#Superb Owl Sunday

[ironagefyxen]

owl of the above

[boy-warbler]

Long-eared owl from yesterday; just in time for Superb Owl Sunday

[tearlessrainart]

YOU ALL KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS

This year's Superb Owl is the ever popular great horned owl.

[vanillaflowerstuff]

i heard it was time for super owls or something?

[drowzeeking]

These are the only Superb Owls I care about...

[aeshnacyanea2000]

A pair of Eurasian Eagle-Owls (Bubo bubo) for superb owl sunday.

[arthistoryanimalia]

More fabulous owl art for #Superb_Owl Sunday: another example of those owl supernatural decapitators!

Pair of Ornaments Depicting a Decapitator Owl Deity Moche, Peru, 100–800 CE, gold. #1: 3 7/8 in. diameter (9.8 cm) #2: 3 13/16 in. diameter (9.7 cm) The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

[alexiscat]

[rainbowravels]

I made an owl for Superb Owl Sunday! :D

I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. I think for the next one, I'll experiment with making the body even bigger so the eyes (which I can't easily make smaller) won't take up quite so much room. But I think this little guy is pretty cute as-is.

[inga-don-studio]

FNAFuary #8 Crossovers! & #12 Pastel

Security Owl from FNAF World in a vaguely Animal Crossing style for Superb Owl Sunday! Without text under the ‘keep reading’ break:

[sans-slash-wheatley]

happy superb owl day to all who celebrate 🦉🎉

[boy-warbler]

Sitting on the dock of the bay. Snowy owl from yesterday

[athelind]

It's Superb Owl Sunday!

[spacefinch]

Happy Superb Owl Sunday!

Here’s a barred owl sketch to celebrate!

[aeshnacyanea2000]

Eurasian Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium passerinum)

[arthistoryanimalia]

Important #PSA for those who may be sharing medieval owl memes for #Superb_Owl Sunday as these owls (especially #1) often show up in them, and unfortunately there are unfunny reasons why they look the way it do. :/

#DYK that some medieval bestiary owls carry antisemitic context that may not be obvious to the casual modern viewer? Sadly, these nocturnal owls were used to symbolize Jews living in darkness and rejecting the light of Christ.

Features to watch for include: anthropomorphized faces with beaks made to resemble hooked noses; owl "horns" drawn like devil horns (and the horned hats some Jews had to wear); and "mobbing" by other birds (a real-life behavior, but also used to symbolize attacking a sinner).

For more info:

1. Miyazaki, Mariko. "Misericord owls and medieval anti-Semitism." In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature, pp. 23-43. Routledge, 2013.

2. Greatley-Hirsch, Brett. "From Jew to Puritan: the emblematic owl in early English culture." In ‘This Earthly Stage’: World and Stage in Late Medieval and Early Modern England, pp. 131-172. Brepols, 2010. PDF available online.

Image sources:

British Library, Harley MS 4751 (Harley Bestiary), folio 47r

Westminster Abbey Library MS 22 (Westminster Bestiary), f. 40

Aberdeen University Library, Univ. Lib. MS 24 (Aberdeen Bestiary), f. 50r

Bibliothèque Nationale de France, fr. 1951 (Bestiaire d'amour rimé), f. 15v