Why do owl ears look like feathers?

Photo by Ian Britton at Freefoto.com.

Owls are birds and they have feathers that cover up their ears.  Some owls have feathers that even stand up and look just like ears!  The feathers on an owl's face make a circle called a facial disc that funnels even more sound to the owl's ears.  If you could see the owl without any feathers, you would see that its ears are not even!  One ear is higher than the other one.  This lets owls hear sounds coming from up high and down low easier. 

Owls have such great hearing that they can hear a mouse squeak from half a mile away!

Try holding your hand or a cup up around your ear.  You might be able to hear sounds louder, just the way an owl's facial disc helps it to hear sounds louder.