How Owls Rotate Their Heads So Far Without Snapping Their Necks

80beats
By Breanna Draxler
Feb 1, 2013 6:22 PMOct 9, 2019 6:15 PM
owl
A baby barn owl demonstrates the natural neck flexibility of the owl. Researchers studied snowy, barred, and great horned owls. Image courtesy of marilyn barbone / shutterstock.

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Most animals, humans included, can only turn their heads so far without snapping their necks or causing a stroke. But owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees---an impressive ¾ of a full rotation---without causing any harm. Owls have unmoving eyeballs, so neck rotation is necessary for the animal to have any sort of peripheral vision. How can owls pull it off without cutting off the blood supply to their brains?

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