Owls are one type of animal that is considered to be nocturnal. This means that they stay awake at night and sleep during the day. One of the main reasons why certain animals like the owls are nocturnal and that is because of their specialized senses. Owls have eyesight that is modified to nighttime. It seems that the bright sun during the day hurts their eyes.
Therefore, they have become accustomed to sleeping during the day when it is too bright and being active at night. That is why you may hear owls at night and do not see them during the day time. Other nocturnal animals include bats and tarsiers. They have the same issue that owls have and that is why they are nocturnal too.
The reason why a lot of owls are asleep during the day is they are nocturnal creatures. It is normal to see a group of owls, called a parliament, at night. This means that they normally sleep during the day and they are awake at night. There are some owls that are diurnal though such as the short-eared owl. This means that they are like people. They sleep at night and they are awake at daytime.
Owls take the opportunity at night to hunt at night. Some people feel like they are like owls especially those who are suffering from insomnia. This is a condition wherein people cannot sleep at night so they find it hard to function during the daytime.