Congratulations! You have found the Great Horned Owl mural located at Millikin Woods Park! Read the following text and write down some facts on your form.

The tufts of feathers that stick up on an owl are not it’s ears. Instead the ears of the Great Horned owl are satellite-shaped disks. With specialized feathers surrounding those disks, an owl can hear a mouse squeaking from almost 1,000 feet away. With keen vision, the owl zeroes in on its unsuspecting victim. Leaving its perch and flying silently, the Great Horned Owl sinks its powerful talons into the mouse with no forewarning. 

You might even smell a Great Horned Owl before you see one. For as keen as their senses of sight and hearing, they can hardly smell a thing. A common meal of the owl is a skunk. They also will eat rodents, and other birds, including other smaller owls. Now when you see crows chasing an owl you’ll understand they’re not just playing. They may be defending the lives of young crows.

Mural Artists: Jenn Acus-Smith and Nikki McGlosson