Photos by Shaun McNaughton

I’ve described for you before my experiences with owl feathers being much less dense and rigid than I’d have expected, and these photos really capture that. Having some give to them lets the individual barbs move around, decreasing the flapping noise.

This is also likely why they have larger wings for their size than other birds, to make up for the loss of lift for not having denser flight feathers.

  • Optional
    3•3 months ago

    If you look up “aerodynamic” in the dictionary, it’s a picture of this guy.

    • anon6789OP
      3•3 months ago

      I always think of some acoustic version of a laser guided missile. 🚀

    • anon6789OP
      5•3 months ago

      It’s a very neat thing that is pretty difficult to describe, so I was happy to find this.

      I encourage all of you to get to an owl event because they will typically pass around things like feathers and bones so you can get an idea how big their eyes are, how light the bones are, and just how delicate their feathers are.

      One of my favorite things about owls has been all the duality. They’re big, vicious, and strong, but also so fragile at the same time.

      • @[email protected]
        3•3 months ago

        Exactly! I definitely keep meaning to figure out where all the nature conservatories and such are around here.

        • anon6789OP
          2•3 months ago

          If you narrow it down to a region, I can take a look for you. You can PM me if you don’t want to broadcast it to everyone.

            • anon6789OP
              2•3 months ago

              Back at you. I sent you a decent variety of things, so hopefully something will be good for you. There’s 2 festivals coming that sound really good!

              • @[email protected]
                2•3 months ago

                Thank you so much! I had no idea there were so many cool events near me! I definitely need to check the festivals out.

                • anon6789OP
                  2•3 months ago

                  I look forward to your on-the-scene reporting!

                  I just did a Google for “owl events your_location” and that was the first 2 pages. They’re really all over the place. They tend to be smaller events for the animals’ sakes, so they don’t jump out if you aren’t looking but most places are always looking for volunteers and support, so they get out and about a decent amount.

                  You’re all close to owls, so go see them… And then share them here!