Posted by North Texas Wildlife Center

Barn Owls in a clock tower near Paris, TX. somewhere. (Tried to find where the tower was, and saw this thing has been reposted so many times I can’t tell you where it’s actually from.)

Some notable facts from All About Birds

  • Up to 46 different races of the Barn Owl have been described worldwide. The North American form is the largest, weighing more than twice as much as the smallest race from the Galapagos Islands.

  • Barn Owl females are somewhat showier than males. She has a more reddish and more heavily spotted chest. The spots may indicate the quality of the female. Heavily spotted females get fewer parasitic flies and may be more resistant to parasites and diseases. The spots may also stimulate the male to help more at the nest. In an experiment where some females’ spots were removed, their mates fed their nestlings less often than for females whose spots were left alone.

  • TheDoctorDonna@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I just want them so I can cuddle that cuteness! Something tells me cuddling an owl is even harder than cuddling a cat though.

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      Cats seem a lot cuddlier. Birds are mostly just air, like a balloon in a coat.

      A cat is mostly cat. They’re both warm and fuzzy, and there’s more ways to hold them without either of you getting hurt.

      Plus a cat is probably better smelling. Cats like hygiene. Owls have no sense of smell and eat skunks and such.

        • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
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          10 months ago

          They are, and I still want to touch one even if they are stinky windbags! 😆

          I’ve held chickens a few times and I just feel like I’d holding something made of out paper mache that is way too crushable and doesn’t want to be held anyway and is smothered in salmonella. I’d think the owl would have to be similar.