Flamulated Owl gets a nice following in these tournaments. The eyes flamulated is a reference to the flame like markings it has, which make it resemble smoldering firewood. This little cutie is about half the size and a quarter the weight of a Western Screech Owl. It is slightly larger than the Elf Owl, which is the world's smallest owl.
They live from British Columbia to Mexico, and are true migratory owls, moving to Central America for the winter.
Flammies eat mainly insects, like crickets, moths, and beetles.
They can often be heard, with their surprisingly low toned hooting, but are seldom seen due to their small size, how high in trees they live and hunt, and being nocturnal hunters.
If this little hooter gets a fire going in you, upvote it now!
Speaking of the US West Coast, this owl is currently public event number 1: the Barred Owl. This owl isn't supposed to be in the western part of the country, but thanks to numerous industries ignoring their impact on the environment, the Barred Owl has adjusted to this modern world in a way other owls could not. Now they are a scapegoat, the fall guy, for industries and a government that refuse to change priorities.
The Barred Owl is highly adaptable. It can eat almost anything. It's not particular where it lives or its proximity to people. It can hold its own in a fight to protect its territory. It's one tough owl all around.
While not as firey in appearance as the Flammy, it still is a lovey grey/brown with beautiful vertical barring on the chest and belly, hence its name. It is also much larger, in case you need more to cuddle in your daydreams. They also have a fairly famous call that sounds like "who cooks for you?"
Are you into the bad boys? Do you feel it just gets a bad reputation but has a heart of gold and is just misunderstood? Do you get the feels from its dramatic pouty face? Or do you just like an owl that tries to lay low and be darn good at its job, no matter how others may feel about them? If so, Barred Owl may be just what you're looking for.
Please be sure to upvote the set of photos you prefer!
I've seen a few comments of "I vote for x!" but when I view the votes, I do not see your name under either owl. Make sure your vote is counted!
For sure I thought I'm backing the barred, but then I saw that first Flamulated owl staring up (with a clothes peg for scale) in the comments and I couldn't vote anything but Flamulated.
I think most of us can imagine a medium or extra large size owl rather easily, but the small ones I think are highlighted Best by including something for a sense of universal scale. They don't have as much room to work with to begin with to necessarily look fancy or have any kind of special designs, but some people really like that tininess.