The Crested Owl is from Central and South American rainforests. This reclusive nocturnal owl cones in a darker and a lighter version. The darker ones are a rich chocolate color while the lighter ones are more reddish brown.
They mostly eat insects, but recent observations tell of them raiding groups of bats.
They are also said to have a frog-like call.
Due to their remoteness, not much else is known about them.
Oh! You may notice they have eyebrows. I almost forgot that...
The Ashy Faced Owl lives in the Caribbean, on Hispaniola and a few other islands.
There has been some difficulty getting this owl classified. It was originally a subspecies of Western Barn Owl (Tyto alba), then it became a monotypic species, and in 2023, 2 subspecies of American Barn Owl got reclassified as subspecies of the Ashy Faced Owl.
The Ashy looks similar to many other common Barn Owls, but with a dark face and buffer undersides and darker wings.
It is adapted to many ecosystems on the islands. Thick forest, sparse forest, farmland, or palm plantations can all support Ashy Faced Owls.
Ashy eats a wide variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.
They are also much less particular about nesting sites than typical barn owls, likely due to the more limited space of being on islands.
Will the outrageously dressed jungle dweller turn you into a wild Crested supporter, or have you been looking for a Tyto of a different color that enjoys island life? Show us your votes now!
Screech picked up a clear and straightforward win over Tawny Fish in a match that mirrored Eagle vs Ural. Screech is just so well known and well loved that it's hard for a rarer owl to knock it off.
Tawny is a great owl, and we do have Buffy Fish Owl and Blakistons coming up still, so genus Ketupa is still well represented and has a chance to get some more love.
Screech is looking fairly well positioned now, and has a solid chance of meeting Saw Whet in the later rounds if it holds on to its edge. Screech absolutely has the ability to take on last year's winner and even come out ahead. That red color morph is very popular, and it's got the same small and cute thing going on as the champ.
My boy's gone :( I'll have to do some proselytism for the remaining fish owls!
It gave its best showing, but in the end, there can only be one Owl of the Year. It still did pretty well, since over 200 owls didn't even make it in the games to begin with.
I know I really enjoyed getting a refresher on what all makes the fish owls different from each other besides coloration.
I usually focus on Buffy as my top overall fish owl, but I'll try and get some more Tawny, and Brown for that matter, shown in the daily posts.
I'll be looking forward to that! :)