Those strigine 'snores'
From Colonel G.H. Peebles Sir: I much enjoyed Paul Johnson's article 'The castle of snoring owls and laughing ospreys' (And another thing, 28 September), but was surprised that he has never discovered the reason owlets snore. Having some time ago had the good fortune to be able to observe and photograph a family of barn owls at very close quarters over a period of three years, I may presume to add to his knowledge. Whenever I heard this snoring sound it was invariably connected with the imminent arrival of one of the parent birds from a hunting foray. I know this because it was a signal for me and my wife to stand by with the camera and flash-gun in our attempts to photograph the adult arriving with its prey (almost always a field-vole). From my observations, I would say that the snoring denotes either hunger or the excitement before the arrival of a parent with food: it is similar to the squeaking one hears from many different species of nestling birds.
I am sorry to disagree with Mr Johnson about the reason for the face disk of almost all owls. From my studies I understand that it is not to do with 'accommodating exceptionally large and efficient eyes'. In fact, The rounded facial disks . . . are actually composed of short, stiff layers of feathers. These feathers, controlled by the facial muscles, are oriented to oncoming sound waves. The facial disks are bordered by a narrow trough, where the sound waves are caught, concentrated, and funnelled to the ears.' I am quoting from Jonathan Evan Maslow's The Owl Papers (Penguin 1987). He goes on to explain that because owls have asymmetrically placed ears, sounds are heard split seconds apart, enabling them to pinpoint their prey unerringly.
Gavin Peebles
Bad Driburg-Reelsen, Germany
From Mr David C. Taylor Sir: Paul Johnson (And another thing, 12 October) really should brush up on his zoology. The black widow and brown recluse spiders are not indigenous to Britain; indeed, we have no dangerous native species.
Also, scorpions do their damage not by biting but by means of the stings on the tips of their tails.
David C. Taylor
Keighley, West Yorkshire
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