“If we cannot sing of faith and triumph, we will sing our despair. We will be that kind of bird. There are day owls, and there are night owls, and each is beautiful and even musical while about its business.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
~ 1817 ~ 1862
What a hoot!
A Great Horned Owl, the first I’ve ever captured in a photo, is perched in a tree as a summer dusk wraps around Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania, on a July evening.
It is known for its prominent ear tufts (“horns”). These are not ears, but rather tufts of feathers on the head – plumicrons - used for communication and camouflage, helping them blend into tree bark. The ears are located on the sides of its head, directly behind their eyes, hidden under their feathers. Their large, forward-facing bright yellow eyes provide incredible night vision for hunting, as these raptors are nocturnal predators. They achieve near silent flight thanks to specialized feathers that disrupt and absorb aerodynamic noise.
“Hoot Owl” is a common nickname.
