From Iowa Raptor Project

Every mid to late August, we answer a lot of questions regarding our small owls and why they look so… pitiful. This is a completely natural process called “molting”, where birds will shed worn or damaged feathers to grow in newer and stronger ones. Catastrophic molting, such as molting all of the head feathers at once, only happens once a year, and is a sign of good health and nutrition because growing new feathers takes a lot of energy and blood supply!

Pictured is Juniper (Northern Saw-whet Owl) and Little Horn (Eastern Screech Owl) during their molts and after their molts. What a difference.

They’re normally so cute!