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Influence of the facial ruff on the sound-receiving characteristics of the barn owl’s ears

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Abstract

The barn owl, a nocturnal predator, derives its German name (“Schleiereule”, direct English translation “veil owl”) from the conspicuous ruff that covers the ear openings and gives the head a face-like appearance. The ruff is a specialization for the perception of sound. The densely-ramified reflector feathers forming the border of the ruff direct sound to the ear-openings. We studied the influence of the ruff on the behaviorally relevant sound-localization parameters interaural time difference (ITD) and interaural level difference (ILD). The directionality of the ear was much greater when the ruff was intact than when the reflector feathers were removed. With ruff intact, the distribution of ILDs was oblique and the maximum ITD occurred around 110° of azimuth. When all head feathers were removed, the steepest ILD gradient was much closer to the horizontal axis and ITD was maximal at 90°. Many effects were frequency specific. Thus, the ruff reflects some properties of the human pinna. However, by shifting the point where ITD becomes maximal beyond 90°, the ruff also introduces a break of the front–back symmetry of ITD.

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Abbreviations

ITD:

Interaural time difference

ILD:

Interaural level difference

FFT:

Fast Fourier transformation

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Acknowledgments

We thank Frank Endler for help with programming. Eli Nelken and Iris Poganiatz supported us in an early phase of this project. We thank Catherine Carr and Eli Nelken for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Petra Nikolay made the drawings of the owl’s head. This research was supported by the DFG (Wa606/13).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biologie II, RWTH Aachen, Kopernikusstraße 16, 52074, Aachen, Germany

    Mark von Campenhausen & Hermann Wagner

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  1. Mark von Campenhausen
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  2. Hermann Wagner
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Correspondence to Hermann Wagner.

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von Campenhausen, M., Wagner, H. Influence of the facial ruff on the sound-receiving characteristics of the barn owl’s ears. J Comp Physiol A 192, 1073–1082 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-006-0139-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-006-0139-0

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