
All owl species, encompassing over 200 different types, belong to the scientific order Strigiformes.
Q 29What is the typical shape of owl eggs?
Almost round
Owl eggs are almost round and pure white; a near-spherical egg suits the cavities and old stick nests owls use, where camouflage matters little.
Q 30Which long-legged owl sprints across the ground after its prey?
Burrowing Owl
The Burrowing Owl, a bird of open grassland and prairie rather than forest, evolved longer legs than other owls and will chase insects and small prey on foot.