This is bird note.

Today is International Owl Awareness Day.

Owls are magnificent animals that share our cities with us, like great horned owls,

oo-ooh-hoo, and live in some of the most extreme environments on Earth, like snowy owls on the Arctic tundra.

They range in size from huge like the blackestants fish owl of eastern Asia?

To the songbird-sized elf owl of Mexico and the southwest US,

less than six inches tall and weighing less than half a deck of cards.

Owls play key roles in their ecosystems.

They keep prey populations of rodents and insects in check,

which in turn helps promote a healthy balance of the species

eaten by those animals.

Owls even help control pests like non-native rodents where people live, all without traps or

poison, and they rodenticides that can preserving habitats where they breed and hunt,

and avoiding rodenticides that could poison their prey,

we can help ensure a safe future for our world's incredible owls. For Bird Note, I'm Ariana Rimmel. Mm-hmm.