WildFact
Owls (Strigiformes) - Printable Version

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RE: Owls - Tshokwane - 08-23-2017

Credits to Samp Parks.

In Jackson Hole, we were lucky enough to be directly in the "path of totality" for yesterday's solar eclipse. It was a neat experience, but I was especially happy that the sun's rays had returned in full to illuminate this absolutely beautiful great gray owl that I found later in the day.

*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Pantherinae - 03-09-2018

Eagle owl eating his hooded crow lunc, while being harassed by the other crows. A goshawk also joins in. 
*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Tshokwane - 04-11-2018

Credits to Ghost Bear.

It can be extremely difficult to determine the age of a great grey owl, but not impossible. One method (albeit with mixed results) is to look closely at their feathers.


Great greys molt (shed) their flight feathers annually after their first year of life. As the owl ages, they tend to show more colour variations - from dark brown to lighter grey (the latter being the result of sun bleaching according to some studies). Juveniles, on the other hand, often have light tips at the end of their tail feathers and very little feather variation or barred colouring on their body.

Even with this technique, determining age is difficult and many studies into other methods have been inconclusive. In fact, it’s quite surprising how little research has been done on the Strix nebulosa – an owl that is the largest of its species by wing span in North America and one of the tallest, yet weighs only 2-3lbs.

*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Tshokwane - 04-13-2018

Credits to Ghost Bear.

Determining the sex of the great grey owl is almost impossible. A general rule of thumb is to observe the size, especially in comparison to its mating partner during nesting season. Female great greys are, for the most part, larger than the males, though it’s not a hard and fast rule – age also factors into determining the owl’s heft.

*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Tshokwane - 04-13-2018

Credits to Ghost Bear.

Here’s a fun fact: Great grey owl ears are positioned a bit differently on each side of their head. They possess asymmetrical ears - the right ear opening is slightly lower than the left to enable a type of triangulation assistance that enables them to locate elusive prey beneath deep snow. Paired with their dished face, which acts as a satellite to capture the slightest sound, great grey owls have been using these skills to hunt since before the last ice age – techniques that took humans until the early 20th Century to discover and design for their own use.

*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - epaiva - 05-03-2018

Burrowing Owls in the Venezuelan Llanos

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Rishi - 05-20-2018

True Facts  (PG-13 educational videos for children below 13)





RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - epaiva - 07-11-2018

Barn Owls

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RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - epaiva - 07-21-2018

Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus)
Book Great Horned Owl (Dwight G. Smith)

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - epaiva - 07-21-2018

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Book Great Horned Owl (Dwight G. Smith)

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - epaiva - 08-04-2018

The photographer was taking pictures of a juvenile Great Horned Owl when suddenly the father appeared with a juvenile Barn Owl it hunted and as fast as its parent left the Barn Owl the juvenile Great Horned Owl started to eat it.
Credit to @vishal_subramayan_photography

*This image is copyright of its original author


RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Spalea - 07-28-2019



RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Spalea - 09-08-2019

Snowflake ? No, a white owl ! These birds are really fascinating.



RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Spalea - 09-12-2019

The biggest owl in Africa: the Verreaux's eagles-owl.



RE: Owls (Strigiformes) - Spalea - 10-26-2019

Perfectly well hidden...