Owls definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (26)

American Heritage Dictionary (2)

noun Any of various often nocturnal birds of prey of the order Strigiformes, having hooked and feathered talons, large heads with short hooked beaks, large eyes set forward, and fluffy plumage that allows for almost noiseless flight.
noun Any of a breed of domestic pigeons resembling owls.

Century Dictionary (21)

A raptorial nocturnal bird of prey of the family Strigidæ Owls constitute a highly monomorphic group, the suborder Striges of the order Raptores. With few exceptions, they are of distinctively nocturnal habits and a peculiar physiognomy produced by the great size and breadth of the head and the shortened face with large eyes looking forward and usually set in a facial ruff or disk of modified feathers, which hide the base of the bill. Many owls have also “horns “(that is, ear-tufts) or plumicorns. The bill is hooked, but never toothed, and the nostrils open at the edge of the cere, not in it. The plumage is very soft and blended, without aftershafts. and the flight is noiseless. The talons are large, sharp, and hooked as in other birds of prey; the outer toe is versatile; and the feet are usually feathered to the claws. (See cut under braccate.) There are many anatomical characters. (See Striges.) Owls are among the most nearly cosmopolitan of birds. They feed entirely upon animal substances, and capture their prey alive, as small quadrupeds and birds, various reptiles, fishes, and insects. They lay from three to six white eggs of subspherical shape. There are about 200 species, assigned to some 50 modern genera, and now usually considered as constituting 2 families, Aluconidæ and Strigidæ, or barn-owls and other owls. See cuts under barn-owl, Bubo, Glaucidium, hawk-owl, Nyctala, Otus, snow-owl, and Strix. The oule eek that of dethe the bode bryngeth. Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, l. 343. The owl shriek'd at thy birth—an evil sign. Shak., 3 Hen. VI., v. 6. 44. And euen this did Adam seeke, if God had not brought him out of his Owles nest. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 26.
A variety of the domestic pigeon: so called from its owl-like physiognomy. The head is round, and the beak very short. There are several strains of owls, known as English, African, and Chinese. All run in various colors. The owls are African, English, and Chinese. The African is at home in Tunis, whence many thousands have been sent to England, and of which scarcely dozens remain. The bird is the smallest of the family, and so delicate that its term of life out of African air is very limited. The English owl is fair in size, with eye round and prominent, the dewlap well developed, and the frill extending to the lower point of the breast. In the Chinese this frill-feathering is excessive, even extending up about the throat to the eyes. The Century, XXXII. 107.
A person whose pleasure or business it is to be up or about much at night. [Colloquial]

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Airport Director of Aviation Operations David Ishihara said the owls, along with more than — Latest News - UPI.com
Often the eagle-owls are asleep, and then you do not even see the fireworks. — The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 30, June 1893 An Illustrated Monthly
There's always something to hear, with the creatures in the forest hunting--owls, and stoats, and all sorts of night things. — The New Forest Spy
When the house-sparrows deprive my martins of their nests, as soon as I cause one to be shot, the other, be it cock or hen, presently procures a mate, and so for several times following I have known a dove-house infested by a pair of white owls which made great havoc among the young pigeons: one of the owls was shot as soon as possible, but the survivor readily found a mate, and the mischief went on. — The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1
Occasionally frogs, owls, and goat-suckers croak, hoot, and wail. — The Andes and the Amazon Across the Continent of South America

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