[Date Prev][Date Next][Date Index]

Re: Mystery Owl



I must agree, though we were both looking for the "eyes" and not seeing them. Perhaps, juveniles don't have them. The views we got were brief, due to trail traffic. Everything else matches for a nopo: eyes, spots, white tail barring, lighter bill/beak, size. No other small owl seems to fit.
 
Thanks for the help.
 
Jim
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:20 PM
Subject: Re: [BirdTalk] Mystery Owl

Jim,
 
It is a Northern Pygmy-owl!  Perhaps the lack of the back-of-the-head "eyes" could be attributed to the bird's posture or your angle of view?  Your owl might also be a juvenile because the crown doesn't appear to be as heavily spotted as an adult's crown should be. I can't find any info to indicate if juvenal plumage includes the "eyes" or not. 
 
Kris
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Bailey
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:21 PM
Subject: [BirdTalk] Mystery Owl

Hi,
 
Unlike Tim Avery, I don't know the answer to this bird ID question. The owl appeared to have no eyes in the back of his head, which seems to rule out a Northern Pygmy Owl. It also didn't seem to have any ear tufts. We saw it tonight up Millcreek on the Bowman Fork Trail around 7:30pm. I was lucky to snap off a couple of blurry pictures before a group stormed up the trail and sent the bird flying. It's about 6-8" in size, pretty grayish looking, round wing spots, yellow eyes, no ear tufts, as the photos show. It also tended to stick its tail up, almost wrenlike.
 
Any ideas?
 
 
Jim Bailey
2032 Ribbon Lane
Holladay, UT 84117
(801) 274-8034
 
A  hobby must be in a large degree useless, inefficient, laborious or
irrelevant -Aldo Leopold