A popular question I kept seeing asked on google was whether baby owls, known as owlets, sleep face down. I stumbled across a reddit thread which featured an image of an owl face down, which I wont share because im not sure if it was sleeping or dead and nobody wants to see a dead owl right? Regardless, I decided I had to know the answer to this question for myself. So, is it true? And if so, why do they do this?
The answer seems to be yes, Owlets do sleep face down and this is mostly because they are not yet strong enough to hold themselves up to sleep yet it seems. They will mostly turn their face to the side for easier breathing but will remain sprawled out on their stomachs.
During the day, owlets spend a lot of their time napping while their parents hunt for food and protect the nest. Depending on the nesting site, owlets may or may not have to grip their talons onto a tree branch for some support so they are not at risk of falling from the tree and so they feel more secure. Then the owlets will lie on their stomach, with their heads turned slightly for ease breathing. The owlet will keep their legs extremely straight while they sleep because as soon as they bend their leg their talon is likely to ease on the branch they are gripping onto. An owl’s back toe is known as the Hallux and this will do most of the support work when the owlet is holding on to a tree, therefore this Hallux will open once the owlets leg bends. Cool right?
