Skittles is an Eastern Screech Owl that was brought to The Center on December 31, 2018 after a collision with a vehicle in Calverton, NY. The accident severely damaged her left eye. One-eyed owls can be released back into the wild, but it was determined that her good eye doesn’t see properly.  So, due to her impaired vision, Skittles is unable to be released because she can’t hunt prey effectively.

Eastern screech-owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees. They have 14 vertebrae in their necks (humans have only 7).