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Taken shortly before the one owlet decided it had had enough of hanging around with the family, and took off for another tree...
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 extant bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions (e.g. the Northern Hawk Owl). Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland and some remote islands. Though owls are typically solitary, the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament. Owls are characterized by their small beaks and wide faces, and are divided into two families: the typical owls, Strigidae; and the barn-owls, Tytonidae.
Owls have large forward-facing eyes and ear-holes; a hawk-like beak; a flat face; and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted in order to sharply focus sounds that come from varying distances onto the owls' asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Most birds of prey sport eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl's forward-facing eyes permits the greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting. Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets — as are those of other birds — so they must turn their entire head to change views. Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270 degrees in either direction.[1][2][3] As owls are farsighted, they are unable to see clearly anything within a few centimeters of their eyes. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of filoplumes — like feathers on the beak and feet that act as "feelers". Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good.
The smallest owl — weighing as little as 31 g (1.1 oz) and measuring some 13.5 cm (5.3 inches) — is the Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi).[4] Around the same diminutive length, although slightly heavier, are the more little known Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi) and Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium sanchezi).[4] The largest owl by length is the the Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa), which measures around 70 cm (28 in) on average and can attain a length of 84 cm (33 in).[4] However, the heaviest (and largest winged) owls are two similarly-sized eagle owls; the Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) and Blakiston's Fish Owl (B. blakistoni). These two species, which are on average about 2.53 cm (1.00 in) shorter in length than the Great Grey, can both attain a wingspan of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a weight of 4.5 kg (10 lb) in the largest females.[4][5][6][7][8]
Different species of owls make different sounds; this wide range of calls aids owls in finding mates or announcing their presence to potential competitors, and also aids ornithologists and birders in locating these birds and recognizing species. As noted above, the facial disc helps owls to funnel the sound of prey to their ears. In many species, these discs are placed asymmetrically, for better directional location.[9][verification needed]
The plumage of owls is generally cryptic, but many species have facial and head markings, including face masks, ear tufts and brightly coloured irises. These markings are generally more common in species inhabiting open habitats, and are thought to be used in signaling with other owls in low light conditions.[10]
Owl eggs usually have a white color and an almost spherical shape, and range in number from a few to a dozen, depending on species. Eggs are laid at intervals of 1 to 3 days and do not hatch at the same time. This fact accounts for the wide variation in the size of sibling nestlings. Owls do not construct nests, but rather look for a sheltered nesting site or an abandoned nest in trees, underground burrows, or in buildings, barns and caves.[
source wikipédia
A young Barred Owl stretches after preening under the protection of a dark and dense canopy. Copyright ©
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The jungle owlet, or barred jungle owlet, (Glaucidium radiatum) is found in the Indian Subcontinent. The species is often found singly, in pairs or small groups and are usually detected by their calls at dawn and dusk. There are two subspecies with the form found in the Western Ghats sometimes considered a full species.
Their diet consists of insects, small birds, reptiles, and rodents.
India
Rajasthan
Bharatpur.
Keoladeo National Park
This former duck-hunting reserve of the Maharajas is one of the major wintering areas for large numbers of aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia. Some 364 species of birds, including the rare Siberian crane, have been recorded in the park.
The spotted owlet (Athene brama) is a small owl which breeds in tropical Asia from mainland India to Southeast Asia. A common resident of open habitats including farmland and human habitation, it has adapted to living in cities. They roost in small groups in the hollows of trees or in cavities in rocks or buildings. It nests in a hole in a tree or building, laying 3–5 eggs. They are often found near human habitation. The species shows great variation including clinal variation in size and forms a superspecies with the very similar little owl.
Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada
I didnt see the two owlets huddled together at first, (they were much deeper in the woods) and then after about 15 mins, this little one flew a little closer and gave me a good looking over…
Another widlife release. This owlet jumped its nest premature or was booted out by a larger sibling. It was picked up on the road by animal control and delivered to our raptor rehabber. He gave it good meal and then we released it back into its nest tree. Momma owl snapped her bill and hooted in displeasure, but I'm sure she will forgive us when she finds her missing baby.
Stretching is good for every creature! There were three great horned owlet siblings, in a very “sticky” and bad light situation, but a few shots turned out. Love that foot! The towering influffo!
The babies popped up to say hello while mom rested close by. Wish that stick was in a different place.
Great horned owl chicks, according to some of the amateur naturalists in the group. The have their home in the big ruin at Quarai.
..... '' NOT TAKEN AT THE NEST ''...
I had an idea where the nest may be but did not go there at anytime during incubation etc so as not to disturb the adults ..... the owlets leave the nest at approx...15--17 days then they are fed in the area by the adults until they fledge at about 27 days ....this one had left the nest and was probably about 20 / 21 days old .....one of two I think I saw being fed nearly a month ago but I have not posted until now .......they will be fledged now hopefully ............
This is one of the two owlets I photographed at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, FL. Cute little things.
The two recently fledged Great Horned Owlets, to my surprise, weren't 15-20 feet up in the trees near their nest site. Instead, both were on the forest floor the day after leaving. This is one of them.
This little owl was so much fun to watch, stretching his wings and walking around the tree branches. He can fly too, but both baby and mom stay close to where the nest was. He is so alert of everything going on around him. I am sure it wont be long before mom teaches him how to hunt on his own.
This little owlet is only one of two youngsters I saw in this area, at this burrow. It is, however, doing a behavior I had not seen till earlier this year, at the very same location, by an adult perhaps the soon-to-be parent. Definitely enjoying itself, it turned and gave me a nice tail-end view a moment later.
Eventually the two fledgling owlets leaning against each other for a nap separated slightly. One of them moved along the branch and couldn't easily be viewed behind the pine needles. The other one got very curious about the human things standing on the ground far below it. These owls don't move their eyeballs around, so to focus fully focus on a subject, they move their whole heads around and side to side. Very charming to see!
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park