In the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber1 of Secrets, Hedwig the magical2 owl3 makes a spectacular4 pet for Harry. Although Hedwig lives in a bird cage5 in Harry's room, real owls do not make good pets because they need room to take flight and hunt for their unique food. A male snowy owl like Hedwig would fly for miles to hunt lemmings6 and capture7 ducks in mid-air.
There are 19 species8 of owls in North America, and more than 150 species worldwide. Many of them are in decline9 and face possible extinction10 due to human activities like logging11 and urban12 development. The Nature Conservancy hopes that people who see the lovely owls in the movie will help keep them wild by preserving their rapidly disappearing habitats13.
Let's learn more about the owls of Harry Potter and the threats14 to their survival15.
Wherever you find owls, do not disturb16 their nests or young to get a better look. Shaking trees that house owls, shining bright lights on baby owls, or imitating17 owl calls can interrupt normal hunting patterns and chick rearing18. ☆Owls are found on all continents19 except Antarctica20.
☆Female owls are larger and heavier than the males of their species.
☆Most owls can twist21 their heads almost three-quarters of the way around without moving their bodies.
☆Owls' eyes do not move.
☆Owls have three eyelids22: One for blinking23, one for sleeping, and one for cleaning the eye.
☆Some owls have one ear higher than the other, giving them excellent hearing that allows them to pinpoint24 the location of their prey25.
☆Most owls are active at night, except for a few species such as the snowy owl which hunts during daylight hours. Most owls hunt at night so they do not cast shadows that could alert26 prey as they come down from the sky.
☆Owls' feathers are designed to muffle27 the sound of their flying, enabling28 them to sneak up on29 their prey.
☆Owls are extraordinarily30 helpful to humans because they control the rodent31 population.
在影片“哈利·波特与密室”中，海德威这只魔法猫头鹰是哈利·波特的宠物，它非常出色，引人注目。影片中海德威住在哈利房间的一只鸟笼里，然而真正的猫头鹰却不能这样被当作宠物关在笼子里，因为它们需要空间飞行和捕食。一只像海德威这样的雄性雪号鸟（猫头鹰的一种）会飞行好几英里去猎食旅鼠或在半空中捕捉鸭子。
北美有19种猫头鹰，全世界有150多种。由于伐木、都市化等人类活动的影响，它们种群的数量日益减少，甚至濒临灭绝。自然资源保护委员会希望所有看到了电影中这些可爱的猫头鹰的人们能够行动起来，保护它们正在迅速消失的栖息地，使它们能继续过自由的野生生活。
让我们多了解一些哈利·波特的猫头鹰和它们生存面临的威胁吧。
不管在哪里发现猫头鹰，请你不要仅仅为了看个究竟而去打扰它们的巢穴或雏鸟。摇晃猫头鹰栖息的树木，用强光照射幼鸟，或是模仿猫头鹰叫都会影响它们正常的狩猎和育儿活动。★地球上除了南极洲以外的所有大陆上都生活着猫头鹰。
★同类的雌猫头鹰比雄猫头鹰体形更大，身体更重。
★大多数猫头鹰可以在身体不动的情况下扭转头部约达270度。
★猫头鹰的眼睛不能转动。
★猫头鹰有三层眼皮：一层用于眨动，一层用来睡眠，还有一层用来清洁眼睛。
★有些猫头鹰有超凡的听力，这是因为它们的一只耳朵高过另一只，据此它们可对猎物精确定位。
★大多数的猫头鹰夜间捕食，除了少数种类，如雪号鸟（白色的）是在白天觅食外，大多数猫头鹰在夜晚捕猎，这样它们从天而降捕杀猎物时就不至于投下阴影，惊动猎物了。
★猫头鹰的羽毛是用来消减飞行时发出的声音，使它们能够悄然接近猎物然后突然出击，一举抓获猎物。
★猫头鹰对人类有很大贡献，因为它们控制了啮齿类动物（如田鼠）的数量。
1． chamber n． 房间
2． magical adj． 魔术的，魔法的
3． owl [aul] n． 猫头鹰
4． spectacular adj． 吸引人的
5． cage n． 笼子
6． lemming n．旅鼠
7． capture v． 捕获，逮住
8． species n． (pl．) 种类
9． decline n． 逐渐衰弱
10．extinction n． 灭绝
11．logging n． 伐木
12．urban adj． 都市的
13．habitat n． 自然环境，栖息地
14．threat n． 威胁
15．survivial n． 生存
16．disturb v． 打扰
17．imitate v． 模仿
18．chick rearing 育儿19．continent n． 大陆；洲
20．Antarctica n． 南极洲
21．twist [twist] v． 转动（尤指用力的）
22．eyelid n． 眼睑，眼皮
23．blink v． 眨眼，眨动
24．pinpoint v． 固定，确定， 用大头针固定
25．prey [prei] n． 猎物
26．alert v． 引起……的警惕; 惊动
27．muffle v． 消音，消减
28．enable v． 使……能够
29．sneak up on ．．． 悄悄接近并突然袭击……
30．extraordinarily adv． 非凡地，非同寻常地
31．rodent n． 啮齿动物