Saw this post on the Glen Helen Raptor Center Facebook page while looking for today’s owl of the day and it seemed like something you guys would enjoy.
The ear-like feathers on top of many owls heads are called plumicorns and are thought to aid in camouflage and communication. Owls can raise and lower these feathers at will with tiny muscles at the base of each feather. This little screech owl rehab patient is recovering from head trauma and tends to hold just one plumicorn up at a time which begs the question:
“What do you call an owl with just one plumicorn?”
incorrect use of “begs the question”
plunicorn, obviously
They still did better than the editor for the Boston news story I posted the other day. I don’t expect the bird people to have perfect grammar, but the news people I’d expect to hold up to a higher standard.
I’m partial to “uniplume,” but plumicorn seems like such a good word to play around with.