Editing Owl (section)

==== Talons ====
While the auditory and visual capabilities of the owl allow it to locate and pursue its prey, the talons and beak of the owl do the final work. The owl kills its prey using these talons to crush the skull and knead the body.<ref name="König1999"/> The crushing power of an owl's talons varies according to prey size and type, and by the size of the owl. The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), a small, partly insectivorous owl, has a release force of only 5&nbsp;N. The larger [[Western barn owl|barn owl]] (''Tyto alba'') needs a force of 30&nbsp;N to release its prey, and one of the largest owls, the [[great horned owl]] (''Bubo virginianus''), needs a force over 130&nbsp;N to release prey in its talons.<ref name="Marti1974"/> An owl's talons, like those of most birds of prey, can seem massive in comparison to the body size outside of flight. The [[Tyto novaehollandiae castanops|Tasmanian masked owl]] has some of the proportionally longest talons of any bird of prey; they appear enormous in comparison to the body when fully extended to grasp prey.<ref name="Einoder2007"/> An owl's claws are sharp and curved. The family Tytonidae has inner and central toes of about equal length, while the family Strigidae has an inner toe that is distinctly shorter than the central one.<ref name="Marti1974"/> These different morphologies allow efficiency in capturing prey specific to the different environments they inhabit.