Owls, God bless them, are pretty weird and wonderful creatures, with some strange and impressive adaptations to their environments. Though it's a fact you know well, it's still astonishing that they can spin their head through 270 degrees, like a flying tribute to The Exorcist . The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Their concave facial disks, for example, as well as being aesthetically pleasing, channel sound towards their ears.

"The facial disc works by reflecting sound waves like a parabolic reflector, effectively amplifying sounds that might otherwise be imperceptible," Andrew Alpin explains for Bird Life . "This remarkable adaptation allows owls to detect the faintest rustling of a mouse moving beneath leaves or sno

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