Hoooo's in The

Hoooo’s in the Loo Overall Details Objective To raise awareness about owls in Singapore, and learn more about one of our local species, the Buffy Fish Owl (Ketupa ketupu). Summary A hands-on craft for participants to make owls out of toilet rolls. Duration Approximately 15 minutes. What you will need: ● Materials ○ Toilet rolls ○ Brown paper or cardboard ○ Googly eyes (optional) ● Tools ○ Scissors ○ Glue ○ Tape ○ Markers or other colouring materials Remarks Background information can be found on page 6. Activity Description Participants will fold in a toilet roll and stick on brown paper/cardboard to form an owl, specifically a native species which is the Buffy Fish Owl (Ketupa ketupu). Pre-workshop preparation No Suggested Flow Facilitators’ Notes 1 Collect the following materials: Ensure that the toilet rolls are sanitary. ● Toilet rolls ● Brown paper or cardboard Brown paper can be cut out from paper bags from delivery or takeaway. Cardboard can be salvaged from online shopping deliveries. How to Conduct the Workshop No Suggested Flow Facilitators’ Notes 1 Place the toilet roll onto a flat surface Take note to ensure that the toilet rolls vertically and bring two ends of the are sanitary to prevent any circumference of the tube to the centre, contamination. folding them in. The two edges poking out are similar to the ear tufts on the Buffy Fish Owl. Facilitators can hence explain the different types of owls and their physical differences (see Background Information, page 6). Fold along 2 Draw the eyes with a black marker or stick Facilitators can explain to the participant on the two googly eyes. Draw the beak with about the special characteristics that owls a black marker on the toilet roll to mark out have, such as their binocular vision and the face of the owl. their ability to turn their necks 270 degrees in either direction. 3 Draw out a pair of wings on the brown Facilitators can explain the unique paper. The wings should be about ⅔ the characteristics of the owl’s wings and height of the owl. feathers, as well as point out the differences between a Buffy Fish Owl and other owls. 4 Cut out the wings and add black and white Please supervise the participants markings with colouring materials. when they are using scissors. Use children’s scissors where possible. If the participants are too young, do the cutting for them. 5 Attach the wings to the owl with glue or Remember to check the labels on tape. adhesives to ensure that they are non- toxic if ingested. 3 Draw the characteristic black markings on Facilitators can introduce the Buffy Fish the belly of the owl with colouring materials. Owl to the participants by describing the Draw on a pair of talons. Your owl is physical characteristics of the owl. complete! Facilitators can also refer to the link below on the hunting style of the Buffy Fish Owl. https://youtu.be/_kFb3PMQlMA Background Information The following pages are supplementary information on the topics covered in this workshop. Facilitators are recommended to read them to get a better idea of what the workshops aim to teach participants. Overview of Owls There are more than 200 species of owls in the world. They can be found across almost every climatic region except for extreme polar environments, and in every continent except for Antarctica. Owls belong to the order Strigiformes and can be further classified into two families, namely Tytonidae (barn owls) which have heart-shaped faces, and Strigidae (true owls) which have round faces. Physical Characteristics Owls are mostly characterised by having huge heads, stocky bodies, reversible toes that can point either forward or backwards, and forward-facing eyes. Their forward-facing eyes allow them to have a binocular vision so as to focus on prey and boost depth perception. However, it also limits their vision as they are unable to look sideways. As such, they have highly flexible necks that can rotate about 270° in either direction to allow them to assess their surroundings. Owls can remain active even when the movement of their neck momentarily cuts off blood circulation due to having a blood-pooling mechanism in its brain. Like hawks and eagles, owls are considered birds of prey as they have sharp talons and curved bills to hunt, kill and eat other animals. Owls have diets that can range from insects to small birds, mammals, and reptiles. Owls are stealth hunters. Most owls have a unique feather structure that allows them to fly silently in the night. The outer feathers of an owl have a comb- like surface which reduces turbulence during flight, muffling the sound of air rushing over the surface of the feathers. This also allows the owl to better hear and detect their potential prey. Behaviour Owls are mainly nocturnal and are most active around dusk and dawn. They are carnivorous and can feed on prey ranging from small invertebrates to larger vertebrates such as foxes and rabbits, depending on their size. Owls have a generally high metabolism, and hence have to hunt frequently as they consume a large amount relative to their body mass. As they swallow their prey whole, most of the undigested bits of their prey such as fur and bones are regurgitated as pellets. Owls tend to nest in natural cavities such as tree holes or former nests of other birds. Their nests tend to be bare, with little nesting material. This is with the exception of open nests, such as nests on cliffs, where leaves and other soft material may be used to line the nest. When a female owl lays her eggs, she does not leave the nest until a month later when the eggs hatch, and is reliant on the male owl for food. When the eggs are due for hatching, the baby owls within will chip at their shell with their egg tooth, a sharp incisor at the tip of its beak, which will fall off within 1-2 weeks of hatching. Examples of Owls found in Singapore Buffy Fish Owl (Ketupa ketupu) The Buffy Fish Owl is the smallest species of fish owl globally, standing at about 40 - 48cm tall, and can be found throughout Southeast Asia in tropical forests and freshwater wetlands. It is sandy-brown with darker brown feathers on its back, with a beige facial disk and distinct eyebrows of a light brown shade. The most noticeable feature of this species is its prominent ear tufts on the sides of its head. Unlike most owls, this species does not have soft feathers or hair-like fringes that allow owls to fly silently through the night, and the beating of its wings can be heard during its flight. As its name suggests, its diet consists mostly of fish, though it can also feed on other small vertebrates. In Singapore, it has been recorded in many nature reserves and green spaces such as Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Pulau Ubin and Singapore Botanic Gardens. .

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