A preserved specimen sheds light on how owls originally hunted during the Miocene Epoch.
The Miocene Epoch, around 23 to 2.6 million years ago, is known as the age of mammals. It’s when antelope, deer and giraffes appeared across Eurasia. Bears and dogs emerged for the first time, as did hyenas and saber-toothed cats. But the Miocene was about more than just mammals, it was a time when curious birds abounded. And researchers are pausing on an owl, since it had an unusual feature: It hunted by day.
Researchers examined the scleral ossicles, or the bones around the eye, to determine how big its eyes were compared to other species. This revealed that it hunted by day. They restructured the ossicle ring of the owl, and were able to calculate its feeding patterns. The specimen is a big deal because well-preserved avian fossils are uncommon — their delicate bones are hollow and often scatter after the bird’s death, says Slaght. A specimen like this doesn’t happen often. “This is a noteworthy find because so much of the owl skeleton was preserved — enough to identify it as a diurnal species,” says Slaght.
“An absence of birds in the fossil record can skew our understanding of historical populations. We automatically assume owls are nocturnal because most of them now are. This discovery hints at the past importance of day-hunting owls in open landscapes of Asia: They may have been the rule, rather than the exception,” says Slaght.