From Meaghan Garrahan
So often when I’m editing owls I’m thinking I wish people weren’t looking at them on their little phone screens because there’s no way it could do their beauty justice 🥹
I like how it’s looking down. When I see them looking straight ahead, I usually think that big ole head doesn’t look very aerodynamic. Although I guess it’s not too different from a jumbo jet.
But with this picture, you can see how the face is the perfect shape to funnel sound to their ears. I wonder if it helps their eyes too, to be set back in those divots.
It would be interesting to see airflow over an actual owl. The feathers aren’t near as solid as they are for most birds, so I’m wondering if the feathers impede the air that much. I never poked one’s face, but if the air blows through to the skull, that’s still round, so it may not be as resistive as it looks. They’re not so much built for speed to start with, so it may not be much of an issue anyway.
I haven’t seen any discussions I can recall about pro/con of the eye location. Now you’ve got me really curious about specifics on where structures are compared to where they appear to be due to all the feathers…
Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. I have this idea that I could guess where things are under the floof, but I really don’t know. I’m always surprised how long their tails actually are.
They are a very different creature under that floof! 😄
A little bit like dinosaurs, I guess :)
They bear some of that family resemblance. 🦖
The patterns on the wings of this owl really are superb.
I have been on a SEO kick for a while now. Looking at these photos again, maybe it’s because they’re one of the few daytime owls, that these photos have the sun shining through the feathers, highlighting the lower than ordinary density of owl plumage. It gives it an ethereal feal that you don’t get from any other bird.
Pictures you can’t hear
