#every pic of the fish-owl looked like it was fake on ebird idk yall

[proton-wobbler]

Semifinals, Poll 1

American Dipper vs Blakiston's Fish Owl

sources under the cut

American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus)

"He is the mountain streams' own darling, the humming-bird of blooming waters, loving rocky ripple-slopes and sheets of foam as a bee loves flowers, as a lark loves sunshine and meadows." - naturalist John Muir

eBird Sightings: 131,700; IUCN Redlist Rating: Least Concern

A songbird who has decided to take to swimming to catch his dinner, the American Dipper is our only species of dipper in North America. They span from Alaska down to Panama, living alongside clear, mountainous streams. Because they need clean and free flowing water to effectively hunt, and their prey need similar conditions to grow numerous, they are a good indicator species for water quality.

Blakiston's Fish Owl (Keputa blakistoni)

"[These] are amongst the most aquatically-based owls in the world" - Wikipedia "Massive, pale brown owl with plump, rounded ear tufts" - eBird

eBird Sightings: 396; IUCN Redlist Rating: Endangered

The largest living species of owl, Blakiston's Fish Owl inhabits dense, undisturbed old-growth forests near waterways in Russia and Japan. So long as they've got a stretch of river that doesn't freeze over, they can remain in their forests throughout the winter months. Their name comes from the fact their main prey is fish, sometimes large fish which are two or three times the weight of the owl itself. Despite this, they're more closely related to eagle-owls than true fish-owls, an African genus.

Image Sources: Dipper (Mark Daly); Fish-Owl (Julie Edgley)