An Owl Uses Sound to Hunt Under the Snow

If you're a rodent out in the forest, there's nothing more frightening than a hungry owl. They stare at you with those super predator eyes and glide in silently for the kill. Under a thick blanket of snow, however, they can't see you. 

The great grey owl will find you anyway. These birds have superpowers, and they can hear voles moving underneath the snow. They have excellent hearing, and their whole face is designed to enhance that ability. We need special effects to detect what the owl can hear. They also use physics to fine-tune their attack on a fast-moving vole they cannot see. The owl's survival depends on it. 

This nature sequence is from the CBC show The Nature of Things, from a series called Secret World of Sound. If you're interested, you can see how they got this amazing footage in a behind the scenes video explaining the acoustic camera. (via kottke)