Have you ever heard how quiet owls are when they fly? They are very stealthy, giving them a distinct advantage over their prey. Owls can also pick up sounds that are almost inaudible to the human ear while hunting. However, great gray owls (Strix nebulosa) live in cold environments, often with snow on the ground, which can make hunting by ear more difficult, because their prey, such as voles (Cricetidae), hide beneath the snow and the sounds they produce could be dampened by the icy covering. Christopher Clark from University of California, Riverside, USA, James Duncan from Discover Owls, Canada, and Robert Dougherty from University of Washington, USA, wanted to know how the sounds produced by prey are affected by the presence of snow and how the owl overcomes these acoustic challenges to hunt.
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