How Loud Is An Owl Flying at Donna Caron blog

How Loud Is An Owl Flying. When most birds fly, the air turbulence created by wing flapping produces sound, and, typically, the larger and faster a bird is, the noisier its flight. When most birds fly, turbulence — created when air gushes over the surface of their wings — causes noise. The gliding owls generated very little sound in the range of human hearing (people can hear sounds above the dashed line). The main reason owls can fly silently is the uniquely designed leading edges of their primary feathers. Even large species like the barn owl or great horned owl can fly virtually silently—a quality that has long fascinated scientists. Using sensitive sound equipment the team try to find out how an owl can fly so silently compared to other birds. Owls are able to fly so silently for a combination of reasons, says scott weidensaul, an owl expert and contributing editor at audubon. Owls' wings, however, are unique because they reduce noise caused by turbulence. The barn owl produces virtually no sound, while the pigeon (not surprisingly) and peregrine falcon (more so) register heavy flapping noise.

The gliding owls generated very little sound in the range of human hearing (people can hear sounds above the dashed line). Owls' wings, however, are unique because they reduce noise caused by turbulence. The barn owl produces virtually no sound, while the pigeon (not surprisingly) and peregrine falcon (more so) register heavy flapping noise. Using sensitive sound equipment the team try to find out how an owl can fly so silently compared to other birds. Owls are able to fly so silently for a combination of reasons, says scott weidensaul, an owl expert and contributing editor at audubon. The main reason owls can fly silently is the uniquely designed leading edges of their primary feathers. When most birds fly, turbulence — created when air gushes over the surface of their wings — causes noise. Even large species like the barn owl or great horned owl can fly virtually silently—a quality that has long fascinated scientists. When most birds fly, the air turbulence created by wing flapping produces sound, and, typically, the larger and faster a bird is, the noisier its flight.

Flying Close Wings Down (Great Horned Owl) Flickr folks … Flickr

How Loud Is An Owl Flying When most birds fly, the air turbulence created by wing flapping produces sound, and, typically, the larger and faster a bird is, the noisier its flight. Even large species like the barn owl or great horned owl can fly virtually silently—a quality that has long fascinated scientists. Using sensitive sound equipment the team try to find out how an owl can fly so silently compared to other birds. Owls are able to fly so silently for a combination of reasons, says scott weidensaul, an owl expert and contributing editor at audubon. When most birds fly, the air turbulence created by wing flapping produces sound, and, typically, the larger and faster a bird is, the noisier its flight. The barn owl produces virtually no sound, while the pigeon (not surprisingly) and peregrine falcon (more so) register heavy flapping noise. The gliding owls generated very little sound in the range of human hearing (people can hear sounds above the dashed line). Owls' wings, however, are unique because they reduce noise caused by turbulence. The main reason owls can fly silently is the uniquely designed leading edges of their primary feathers. When most birds fly, turbulence — created when air gushes over the surface of their wings — causes noise.