#great grey owl

[bethanythebogwitch]

I heard it's Superb Owl Sunday so I have prepared some superb owls for you.

The barn owl is the most widespread species of owl, living on every continent except Antarctica. Their faces are shaped like a disk to help their hearing, giving them some of the best hearing of any owl. They mostly hunt by sound.

Snowy owls are the largest arctic predatory birds, They are born with black feathers and get whiter as they age. Females usually have more dark feathers than males.

Eastern screech owls have a few feather variants that make them look like completely different species.

The southern white-faced owl can increase its metabolic rate during winter to compensate for the cold and lack of food. They lay their eggs in nests built and abandoned by other birds.

The great grey owl is the largest owl by length, but a lot of that is feathers and they're actually very light for their size. Their hearing is good enough to hear rodents burrowing through snow and they can break through hard-packed snow to catch prey.

Blakiston's fish owl is the largest owl by mass and eats mostly fish. Despite the name, they may be more closely related to eagle owls than fish owls.

The elf owl is the smallest owl species, barely larger than a sparrow. They hunt bugs and play dead when caught. They like to live in holes in saguaro cacti.

Burrowing owls live in underground burrows. While they can dig, they mostly take over burrows from other animals. Farmers killing prairie dogs has severely reduced burrowing owl populations. They decorate their burrows with feces to attract bugs to eat.

The barking owl is called that because

Its nice to have a day to appreciate superb owls. Feel free to spread the love by reblogging with some more owl facts.

[maureen2musings]

kenandersonphotography

[jagalart]

northern

A little more complex sketchpage I've done for the amazing Meluisart! I wanted this one to be my fanciest yet, I just loved all of the themes here so much 🖤

[wolfsteax]

'It's not glorious, it's not beautiful, it's not even heroic. It's merely doing what's right.'

[scottpartridge]

A new batch of prints on wood panels being prepped for @cascadesraptorcenter .For those not able to make it to the center, these and many other designs can be purchased from my store: https://jevaartprints.square.site/s/shop

[birdninjaart]

Yup he definitely missed the vole he was after, look at that goofy face

[lovilego]

Edit: I forgor to paint their eyes😭😭sorry

[autistrix]

[https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201704649] Great Gray Owl || Strix nebulosa Observed in Russia Least Concern in location of observation

[maureen2musings]

Lift off

kenandersonphotography

[harkthorn]

Bird sketches today

-2955

[parsleydraws]

amber eyed shapeshifter

[eternal--returned]

eternal--returned ֍ Hoot Hoot, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (2019)

[sitting-on-me-bum]

“A Moment of Prayer”

Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa), Helsinki, Finland.

Photographer: Arto Leppänen

Bird Photographer of the Year

[lowkeloki]

Owl unexpectedly lands on photographers' camera.

Photo by Thomas Pham-Van.

Moment experienced by Anaïs Trépanier.

[proton-wobbler]

Great Backyard Bird Off - Cosmopolitan Birds (poll 10)

Bird Info & Submission Reasons

Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa)

Continents: North America, Europe, Asia

"the worlds longest owl! they dont build nests so they lay their eggs in abandoned nests of other birds"

A large enigmatic owl of bogs, meadows, and coniferous forest. This rare and sought-after species is most often seen hunting around dawn and dusk, when it perches silently at the edges of clearings. Feeds mainly on voles. When vole populations crash, Great Grays can be found in large numbers south of their usual northern haunts, especially in winter. Yellow eyes and white bow-tie pattern on neck separate Great Gray from Barred. Its deep hoots are rarely heard. (eBird)

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Continents: Europe, Africa, Asia

"I spent months thinking the little grebe in the park was a juvenile tufted duck but no they are actually that tiny. Also, fluffy bum."

"it is just so tiny in comparison to all other water birds"

Fairly common but often inconspicuous small diving bird of wetlands with bordering reeds and other vegetation. Often remains out of sight; less often out on open water (mainly in winter). Rather compact, with rounded head, puffy rear end. Seen mainly as singles and small loose flocks, often sleeping during the day. Breeding plumage often looks dark overall; in good light note dark rusty head and neck sides with yellow patch at base of bill. Nonbreeding plumage dingy pale brownish overall with dark cap. (eBird)

Image Sources: Owl (Lars Petersson), Grebe (Bhaarat Vyas)

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Flying low by Shelly Lynn Hachey O Via Flickr: Great Gray Owl