Here’s a nice object lesson in the adaptive morphology of the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus).
The species is in the New World only; here’s its distribution:
Tomorrow I’ll feature readers’ pictures of owls, among them a nice great horned owl in a Wal-Mart.
I’ve have LOVED owl week.
We frequently get these around our home. At night, a pair will often call loudly to eachother for hours. It’s especially nice to see them in the trees while listening. Really fun for a while and then … can we please get some sleep now?!
The call (as it sounds to me anyway): “Who hoots for YOU?!”
You might appreciate the one that has been coming around here, doesn’t stay long enough. Just a couple of hoot patterns and gone. I did get a glimpse of it once as it flew through a narrow stream of light too quickly and too far away for my tastes. Seems that it might come by a few times each night.
I send these to my cousin, a raptor rescuer in whidby island WA and other firneds who locally here in Bataiva il see Owls aplenty with large tress and a friends outside of Toronto. Thanks for all you do especially Owl week!
One inaccuracy in the video is the mention of panting and cooling. The heat transfer takes place in the lungs, not “the throat”. The incredible surface area of lungs (in all beasts) means that the lungs are the most efficient heat exchanger to be found, in nature or man-made.
Owl week is awesome!
Does the GHO not like the Amazon, or does the Amazon not like the GHO?
The local falconry centre (who also take in injured birds, though they’re a for-profit organisation, AIUI) have a Great Horned Owl who they take around to their various PR/ outreach events. A lovely Wol. Or even “саба”
Gorgeous… enjoying owl week