Ah, semantics . . . . "Diurnal" means during the day. "Nocturnal" means
during the night. "Diel" means during a 24 hour day. Thus, Short-eared
owls are largely (only?) diurnal. Barn Owls and Burrowing Owls are diel;
they hunt both day and night; Barn Owls, if it's overcast. Great-horned
Owls etc. are nocturnal. There's another nice word, "crepuscular" which
refers to dim light as in dawn and twilight. And so it goes.

---Herb Curl

h.curl at hazmat.noaa.gov "You may be only young once but you can be
Hazmat/NOAA, 7600 Sand Pt. Wy., NE immature the rest of your life."
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