Eagle vs Owl

In a straight contest a large eagle would usually beat a large owl, being heavier, with a more powerful grip and longer reach, and eagles do sometimes kill owls. But the two rarely clash directly because they are active at different times. The more common interaction runs the other way in a sense: large owls such as the Eurasian eagle-owl and the great horned owl are among the few predators that will take other birds of prey, including hawks and small eagles, usually by ambushing them at the roost at night when the day-active raptor cannot see well.

Only distantly. For a long time all hook-billed, talon-footed birds were lumped together, but genetic evidence shows owls form their own ancient order, Strigiformes, whose closest relatives are birds such as mousebirds, trogons, and hornbills rather than hawks. Eagles sit with hawks, kites, and Old World vultures in the family Accipitridae. The shared features, the hooked bill, the gripping feet with sharp talons, the carnivorous diet, evolved separately in each group because they suit any bird that kills vertebrate prey. Falcons are a third unrelated lineage that converged on the same tools.

Three modifications to the feathers work together. The leading edge of the outer wing feathers is combed into a stiff fringe that breaks up the rush of air into smaller, quieter eddies. The trailing edge of each flight feather has a soft, ragged margin that smooths the airflow coming off the wing. And the upper surface of the feathers has a fine velvety pile that damps the sound of feathers sliding over each other. Together these cut the noise of the wingbeat to below the hearing range of a mouse, so the owl arrives unheard, and it can also hear its own prey clearly over its nearly silent flight.