From Karin Skl

Listed as a “Waldohreule,” which translates from German to “Wood Owl,” “Wood(Forest) Ear Owl” but many of us would know it as a Long Eared Owl.

  • @[email protected]
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    6 hours ago

    We also have the Waldkauz (tawny owl) in German, which would translate to “wood owl”. (In German there is a difference between Eule and Kauz while in English and zoology there isn’t.)

    Waldkauz

      • anon6789OP
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        54 hours ago

        I remembered I had discussed this with someone before, and I found the thread here where someone explains it to me a bit. I’m all for more people explaining it though, I learn a lot from these language lessons, it almost makes it worth my feeling embarrassed for getting things wrong to begin with!

    • anon6789OP
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      5 hours ago

      And Eagle Owl / Uhu gets its own special word. Is there any reason for that, like it’s a word borrowed from another language or something?

      Edit: Looked it up while it was on my mind and found a wiktionary entry saying it’s onomatopoeic:

      Like obsolete Buhu, Schuhu, an alteration of early modern German Huhu, itself an onomatopoeic reduplication of *Hu, from Middle High German hūwe, huo, from Old High German hūwo (“nightowl”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūō (“owl”).

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        3 hours ago

        In a wildlife shelter close by, there was a young flightless eagleowl. When you approached his cage, he was quite loudly shouting: “Uhu! Uhu!”

        • anon6789OP
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          45 hours ago

          I got to see a pair of Eagle Owls this year, but sadly they were behind glass so I couldn’t hear them. They also had hatchlings the week after I was there, so I missed out on all kinds of Uhu fun, but it was still exciting to see them. They were just as big as I had pictured and every bit as beautiful!

          • @[email protected]
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            3 hours ago

            Yes, they are impressive and, of course, beautiful. Sadly, as “animal rights enthusiasts” broke into the shelter and released him, this one isn’t alive anymore.

            • anon6789OP
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              13 hours ago

              It’s sadder in some ways when someone thinks they’re helping, but actually doing a bad thing. I like my animals wild and free, but a flightless owl stands no chance on its own.

              It’s also disappointing seeing an animal that could have been rehabilitated, but people tried to help it on their own too long and now they are imprinted and can no longer be returned to nature for their own safety.