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76-586: In 1910, seven years after the opening of the women's residence, Annesley Hall , the administrators of Victoria University began plans for an elaborate men's residence building on the campus. The project was funded by the estate of Mr. Hart A. Massey , an alumnus from Victoria's early days in Cobourg . The full cost of the project is unknown to the public, but the asset was valued at $ 450,000 in 1913. Famous residents of Burwash include Vincent Massey , Lester B. Pearson , Don Harron , and Donald Sutherland . The building

152-440: A Victoria College student or administrator, Caven House comes from presbyterian minister William Caven , the second principal of Knox College, Toronto . Although he was not directly involved with the affairs of Victoria, he consulted President Nathanael Burwash and Rev. Alfred Gandier about the division of Arts and Theology at Victoria. After great discussion, this spawned Emmanuel College , Victoria's Faculty of Theology. Since

228-605: A cooked pig's head in an Annesley bathroom. As punishment, during the fall exam period Gooch evicted two residents and relocated the remainder of Gate House to other places in the residence system, banned all current Gate House students from entering the building in 2008. Since this decision Gate House has become a co-ed residence identical to the other Upper Burwash houses. Notable residents of Gate House include Lester B. Pearson , former Prime Minister of Canada, and Simon Pulsifer , who Time magazine nicknamed "The Duke of Data" for his contributions to Misplaced Pages. During its 93 years as

304-399: A facial ruff, which creates an anterior-facing, concave wall that cups the sound into the ear structure. This facial ruff is poorly defined in some species, and prominent, nearly encircling the face, in other species. The facial disk also acts to direct sound into the ears, and a downward-facing, sharply triangular beak minimizes sound reflection away from the face. The shape of the facial disk

380-519: A flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc , around each eye. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to sharply focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls' asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl's forward-facing eyes permits the greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting. Owls have binocular vision , but they must rotate their entire heads to change

456-458: A hallway on the second, third, and fourth floors. Each of these floors has a shared kitchen, and two bedrooms at the end of each hall with a connected bathroom, much like the other Lower Houses. They also have two double-rooms in the middle of the hall, which have a connected bathroom and kitchen, meaning BG has the highest kitchen-to-student ratio in Burwash. Bowles-Gandier is sometimes referred to as

532-621: A male's sexual advances, smaller male owls that have the ability to escape unreceptive females are more likely to have been selected. If the character is stable, there can be different optimums for both sexes. Selection operates on both sexes at the same time; therefore it is necessary to explain not only why one of the sexes is relatively bigger, but also why the other sex is smaller. If owls are still evolving toward smaller bodies and longer wing chords, according to V. Geodakyan's Evolutionary Theory of Sex, males should be more advanced on these characters. Males are viewed as an evolutionary vanguard of

608-453: A men's residence, Gate House developed a distinct character and reputation. These antics included pranks, toga parties, streaking, caroling to other residences, hazing rituals, "beer bashes" and "incessant pounding" on the Gate House table in the dining hall. Paul Gooch wrote that these traditions gave Gate House an "ethos" that contradicted his vision of residence life. The all-male Gate House

684-558: A population, and sexual dimorphism on the character, as an evolutionary "distance" between the sexes. "Phylogenetic rule of sexual dimorphism" states that if there exists a sexual dimorphism on any character, then the evolution of this trait goes from the female form toward the male one. All owls are carnivorous birds of prey and live on diets of insects, small rodents and lagomorphs. Some owls are also specifically adapted to hunt fish. They are very adept in hunting in their respective environments. Since owls can be found in nearly all parts of

760-527: A relatively small skull is that the eye of the owl has become tubular in shape. This shape is found in other so-called nocturnal eyes, such as the eyes of strepsirrhine primates and bathypelagic fishes . Since the eyes are fixed into these sclerotic tubes, they are unable to move the eyes in any direction. Instead of moving their eyes, owls swivel their heads to view their surroundings. Owls' heads are capable of swiveling through an angle of roughly 270°, easily enabling them to see behind them without relocating

836-781: A renaming in February 2019, which was followed by the Victoria University Research Panel on the Legacy of Egerton Ryerson in 2020, and ultimately the Presidential Report on the Legacy of Egerton Ryerson in 2021 which resulted in the change. Although the house had been named Ryerson since 1933, all five Lower Houses were temporarily named First House, Second House, Third House, Fourth House, and Fifth House from 1931 until 1933. The Board of Regents used these placeholder names until they decided upon better alternatives. In 2021,

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912-537: A second upper-year Residence Don for Bowles-Gandier House. First House connects the Upper and Lower Houses, and was originally named after the first principal of Victoria College, Egerton Ryerson . The house was renamed for the 2021–2022 school year, after an investigation into the legacy of Ryerson and his role in the Canadian residential school system. The Victoria University Students' Administrative Council initially called for

988-413: A strong advantage over prey alert to the slightest sound in the night. A silent, slow flight is not as necessary for diurnal and crepuscular owls given that prey can usually see an owl approaching. Owls' feathers are generally larger than the average birds' feathers, have fewer radiates, longer pennulum, and achieve smooth edges with different rachis structures. Serrated edges along the owl's remiges bring

1064-545: A unique style to the other three Lower Houses. Rather than continuing the trend of Upper and Lower Houses in a straight line on the East side of the property, Bowles-Gandier House, colloquially "BG", juts out on the West side of the Southern edge of Burwash Hall. Enclosing the residence structure along the property line where Victoria meets St. Michael's College , the house forms an L shape with

1140-521: A very different way (such as the terrestrial Sophiornithidae ). The Paleocene genera Berruornis and Ogygoptynx show that owls were already present as a distinct lineage some 60–57 million years ago (Mya), hence, possibly also some 5 million years earlier, at the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs . This makes them one of the oldest known groups of non- Galloanserae landbirds. The supposed " Cretaceous owls" Bradycneme and Heptasteornis are apparently non- avialan maniraptors . During

1216-456: A very high bathroom ratio, with many single-use washrooms and a communal washroom on each floor. Upper Houses are divided between double rooms and singles, with about sixty percent of the population being in doubles. Unlike the Lower Houses, the hallways of each Upper House are connected, a feature that was added in the 1995 renovations. There is typically an upper-year Residence Don for each of

1292-414: Is a physical difference between males and females of a species. Female owls are typically larger than the males. The degree of size dimorphism varies across multiple populations and species, and is measured through various traits, such as wing span and body mass. One theory suggests that selection has led males to be smaller because it allows them to be efficient foragers . The ability to obtain more food

1368-446: Is able to determine the direction from which the sound is coming by the minute difference in time that it takes for the sound waves to penetrate the left and right ears. The owl turns its head until the sound reaches both ears at the same time, at which point it is directly facing the source of the sound. This time difference between ears is about 30 microseconds. Behind the ear openings are modified, dense feathers, densely packed to form

1444-399: Is adjustable at will to focus sounds more effectively. The prominences above a great horned owl's head are commonly mistaken as its ears. This is not the case; they are merely feather tufts. The ears are on the sides of the head in the usual location (in two different locations as described above). While the auditory and visual capabilities of the owl allow it to locate and pursue its prey,

1520-495: Is advantageous during breeding season. In some species, female owls stay at their nest with their eggs while it is the responsibility of the male to bring back food to the nest. If food is scarce, the male first feeds himself before feeding the female. Small birds, which are agile, are an important source of food for owls. Male burrowing owls have been observed to have longer wing chords than females, despite being smaller than females. Furthermore, owls have been observed to be roughly

1596-752: Is described as Collegiate Gothic , intended to include all the developments of the Tudor style. Burwash Hall was designed to resemble the residences in Oxford and Cambridge, with modifications to the stair-case system and the division of houses. Sproatt & Rolph avoided architecture of commercial appearance, envisioning a structure that was academic in feeling. Burwash Hall was not intended to replicate Oxford buildings, but to "prove that academic Gothic can be indigenous in Canada as well as in England, and that it can be perfectly adapted to

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1672-556: Is identical to the second except that in place of the don's room there are two single rooms. [2] Adjoining St. Mary's Arch and Lower Houses, South House is the furthest Upper House from Burwash Dining Hall. The emblem of the house is a sphinx , which was originally used to represent Victoria's Faculty of Law, established in 1860. The Lower Houses, originally the Emmanuel College Residences, were intended to house theology students at Emmanuel College, whose current building

1748-599: Is located across from the Royal Ontario Museum and is designated a National Historic Site of Canada . Built in 1903 in the Queen Anne style , Annesley Hall is the first university residence built for women in Canada. It was designed by architect George Martel Miller. Annesley Hall was home to the first female resident at the University, as well as the first woman to graduate from a Canadian medical school . Annesley

1824-920: Is noted for its close-knit community life and is also known for its elegance and uniqueness. No two rooms are the same, and students in Annesley are able to enjoy exclusive common space, such as the Tackaberry Library and the Music Room, found on the main floor. Annesley Hall was a location used in the shoot of the 1974 horror movie Black Christmas . It was renovated and restored in 1988–1989. 43°40′04″N 79°23′35″W  /  43.66778°N 79.39306°W  / 43.66778; -79.39306 Owl Strigidae Tytonidae Ogygoptyngidae ( fossil ) Palaeoglaucidae ( fossil ) Protostrigidae ( fossil ) Sophiornithidae ( fossil ) Strigidae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist Owls are birds from

1900-513: Is the more common number. In at least one species, female owls do not mate with the same male for a lifetime. Female burrowing owls commonly travel and find other mates, while the male stays in his territory and mates with other females. Recent phylogenetic studies place owls within the clade Telluraves , most closely related to the Accipitrimorphae and the Coraciimorphae , although

1976-457: Is the view from Gate House Tower which looks down St. Mary's Street. The dining hall is perhaps the best known part of the building to outsiders. It is the University of Toronto's largest, holding some 250 students and sixteen large tables. Hanging on the western wall is Queen Victoria 's burial flag, given to the college soon after her death. Under the flag is the high table where the professors and college administration lunch. Historically,

2052-427: Is used to tear the tissue and kill. The sharp lower edge of the upper bill works in coordination with the sharp upper edge of the lower bill to deliver this motion. The downward-facing beak allows the owl's field of vision to be clear, as well as directing sound into the ears without deflecting sound waves away from the face. The coloration of the owl's plumage plays a key role in its ability to sit still and blend into

2128-597: The Paleogene , the Strigiformes radiated into ecological niches now mostly filled by other groups of birds. The owls as known today, though, evolved their characteristic morphology and adaptations during that time, too. By the early Neogene , the other lineages had been displaced by other bird orders, leaving only barn owls and typical owls. The latter at that time was usually a fairly generic type of (probably earless) owl similar to today's North American spotted owl or

2204-441: The order Strigiformes ( / ˈ s t r ɪ dʒ ə f ɔːr m iː z / ), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision , binaural hearing , sharp talons , and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl . Owls are divided into two families :

2280-466: The true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn owl family, Tytonidae. Owls hunt mostly small mammals , insects , and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish . They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands. A group of owls is called a "parliament". Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk -like beak ,

2356-656: The uropygial gland , informally the "preen" or "oil" gland, as most birds do, to spread oils across their plumage through preening. This makes them highly vulnerable to heavy rain when they are unable to hunt. Historically, they would switch to hunting indoors in wet weather, using barns and other agricultural buildings, but the decline in the numbers of these structures in the 20th and 21st centuries has reduced such opportunities. The lack of waterproofing means that barn owls are also susceptible to drowning, in drinking troughs and other structures with smooth sides. The Barn Owl Trust provides advice on how this can be mitigated, by

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2432-549: The European tawny owl ; the diversity in size and ecology found in typical owls today developed only subsequently. Around the Paleogene-Neogene boundary (some 25 Mya), barn owls were the dominant group of owls in southern Europe and adjacent Asia at least; the distribution of fossil and present-day owl lineages indicates that their decline is contemporary with the evolution of the different major lineages of true owls, which for

2508-521: The Lower Houses were originally built for Emmanuel students, it is likely that this is the reason for naming the House after William Caven . Bowles House is named after Victoria president and chancellor Richard Pinch Bowles , the first-cousin once-removed of Lester B. Pearson . Gandier House is named after Alfred Gandier , the first principal of Emmanuel College . The very last house in Burwash Hall has

2584-677: The Lower Houses, built in 1931. To the west the Upper Houses look out on the Vic Quad and the main Victoria College building across it. West of the Lower Houses is the new Lester B. Pearson Garden of Peace and International Understanding and the E.J. Pratt Library beyond it. From the eastern side of the building, the Upper Houses look out at Rowell Jackman Hall and the Lower Houses see the St. Michael's College residence of Elmsley . The only exception

2660-504: The Upper Houses each had their own table. Gate sat in the southwest corner, Middle sat in the far northeast, South sat in the table to the west of Middle, while North sat to the west of the southeast corner. The only lower house to have had a designated table was Caven, in the northwest corner beside the alumni table. (Note that prior to the 1995 renovations, some of these houses, particularly North and Caven, 'traditionally' sat elsewhere). Adjoined to Burwash Dining Hall and completed in 1913,

2736-469: The Upper Houses. This has been the case since the building's construction in 1913, when specific rooms were included for Dons. The original location of these rooms has since changed with recent renovations. At the corner of Burwash Dining Hall and the Upper Houses lies North House. The emblem of North House is an oil lamp , originally used to represent Victoria's Faculty of Theology, established in 1871. North has an extended hallway and larger common room than

2812-583: The Vic One House, since it is mostly reserved for students in the Vic One program. While not a requirement to live in BG, it has historically consisted of > 80% Vic One students. 43°40′02″N 79°23′28″W  /  43.66722°N 79.39111°W  / 43.66722; -79.39111 Annesley Hall Annesley Hall is the all-female residence at Victoria College , University of Toronto . The residence

2888-485: The Victoria College insignia. Gate House, with the rest of Upper Burwash, opened in 1913 and has held students every year since then except 1995, when it was renovated. As an all-male residence from 1913 to 2007 it held a number of unique traditions. For 20 years Gate House hosted an annual party called Novemberfest in the Burwash dining hall. The Victoria Dean of Students cancelled Novemberfest in 2003, when police discovered widespread underage drinking and over 800 people in

2964-409: The brain . Specifically, the foramina in their vertebrae through which the vertebral arteries pass are about 10 times the diameter of the artery, instead of about the same size as the artery, as is the case in humans; the vertebral arteries enter the cervical vertebrae higher than in other birds, giving the vessels some slack, and the carotid arteries unite in a very large anastomosis or junction,

3040-450: The deciduous woodland it prefers for its habitat. Likewise, the mottled wood owl ( Strix ocellata ) displays shades of brown, tan, and black, making the owl nearly invisible in the surrounding trees, especially from behind. Usually, the only tell-tale sign of a perched owl is its vocalizations or its vividly colored eyes. Most owls are nocturnal , actively hunting their prey in darkness. Several types of owls are crepuscular —active during

3116-480: The dining hall, in violation of the fire code. Another Gate House tradition that no longer occurs is the "stirring the chicken," a dinner and keg party where house members cook chicken fajitas for hundreds of guests. Until 2007, Gate House held secretive first-year initiation ceremonies called Traditionals, which involved writing slogans on campus buildings in chalk, singing songs to the all-women's residence (who would then sing back to them), and leading first-years around

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3192-423: The environment, making it nearly invisible to prey. Owls tend to mimic the coloration and sometimes the texture patterns of their surroundings, the barn owl being an exception. The snowy owl ( Bubo scandiacus ) appears nearly bleach-white in color with a few flecks of black, mimicking their snowy surroundings perfectly, while the speckled brown plumage of the tawny owl ( Strix aluco ) allows it to lie in wait among

3268-1158: The exact placement within Telluraves is disputed. See below cladogram : Cathartiformes (New World vultures) [REDACTED] Accipitriformes ( hawks and relatives) [REDACTED] Strigiformes (owls) [REDACTED] Coliiformes (mouse birds) Leptosomiformes (cuckoo roller) Trogoniformes (trogons and quetzals) [REDACTED] Bucerotiformes ( hornbills and relatives) Coraciiformes ( kingfishers and relatives) [REDACTED] Piciformes ( woodpeckers and relatives) Cariamiformes (seriemas) [REDACTED] Falconiformes (falcons) [REDACTED] Psittaciformes (parrots) [REDACTED] Passeriformes (passerines) [REDACTED] Cladogram of Telluraves relationships based on Braun & Kimball (2021) Some 220 to 225 extant species of owls are known, subdivided into two families: 1. true owls or typical owls family ( Strigidae ) and 2. barn-owls family ( Tytonidae ). Some entirely extinct families have also been erected based on fossil remains; these differ much from modern owls in being less specialized or specialized in

3344-427: The exigencies of [Canada's] climate and life". Constructed of Bedford Indiana cut stone and Georgetown rubble masonry, the residence houses and adjoined dining hall intended to prove that beauty and efficiency were not antithetical. The building is divided between the large dining hall in the northwest and the student residence proper. The residence area is divided into two sections: the Upper Houses, built in 1913, and

3420-400: The family Strigidae has an inner toe that is distinctly shorter than the central one. These different morphologies allow efficiency in capturing prey specific to the different environments they inhabit. The beak of the owl is short, curved, and downward-facing, and typically hooked at the tip for gripping and tearing its prey. Once prey is captured, the scissor motion of the top and lower bill

3496-417: The flapping of the wing down to a nearly silent mechanism. The serrations are more likely reducing aerodynamic disturbances, rather than simply reducing noise. The surface of the flight feathers is covered with a velvety structure that absorbs the sound of the wing moving. These unique structures reduce noise frequencies above 2 kHz, making the sound level emitted drop below the typical hearing spectrum of

3572-494: The floor is taken up by the apartment of the Residence Life Coordinator. Lastly, on the first floor there is a house common room with a kitchen and two couches. [1] The second floor has three double rooms and seven single rooms. It has three single washrooms and one larger communal one, as well as its own kitchen. This floor is home to the residence don, who has a larger room with a private washroom. The third floor

3648-606: The focus of their view because, like most birds, their eyes are fixed in their sockets. Owls are farsighted and cannot clearly see anything nearer than a few centimetres of their eyes. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of filoplumes —hairlike feathers on the beak and feet that act as "feelers". Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good. Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270°. Owls have 14 neck vertebrae — humans have only seven — and their vertebral circulatory systems are adapted to allow them to rotate their heads without cutting off blood to

3724-531: The house blindfolded. Since Novemberfest, Gate House continued to have conflict with the Administration. In 2004 the Dean evicted three Gate House residents for allegedly "hog-tying" a first-year student. In 2007 President Paul W. Gooch wrote that Gate House undertook an "escalating series of actions" that were "defiant" and "disparaging of women", in response to Gate members constructing a 2.5-metre snow penis and placing

3800-445: The indigestible parts of their prey (such as bones, scales, and fur) in the form of pellets . These "owl pellets" are plentiful and easy to interpret, and are often sold by companies to schools for dissection by students as a lesson in biology and ecology. Owl eggs typically have a white color and an almost spherical shape, and range in number from a few to a dozen, depending on species and the particular season; for most, three or four

3876-416: The installation of floats. Eyesight is a particular characteristic of the owl that aids in nocturnal prey capture. Owls are part of a small group of birds that live nocturnally, but do not use echolocation to guide them in flight in low-light situations. Owls are known for their disproportionally large eyes in comparison to their skulls. An apparent consequence of the evolution of an absolutely large eye in

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3952-471: The large-sized retinal image. Thus, the primary nocturnal function in the vision of the owl is due to its large posterior nodal distance; retinal image brightness is only maximized to the owl within secondary neural functions. These attributes of the owl cause its nocturnal eyesight to be far superior to that of its average prey. Owls exhibit specialized hearing functions and ear shapes that also aid in hunting. They are noted for asymmetrical ear placements on

4028-442: The largest of any bird's, preventing blood supply from being cut off while they rotate their necks. Other anastomoses between the carotid and vertebral arteries support this effect. The smallest owl—weighing as little as 31 g ( 1 + 3 ⁄ 32  oz) and measuring some 13.5 cm ( 5 + 1 ⁄ 4  in)—is the elf owl ( Micrathene whitneyi ). Around the same diminutive length, although slightly heavier, are

4104-533: The largest owls, the great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ), needs a force over 130 N to release prey in its talons. An owl's talons, like those of most birds of prey, can seem massive in comparison to the body size outside of flight. The 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. An owl's claws are sharp and curved. The family Tytonidae has inner and central toes of about equal length, while

4180-413: The leading edge of owls' remiges muffle an owl's wing beats, allowing an owl's flight to be practically silent. Some fish-eating owls, for which silence has no evolutionary advantage, lack this adaptation. An owl's sharp beak and powerful talons allow it to kill its prey before swallowing it whole (if it is not too big). Scientists studying the diets of owls are helped by their habit of regurgitating

4256-796: The lesser known long-whiskered owlet ( Xenoglaux loweryi ) and Tamaulipas pygmy owl ( Glaucidium sanchezi ). The largest owls are two similarly sized eagle owls ; the Eurasian eagle-owl ( Bubo bubo ) and Blakiston's fish owl ( Bubo blakistoni ). The largest females of these species are 71 cm (28 in) long, have a 190 cm (75 in) wing span, and weigh 4.2 kg ( 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  lb). Different species of owls produce different sounds; this distribution of calls aids owls in finding mates or announcing their presence to potential competitors, and also aids ornithologists and birders in locating these birds and distinguishing species. As noted above, their facial discs help owls to funnel

4332-916: The most part seems to have taken place in Eurasia. In the Americas, rather, an expansion of immigrant lineages of ancestral typical owls occurred. The supposed fossil herons "Ardea" perplexa (Middle Miocene of Sansan, France) and "Ardea" lignitum (Late Pliocene of Germany) were more probably owls; the latter was apparently close to the modern genus Bubo . Judging from this, the Late Miocene remains from France described as "Ardea" aureliensis should also be restudied. The Messelasturidae , some of which were initially believed to be basal Strigiformes, are now generally accepted to be diurnal birds of prey showing some convergent evolution toward owls. The taxa often united under Strigogyps were formerly placed in part with

4408-427: The name of Ryerson House was reverted to its original title, First House. Named for Victoria principal, president, and chancellor Samuel S. Nelles , Nelles House echoes the position of Middle House amongst the Upper Houses. Like Middle, Nelles House sits between the first and third houses in the set. However, Nelles is the exact same size and shape as Ryerson and Caven House. The only Lower House to not be named after

4484-486: The nest. Therefore, females may have a larger mass to allow them to go for a longer period of time without starving. For example, one hypothesized sexual role is that larger females are more capable of dismembering prey and feeding it to their young, hence female owls are larger than their male counterparts. A different theory suggests that the size difference between male and females is due to sexual selection: since large females can choose their mate and may violently reject

4560-513: The other Upper Houses due to its position on the corner of the building. The largest of the Upper Houses due to its incorporation of two battlements which divide North and Gate House, Middle House is the centre of the Upper Houses. The owl is the emblem of Middle House, sourced from the Victoria College coat of arms, and originally used to represent the Faculty of Arts. The Don's room in Middle House

4636-484: The other three Lower Houses. Unlike Ryerson, Nelles, and Caven House—which are all identical in layout—Bowles-Gandier is the amalgamation of Gandier House and Bowles House, which operated independently until the 1995 renovations. The floor plan for Bowles-Gandier varies from the other Lower Houses, with a significantly larger common room and two triple-bedrooms on the main floor: each with an in-suite kitchen and bathroom. The Bowles and Gandier stairwells are connected by

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4712-457: The owl's usual prey and also within the owl's own best hearing range. This optimizes the owl's ability to silently fly to capture prey without the prey hearing the owl first as it flies, and to hear any noise the prey makes. It also allows the owl to monitor the sound output from its flight pattern. The disadvantage of such feather adaptations for barn owls is that their feathers are not waterproof. The adaptations mean that barn owls do not use

4788-406: The renovations the entire building was exclusively male, but now every house is co-ed. The Lower Houses each have four floors, but are much narrower with each level having only four rooms. Each level also has its own kitchen, but these are much smaller than in the Upper Houses. The Lower Houses do have far larger and better fitted common rooms that are similar to the ones the Upper Houses had before

4864-471: The renovations. The rooms in the Lower Houses are also considered more luxurious with hardwood floors and large sizes. Rooms in the Lower Houses are more expensive, however. Until 2003 the Lower Houses were restricted to upper year students but with the double cohort of graduates from Ontario schools many of the rooms were transformed into doubles and now hold first years. There is typically one upper-year Residence Don for First, Nelles, and Caven House, and

4940-428: The same size as their prey. This has also been observed in other predatory birds, which suggests that owls with smaller bodies and long wing chords have been selected for because of the increased agility and speed that allows them to catch their prey. Another popular theory suggests that females have not been selected to be smaller like male owls because of their sexual roles. In many species, female owls may not leave

5016-581: The script of the 1978 movie. The Toronto Star described Gooch's decision to put an end to its traditions, activities and distinguishing characteristics as "neutering Animal House." Gate House has three floors which house 28 students, as well as a don and the Victoria College Residence Life Co-ordinator. Above the gate there is a tower that rises three stories higher and has a turret-style roof. The first floor has one double room and one bathroom available to students. About half of

5092-441: The skull in some genera. Owls can have either internal or external ears, both of which are asymmetrical. Asymmetry has not been reported to extend to the middle or internal ear of the owl. Asymmetrical ear placement on the skull allows the owl to pinpoint the location of its prey. This is especially true for strictly nocturnal species such as the barn owls Tyto or Tengmalm's owl. With ears set at different places on its skull, an owl

5168-464: The sound of prey to their ears. In many species, these discs are placed asymmetrically, for better directional location. Owl plumage is generally cryptic , although several species have facial and head markings, including face masks, ear tufts , and brightly colored irises . These markings are generally more common in species inhabiting open habitats, and are thought to be used in signaling with other owls in low-light conditions. Sexual dimorphism

5244-447: 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. 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 N. The larger barn owl ( Tyto alba ) needs a force of 30 N to release its prey, and one of

5320-421: The torso. This ability keeps bodily movement at a minimum, thus reduces the amount of sound the owl makes as it waits for its prey. Owls are regarded as having the most frontally placed eyes among all avian groups, which gives them some of the largest binocular fields of vision. Owls are farsighted and cannot focus on objects within a few centimetres of their eyes. These mechanisms are only able to function due to

5396-503: The twilight hours of dawn and dusk; one example is the pygmy owl ( Glaucidium ). A few owls are active during the day, also; examples are the burrowing owl ( Speotyto cunicularia ) and the short-eared owl ( Asio flammeus ). Much of the owls' hunting strategy depends on stealth and surprise. Owls have at least two adaptations that aid them in achieving stealth. First, the dull coloration of their feathers can render them almost invisible under certain conditions. Secondly, serrated edges on

5472-473: The upper houses were originally known as the Men's Residences. The four houses are: North House , Middle House , Gate House , and South House . The upper houses were gutted and renovated in 1995. Each Upper House consists of three floors. The lower floor contains a common room equipped with kitchen facilities, couches and a television. The upper floors each have their own kitchen and dining area. All houses have

5548-406: The world and across a multitude of ecosystems, their hunting skills and characteristics vary slightly from species to species, though most characteristics are shared among all species. Most owls share an innate ability to fly almost silently and also more slowly in comparison to other birds of prey. Most owls live a mainly nocturnal lifestyle and being able to fly without making any noise gives them

5624-529: Was known as a social centre and spirited, tight-knit community. According to Grayson Lee, who created the snow penis sculpture in 2007, most of its residents were "heartbroken" to leave. Former Gate House President Dave Ruhl commented that "the Gate House camaraderie is unique" and that living there was "one of the most important parts of the university experience" for many. The Reuters news agency nicknamed Gate House "U of T's Animal House" because Donald Sutherland's memories of its parties are said to have influenced

5700-418: Was opened the same year. Ryerson House (renamed to First House in 2021), Nelles House , Caven House , Bowles-Gandier House are now mostly home to undergraduate arts and science students. One story lower than the Upper Houses, they consist of four floors in order to reach the same height. All five houses are connected underground via the basement. The lower houses have only been partially upgraded. Before

5776-463: Was originally the room reserved for the Dean of Men at Victoria, fit with a fireplace and seating area. Gate House is one of the four Upper Houses of the Burwash Hall residence. Until 2007, when Victoria administration made it co-ed, Gate House was one of the last remaining all-male residence building in the University of Toronto. The Gate House emblem is the Phoenix, visible in the bottom-right corner of

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