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An avian study project is proving to be a real hoot for two Arkansas State University students.

The students released a pair of 10-week-old barn owls at the ASU farm complex Thursday.

On Dec. 23 Jonesboro veterinarian Dr. Archie Ryan took in the juvenile owls following the death of their parents, said T.J. Robinson of Montgomery, Ala., a graduate student studying avian ecology under Dr. Thomas Risch, assistant professor of biological sciences at ASU.

The barn owl release project is a joint venture between the ASU departments of biological sciences and agriculture, Robinson said.

Thursday morning on the ASU farm, Ken Levenstein, who is studying Galapagos hawks as a part of his doctoral program, banded the claws of the siblings while Robinson held them in his hands.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife bands have serial numbers on them, so that officials will be able to keep an eye on them, even though Robinson said the nocturnal birds are likely to stay around the farm.

In the past the natural roosting areas of barn owls have been in the deep cavities of huge trees, but most of the trees are gone now, he said.

"It's important to rehabilitate them because the population in the area is declining due to changes in agricultural methods," Robinson said. "The changes in the environment are threatening."

For instance, the owls used to roost in old-style barns, but with new metal barns, there are no places to roost or nest, he explained.

Robinson and Levenstein established an artificial roosting place, a box home, for the owlets in the attic of an old barn on the farm complex at the campus.

The pair will "stay together in the same nest for awhile," he said.

The graduate student said the owlets will be fed for a couple of weeks before being expected to hunt on their own.

"Most of their hunting is done at night," Robinson said. "The shape of their face allows them to bounce sound waves to their ears."

--Sherry F. Pruitt