It’s interesting, that looks like a pretty big owl, but that little branch isn’t bending all that much under its weight. I like how you can see it hanging on with those big ole feet. The eyes are great too.
Hawk Owl is smaller than it looks like it should be.
The Great Greys not bending those same tree tops is the most impressive thing! They are the biggest owl (volume-wise, a few are actually a little heavier) but they still look light as a feather hanging out there.
I came across the perfect pic the other day, but I didn’t save it, as most here don’t seem to like the GGO, but it was the same pose as the Hawk Owl with the branch all in view and still perfectly vertical.
Here’s some size perspective on these guys.
Great Grey Owls might not have the immediate cute factor that some owls do, but I think they look majestic. Just look at this one flying sideways. They have to have great hearing with such a big face. And they have such pretty deep voices.
The video I linked to just says that the owl spotted a vole about 300 yards away under 1.5 feet of snow. Its wings have serrated edges so it can fly silently. And it has to catch at least 7 small rodents a day to survive.
Once I began to look at all the “strange” looking adaptations of animals as unique answers to problems, they became much easier to appreciate.
As you said, this is what super strength hearing looks like. If a human were to really have the speed of The Flash, what would their legs muscles really have to look like? What would their eyes have to look like to withstand that speed while staying open to see where they’re going? So much would have to change from standard human form they would look alien to us.
This owl has special powers, and that look is necessary to support that, and that is amazing.
It’s a little fascinating how “fresh” and groomed they always look. Make me live in the forest for a week and you probably wouldn’t recognize me at the end of it.
Hawk owls also look especially dapper to me in a Rat Pack gangster way. Little wise guys. 😁
What a beautiful thing to say to someone: I wish you a happy hawk owl!
I like it!
