This matchup brings us a set of very distinguished looking birds.
The Flammulated Owl developed a very rabid fan base last year, with you guys calling it the "Ent Owl" as it resembles a living tree. The owl's name refers to the smoldering ember patterns that only enhance its great looks. It is a small owl, slightly larger than the Elf Owl, but has a surprisingly deep hoot. They are a migratory species, leaving Canada and the western US in the winter to go down to Latin America. Flammulated Owls, like the Long Eared Owl, is another owl that actually doesn't mind being in groups of its own kind. They prefer pine forests and eat insects.
The Dusky Eagle Owl hails from India to Malaysia. It is a large owl, mostly nocturnal, but will come out during the day, especially if it is more cloudy. One interesting fact is they only nest in abandoned nests or one particular bird in 2 or 3 particular kinds of tree! I'd love to tell you more, but they are one if the least studied owls, so hopefully the mystery will add to its allure!
#superbowl #owloftheyear2024
I didn’t realize they made owls that small! So cute
The Saw Whets fit in a 6oz tomato paste can and the Blakiston's is the size of a fire hydrant, so no matter what size owl you need, there's one to fit your needs. Some extinct owls like the long legged stilt owls were even larger, and the largest we know about was found in Cuba, and was 4ft / 1 meter and 20 pounds / 9 kg.
For modern owls, a fan of Guardians of Ga'hoole made this handy chart.
Huh, I tried uploading this a few times and it keeps chopping off the bottom, so here is a direct link to the image without the useful stuff chopped off.