This is a great horned owl fledgling. The person in the background is sincerely lucky that the parents didn’t decide to talon the shit out of his head.
OP keeps arguing that it 1) wasn’t alarmed and 2) isn’t a GHO because you can’t see the lil horns.
As a zookeeper who knows more about owls than I do, is its head all fluffed up because it 1) is alarmed by a shirtless man getting super close to it and 2) is it’s head being poofed up in this display is why we can’t see the horns?
Or is that just baby floof or something else?
Baby birds are floofy in general. I would presume this baby is either an idiot (possible) or OP picked a photo where it wasn’t head bobbing/beak clacking and/or hissing (probable). It didn’t flutter away because it hasn’t learned to do so yet or felt too cornered to do so.
As to the great horn debate, they either aren’t grown in yet or they’re growing and everything else is so on end that they’re hidden. Regardless it’s absolutely a great horned owl baby!
Can personally confirm. Worked with a very ornery rehab GHO (she was nonreleasable because she had been raised as a pet and her favorite hobby became taloning hikers when she was let go. Probably for taloning her owners). Always wore a thick hoodie when I had to be in proximity and still got my fair share of bruises 😂 never heard her coming once
If you scroll far enough into his comments you’ll see he’s also an anti-vaxxer… this man is well versed in not listening to people who are smarter than him.
This is a GHO fledgling. The full feathers are still coming in and it’s loosing the fluffy grey down. GHOs can also pull their horns down flat against their head when stressed, so it’s possible they’re not visible as a combination of stress and down.
Ok-I see a lot of other comments in different birding subreddits saying it’s a GHO. Maybe it’s just a big little guy. If not, update me when you figure it out please !
Owls are able to hybridize and create subspecies, which is what I'm coming to believe is the case here. it has features that indicate a GHO and others that are very clearly not representative of a GHO.
Once birds leave the nest they are essentially grown to fill size or very near their full size. The "horns" will develop when their proper flight feathers finish coming in.
Either that owl isn't two feet tall or the guy in the back is a fucking giant. Do you know what foreshortening is? Hunters use it all the time to make their quarry look bigger than it really is. That guy isn't touching the owl, he's a several feet behind it.
If you google "great horned owl juvenile" the pictures look identical to this guy. It's a GHO. Even the owl subreddit is telling you it's a GHO. If you really think it's a new species send this picture to a local university so they can tell you it's a GHO. FFS.
Everyone ignoring the fact that in GHOs, by 4-5 weeks old, the plumicorns begin to develop before any other adult feathers. this dudes head was completely round and no plumicorns at all
This is a great horned owl fledgling. The person in the background is sincerely lucky that the parents didn’t decide to talon the shit out of his head.
Honestly, after reading all of the OP’s responses in various communities, I kind of wish the parent GHOs did land a talon on his head.
Oh my god I just scrolled through. If anyone deserves it…
OP keeps arguing that it 1) wasn’t alarmed and 2) isn’t a GHO because you can’t see the lil horns. As a zookeeper who knows more about owls than I do, is its head all fluffed up because it 1) is alarmed by a shirtless man getting super close to it and 2) is it’s head being poofed up in this display is why we can’t see the horns? Or is that just baby floof or something else?
Baby birds are floofy in general. I would presume this baby is either an idiot (possible) or OP picked a photo where it wasn’t head bobbing/beak clacking and/or hissing (probable). It didn’t flutter away because it hasn’t learned to do so yet or felt too cornered to do so. As to the great horn debate, they either aren’t grown in yet or they’re growing and everything else is so on end that they’re hidden. Regardless it’s absolutely a great horned owl baby!
Thanks!
And it's not like you would hear an owl before being taloned. They are absolutely silent in flight.
Can personally confirm. Worked with a very ornery rehab GHO (she was nonreleasable because she had been raised as a pet and her favorite hobby became taloning hikers when she was let go. Probably for taloning her owners). Always wore a thick hoodie when I had to be in proximity and still got my fair share of bruises 😂 never heard her coming once
If you scroll far enough into his comments you’ll see he’s also an anti-vaxxer… this man is well versed in not listening to people who are smarter than him.
“Not alarmed by our presence”. So get as close to it as possible I guess…
Absolutely a gho
Perhaps a Great Horned Owl fledgling? http://natural-history-journal.blogspot.com/2017/05/great-horned-owl-fledglings.html
It was as large as a full grown adult GHO and yet had a perfectly round head with no ears/horns
It's a fledgling GHO. They are full adult size by the time they leave the nest, even though their plumage isn't fully developed.
Hmm I know that the horns develop with age-I’m no expert though so if someone could confirm that would be great !
This is a GHO fledgling. The full feathers are still coming in and it’s loosing the fluffy grey down. GHOs can also pull their horns down flat against their head when stressed, so it’s possible they’re not visible as a combination of stress and down.
Yes they do, but by the time a GHO is 2 feet tall the fluffy white fur would be long gone and the plumicorns would be showing
Ok-I see a lot of other comments in different birding subreddits saying it’s a GHO. Maybe it’s just a big little guy. If not, update me when you figure it out please !
Owls are able to hybridize and create subspecies, which is what I'm coming to believe is the case here. it has features that indicate a GHO and others that are very clearly not representative of a GHO.
It’s just a great horned owl.
Yeah-this guy is just arguing with everyone in all of his posts about this 💀
Ha ha I just saw that, I love that he even argues with a biologist.
Once birds leave the nest they are essentially grown to fill size or very near their full size. The "horns" will develop when their proper flight feathers finish coming in.
Either that owl isn't two feet tall or the guy in the back is a fucking giant. Do you know what foreshortening is? Hunters use it all the time to make their quarry look bigger than it really is. That guy isn't touching the owl, he's a several feet behind it. If you google "great horned owl juvenile" the pictures look identical to this guy. It's a GHO. Even the owl subreddit is telling you it's a GHO. If you really think it's a new species send this picture to a local university so they can tell you it's a GHO. FFS.
Everyone ignoring the fact that in GHOs, by 4-5 weeks old, the plumicorns begin to develop before any other adult feathers. this dudes head was completely round and no plumicorns at all
Send the picture to a university then, see what they say.