Most of us know that birds’ bones are hollow. But why? To make them lighter to help them fly, you may think. But this is actually not the case. Firstly, birds’ bones are not truly hollow, but full of a “webbing” that creates pockets of air. They are called pneumatic bones. When a baby bird is growing and the air sacs are forming to make the lungs, they extend into the bones, creating the air pockets. Birds require a huge amount of oxygen when they fly and these air pockets actually allow them to take in oxygen on both inhalation and exhalation. So cool!

Not all owls are nocturnal (come out at nighttime). The ones that are active during the day are called diurnal. Others that comes out at dusk and dawn are called crepuscular. Many owls have huge ears but they are hidden where we can’t see them. The ear size is directly related to how nocturnal that species of owl is. The bigger the ear, the more they rely on their sense of hearing in the dark. Do some research to find out which of Alberta’s 11 species of owls are nocturnal, diurnal, or crepuscular.

Alberta is an amazing place to live in or visit if you love nature and wildlife! Although considered a prairie province, we actually have a wide range of landscape including mountains, badlands, foothills, and boreal forest, creating multiple habitats for plants and animals. This province has 587 species of wildlife! There are 93 kinds of mammals and 411 types of birds. We even have 10 species of amphibians and 8 kinds of reptiles, not to mention 65 types of fish. The Great Horned Owl is Alberta’s provincial bird and of course, the Wild Rose is the provincial flower. But did you know that the official tree is the Lodgepole Pine, rock is Petrified Wood, fish is the Bull Trout, and the official animal is the Bighorn Sheep?