• You@feddit.org
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    11 days ago

    You got that wrong - that tree isn’t yours, it belongs to the owl.

    Just kidding, wish I had such cute neighbours.

    • anon6789@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      Getting weight and wing measurements of adults can get you a reasonably (90-ish %) accurate idea of gender. For babies, they’d have to check chromosomes. With adults, you can see if they lay an egg or develop a brood patch, and some will do other gender role type activities that can help distinguish them.

      A handful of owls will have some visual indicators, but they’re not always very accurate. Barn Owl females usually have more belly spots and a browner “beard”, but it isn’t too difficult to find examples that break that guideline.