Carol Towry, age 13, of Fayetteville, Tennessee, for her question:

Can the owl move his eves?

The owl stares out at the world through a pair of huge round eyes set in the front of his face. This eye position is not strange to us, but it is rare in the bird world. Most birds have one eye on each side of the head. This gives them a wide panoramic view of the scenery. The owl sees only the scenery that happens to be straight in front of his face. Like us, he has binocular vision so that he can focus on things near and far. But unlike us, he cannot turn his eyes around. They are set into the sockets in one position and he cannot move them.

When he wants to watch a passing object, he must turn his head to keep it in view. This is no problem, for his neck is very pliable and he can turn his head to look around over his shoulders. His owlish eyes stare with a fixed glare that gives him a solemn expression. But sometimes he surprises you with a bold wink. Each eyelid is fringed with thick lashes and he can wink either of them or close them both.