Nah, it’s normal size. I just think we don’t see many photos from such a full side view. Here’s the first random side pic Google gave me:
I’ve actually been enjoying this stubby look a lot lately. Owls have very large wings for their mass, which allows them to flap less. While their famed “silent flight” is mostly true, the big wings let them glide more, and that decreased need to flap makes those quiet wings even quieter. The analogy I always give here is it’s like a larger PC fan moves more air at lower rpm, so it’s not just the fan blades being quieter, there’s just significantly less overall movement to accomplish the same job. So when it’s standing upright and those wings are folded up, it just looks like a fluffy oatmeal container. When those wings come out though, it changes the whole perspective of its body length.
Birds are also mainly done growing by the time they leave the nest also. They’ll still pack on more weight with time, but their skeleton is basically done growing by the time they fledge. That’s how they can band birds before they leave the nest. If that leg bone was still growing, they couldn’t band it, but by doing it right before it’s strong enough to fly far away, they can do it safely.
Also, due to the lack of belly spots, I’d guess this is a male in the original post if I was forced to choose.
Nah, it’s normal size. I just think we don’t see many photos from such a full side view. Here’s the first random side pic Google gave me:
I’ve actually been enjoying this stubby look a lot lately. Owls have very large wings for their mass, which allows them to flap less. While their famed “silent flight” is mostly true, the big wings let them glide more, and that decreased need to flap makes those quiet wings even quieter. The analogy I always give here is it’s like a larger PC fan moves more air at lower rpm, so it’s not just the fan blades being quieter, there’s just significantly less overall movement to accomplish the same job. So when it’s standing upright and those wings are folded up, it just looks like a fluffy oatmeal container. When those wings come out though, it changes the whole perspective of its body length.
Birds are also mainly done growing by the time they leave the nest also. They’ll still pack on more weight with time, but their skeleton is basically done growing by the time they fledge. That’s how they can band birds before they leave the nest. If that leg bone was still growing, they couldn’t band it, but by doing it right before it’s strong enough to fly far away, they can do it safely.
Also, due to the lack of belly spots, I’d guess this is a male in the original post if I was forced to choose.
Good info thanks!
My pleasure!