I feel bad the little one got bonked unjustifiably, but it is a cool lesson in owl-natomy...
I thought so too, but it's done extremely poorly. The 3 Fishing Owls are all very fluffy and fancy, which I love, but they are also very uncommon, so it'd be tough to find good pics of them, so I'm not too upset. 😜
Here are the other 2. The Pel's seems the most common.
Rufous
Vermiculated
I think we could get Lucas to make another edit. What's one more at this point? 😆
Some more technical details from this previous post:
So, why is this owl's eye green you ask?
Mammals have Bilirubin. It is responsible for the yellow color of healing bruises and the yellow discoloration in jaundice.
Avian species have Biliverdin (Latin for green bile), green tetrapyrrolic bile pigment, and is a product of heme catabolism. It is the pigment responsible for a greenish color sometimes seen in bruises.
The green indicates blood trauma that is healing his eye, and should be absorbed by the body and eventually disappear.
Like playing hide and seek with a toddler in comparison to other owls 😁
To be fair, they only really need to hide from fish...
Those goldfish with the upward facing eyes are probably their arch nemesis!
Though far from the heaviest owl, they are still the largest owl measured head to tail, yet they are still almost weightless!
From Dawnelle Salant
From Ivan Putter
Flying brown Teddy bears (Pel's Fishing Owls) of Mapungubwe (South Africa).
Since great captures of a pretty uncommon owl!
From The Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital at Cornell University
The arrival of winter at the Swanson Wildlife Hospital means an influx of owls that have been hit by a car. Although eye injury is a common problem in these owls, a more rare occurrence is a bright green iris. This occurs when blood, inflammation, and other factors combine to create the right conditions for this to occur. The beautiful green color usually only lasts a day or two, as medications (and the owl's own healing) bring it back to its normal coloration.
This particular screech owl did excellent, and was discharged to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for eventual release back to the wild.
From Carlos A Carmona
There is nothing more accelerating than observing a Great Gray Owl 🦉 launching with his eyes locked 🔒 on the prey. Such an impactful expression.
- in Meadowlands, MN.
From David Brozek
Eagle owl
Poland 20.10.2024
Nikon z9, 400 2.8, iso 1000, f2,8, ev -0,3, 1/500, 400mm.
From Gretchen Lally
Eastern Red Screech Owl comes back home just before sunrise after hunting all night... her pupils are completely dilated, to let the most light in for hunting
From Mark Kula
This Western MA female Snowy Owl waited us out on a frigid afternoon until the sun dropped just below the horizon at the juncture of golden and blue hour. She popped up with no warning and I was able to catch a short sequence. A bit grainy as iso was 12800 at 1/400 f8 and of course a bit of a crop.
From Cynthia Rand
I discovered another new Screech Owl recently! I worked hard to find an unobstructed opening to shoot through as there were so many vines between us. It was a good distance away but the photo is cropped significantly. I could have moved closer and eliminated the vines. But my goal is to make sure each Owl feels safe enough to stick around. If I get too close, most of them would feel stressed and possibly seek out a cavity that feels safer. They choose their cavity for a reason and I don't want to cause them to leave it.
From Meaghan Garrahan
A few from last night I was shocked they came out with the high winds and freezing temps!
From Larry Lynch
The Great Horned Owl rests peacefully on its favored perch.
From Sushant Jadhav
Melting into the bark !!
Pallid scops owl
Nalsarovar Outskirts | Gujarat | India 24th January
From Dawn Barrowcliff
Good morning. Here are some shots that I've taken of the shorties this past fall and winter! 💕 Such fun owls to watch!!
From Lisa Cuchara
Fascinating to see, even though it's home was the Arctic, it knows to try to sit out of the snow -- sitting on grasses, sitting on the feet (see previous image) of a rabbit it killed, etc.
Taken, handheld, using the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO on the OM-1 mark II.
"The best thing I ever did for my hunting was to spread that rumor!" *evil laugh