owl (redirected from owl-like)

owl, common name for nocturnal birds of prey found on all continents. Owls superficially resemble short-necked hawks, except that their eyes are directed forward and are surrounded by disks of radiating feathers. This peculiarity lends them an appearance of studious intelligence, and the owl has long been used as a symbol of wisdom. Although owls are able to see in daylight, their eyes are especially adapted to seeing in partial darkness, and most owls spend the day sleeping in caves, hollow trees, and other secluded places. Their plumage is so soft and fluffy that they are almost noiseless in flight. The order (Strigiformes) of owls is divided into two families; the barn owls (family Tytonidae), with heart-shaped faces, are one, and the typical owls (family Strigidae) compose the other. Owls feed on rodents, toads and frogs, insects, and small birds; like the hawks, they regurgitate pellets of indigestible matter. The elf and saw-whet owls of the SW United States and the pygmy owl of the Old World are only 6 in. (15 cm) long, while the eagle owl of Eurasia, the hawk owl of Australia, the great horned owl of North America (Bubo virginianus), and the snowy and great gray owls of the Arctic reach 2 ft (61 cm) with wingspreads of 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m). Many owls usurp the deserted nests of other birds, especially hawks; the burrowing owl of the New World lives in deserted prairie-dog burrows or digs its own. The barred owl has a familiar four-hoot call; the screech owl, misnamed for a similar European species, has a mournful descending cry. The long-eared owl is found in North America; the short-eared owl is ubiquitous. The tawny owl is common in England. Owls are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Strigiformes, families Tytonidae and Strigidae.

Bibliography

See J. A. Burton, ed., Owls of the World (1974).

---

owl

Any bird of prey in the mostly nocturnal order Strigiformes, including typical owls (family Strigidae) and barn, bay, and grass owls (Tytonidae). Their virtually silent flight and protective (usually brown) coloration aid in capturing insects, birds, and small mammals. Owls have round, forward-looking eyes, a sharply hooked beak, and acute hearing and vision. They are 5–28 in. (13–70 cm) long. The feathers of some species form a disk framing the face or ear tufts that help locate prey by reflecting sound to the ears. Owls can turn their heads 180°; some species can turn as much as 270°. They nest in buildings, in trees, or on the ground. Typical owls occur worldwide except in Antarctica. See also horned owl; screech owl; snowy owl.

---

OWL

(1) (Web Ontology Language) Extensions to the RDF language used to describe data on the Web. OWL provides a formal description of the meaning of the terminology used. Every OWL document is an RDF document. However, "OWL Full" documents are supersets of RDF, while "OWL Lite" and "OWL DL" (description logistics) are subsets.

Why Isn't W-eb O-ntology L-anguage WOL?
Because OWL sounds better and is also reminiscent of William A. Martin's One World Language project of the 1970s. OWL was developed to provide one description language for the World Wide Web. See RDF and SPARQL.

(2) (ObjectWindows Library) A class library of Windows objects from Borland that serves as an application framework for developing Windows applications in C++. It is the Borland counterpart of the Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC).

---

owl

1. any nocturnal bird of prey of the order Strigiformes, having large front-facing eyes, a small hooked bill, soft feathers, and a short neck

2. any of various breeds of owl-like fancy domestic pigeon (esp the African owl, Chinese owl, and English owl)

---

owl

nocturnal bird; Night embodied. [Art: Hall, 231]

See : Night

---

owl

associated with Athena, goddess of wisdom. [Gk. Myth.: Hall, 231]

See : Wisdom

---

1.	(company)	OWL - Office Workstations Limited.
2.	(language)	OWL - Object Windows Language.
3.		Owl - The original name of Trellis.