The bird that can spin its head almost all the way around
This bird can spin its head almost all the way around — without cutting off the blood to its own brain.
The short version
Owls can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees — three quarters of a full circle. Their giant eyes are locked in place, so they evolved extra neck vertebrae and stretchy, blood-pooling arteries that keep the brain supplied while they twist.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Owl can rotate its head up to 270 degrees — three quarters of a full circle.
- ✓The Owl has 14 neck vertebrae, double what humans have.
- ✓The Owl stores backup blood in stretchy neck arteries so its brain never starves while it twists.
- ✓The Owl turns its whole head because its giant eyes are locked in place.
The full story
This bird can spin its head almost all the way around, without cutting off the blood to its own brain. Meet the owl. It can rotate its head up to two hundred and seventy degrees, three quarters of a full circle, in one smooth twist. If you tried that, you would snap the arteries in your neck and pass out. So how does the owl survive it? Its neck has fourteen vertebrae, double what we have. And the arteries feeding its brain are wide and stretchy, with little pools that store backup blood. When the owl twists, that reserve keeps its brain supplied the whole time. Owls evolved this for a reason. Their giant eyes are locked in place and cannot move. So to look around, an owl has to turn its entire head. Basically, it is a bird with a built-in three sixty camera and no off switch. Follow for more weird animals.
Watch the 45-second version
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