We all know that each God and Godesses has their own sacred animal. So has Athena an owl that stands for wisdom. Dionysus has the panther and the tiger as his sacred animal and the ram is Hermes’ sacred animal. And that is why we go dive in deeper into the animals.

The owl is a magnificent animal. Those birds, which are from the order Strigiformes. Since owls are nocturnal birds, it means that they are active overnight and will sleep through the day. Those creatures are a part of birds of prey. This means that the owl kills other animals to survive. The owl lives from food like insects, small mammals (mice for example.), and other birds. There are some species that are specialized in hunting fish.

Of course, the owl has anatomy that fits perfectly for a bird that hunts their prey. They have a sharp, hawk-like beak. Their faces are flat and they have large eyes and ear holes that face forward and a circle of feathers around each eye. Because the eyes from an owl face forwards - unlike most other birds of prey, which have their eyes on the sides of their head. – Gives them a greater sense of depth perception. Which is necessary for hunting in low light. An owl can rotate their neck and heads more than 180° in any direction and because of this, the owl can look directly backward.

The owl has feathered feet, which will protect it from cold weather. The feathers also serve as protection against a pray that would try and bite when seized. They also serve to sense contact with their prey. The owl has four toes and when in flight, 3 of the toes face forwards and the other one faces backward. The talons of an owl are very powerful since they get used for capturing their prey. The underside of the foot has a nobby and rough surface, which helps the owl to get a grip on their prey or a perch.

The owl has special wing feathers that make the owl’s flight silence. The feathers muffle the sound of the rushing air over the surface of the wings. Because of this, it allows the owl to hunt by stealth and can take their victims by surprise. This also allows the ow to listen for prey while he is still flying. The owl can adapt their hunting techniques, which depends on the type of prey. In times that there is plenty of prey, the owl will stock up surplus food. They can stock it in the nest, a hole in a tree, or a fork in a branch.

The color of an owl variate. Starting from white through many shades of tan, brown, gray, or reddish (also called rufous.) to deep brown. There are a few owl species that are solidly colored but the most owls are cryptically patterned with bars, spots, or streaks. This result that the bird can be almost invisible when sitting against tree bark.

Did you know that an owl makes a ‘hooting’ sound?

Did you know that you can see owls all around the world, except for Antarctica?

Did you know that there are around 250 species of owls are? If not less or more.

So, as you can see the owl has some similarities when it comes to Athena. The owls are very skilled when it comes up to catch their prey. The owl stands for wisdom and gets even described as a noble bird. Not only in myth gets the owl described as wise, even in books and movies, but the owl also gets painted as a wise bird.