From Neil Simmons
It’s fun to see the eyes on the back of a Pygmy owls head. When I’m photographing one it gets tricky knowing which way they are looking. I can’t help but chuckle when I hear someone next to me clicking their camera shutter at the wrong time. These eyes on the back of their heads are a defense mechanism warding off predators and making themselves appear larger than they are.
The proper term for this eye mimicry is “ocelli”, a diminutive of the Latin “oculus”, which means eye, so ocelli are “little eyes”.
Whaat the heck, I had no idea! I had to watch that clip a few times lol. Is it just for pygmy owls or do others ones have it too?
It’s like those hats people wear whole hiking that have eyes in the back. It’s supposed to discourage mountain lions from attacking you from the back
Lol, I chuckled at first, but then I did see a number or articles about people doing it while hiking or hunting. None seem to take the idea as gospel, but they figured it couldn’t hurt to put eyes on the backs of their hats or packs.
There are a few pygmy owl types that have them, I don’t think they all do. Kestrels have them.
A lot of animals employ the same principle, like butterflies, fish, and others. Wiki Article
Ebe’ whaaaa??
