Photo by Scott Manne
No Photoshop here! Northern Hawk Owl being harassed by this monstrous Raven. Just look at the difference in size . Northern Maine. 1/31/24
Are you sure that’s a raven? That beak looks pretty raptory to me. Amazing photo regardless.
It looks like the top half of the beak is more curved, did when the break is open like this, it accentuates that curvature.
The feet also don’t look to be zygodactyl, and I believe all raptors would have a zygodactyl arrangement for gripping prey.
I couldn’t tell you the differences between a crow and a raven without looking it up, so I can’t say for certain, but the photographer called it a raven, and I ran it through an image search and that called it a raven too.
I had no idea about bird feet! This link (https://birdfact.com/anatomy-and-physiology/legs-and-feet/different-types-of-feet-and-their-functions) says anisodactyl feet are the most common. Zygodactyl feet are for climbing (woodpeckers) or holding food (parrots).
Very cool picture regardless, thank you for sharing!
Of course!
Another neat feeture about owl toes is one works like a bit like a thumb in that it can change position to grip different things.
From The Peregrine Fund:
Another interesting adaptation that Osprey have is an opposable toe. Most raptors have three toes that point forward, and one pointing back, called the hallux. But Osprey, like owls, can move their smallest toe forward and backward. To get a better grip on prey or on a branch to perch, they simply move the small toe back so they have two toes facing forward and two facing back. They can return to the three forward, one back configuration any time they want.
Some more backstory from the comment section.
