This matchup brings us a set of very distinguished looking birds.
The Flammulated Owl developed a very rabid fan base last year, with you guys calling it the “Ent Owl” as it resembles a living tree. The owl’s name refers to the smoldering ember patterns that only enhance its great looks. It is a small owl, slightly larger than the Elf Owl, but has a surprisingly deep hoot. They are a migratory species, leaving Canada and the western US in the winter to go down to Latin America. Flammulated Owls, like the Long Eared Owl, is another owl that actually doesn’t mind being in groups of its own kind. They prefer pine forests and eat insects.
The Dusky Eagle Owl hails from India to Malaysia. It is a large owl, mostly nocturnal, but will come out during the day, especially if it is more cloudy. One interesting fact is they only nest in abandoned nests or one particular bird in 2 or 3 particular kinds of tree! I’d love to tell you more, but they are one if the least studied owls, so hopefully the mystery will add to its allure!
#superbowl #owloftheyear2024
Flammulated Owl
I didn’t realize they made owls that small! So cute
The Saw Whets fit in a 6oz tomato paste can and the Blakiston’s is the size of a fire hydrant, so no matter what size owl you need, there’s one to fit your needs. Some extinct owls like the long legged stilt owls were even larger, and the largest we know about was found in Cuba, and was 4ft / 1 meter and 20 pounds / 9 kg.
For modern owls, a fan of Guardians of Ga’hoole made this handy chart.
Huh, I tried uploading this a few times and it keeps chopping off the bottom, so here is a direct link to the image without the useful stuff chopped off.
📣 Flammie! Flammie! Flammie! 📣
Dusky Eagle
This match pits two of my favs against each other, so I don’t know if I want to see a repeat of Flammy’s surge from last year, or for the Dusky to get a shot at it. 😖
Blakiston’s was head to head with Eagle for a good while, but Eagle pulled ahead at one point and never looked back. I will probably never get to see a Blakiston’s, but I did get to meet an Eagle Owl family this year in Pittsburgh and they were as glorious as I’d hoped.
What is going on with the pattern on those feathers!? It’s that thing where you send electricity through wood and get that pattern, or people when struck by lightning. Absolutely unique, happy for your visit, and looks like you got to see many facets of that Eagle’s personality
I love that pattern too! I went to the park by my work with the Great Horned Owl the other day and she was right at the front and she’s got the same thing, so I took some time to enjoy it.
The National Aviary was amazing. I got to hold a Screech Owl named Cedar, and I didn’t know at the time, but the Eagle Owls had laid eggs that hatched while we were there, so there are 2 more now!
They had a Burrowing Owl also, who was very unhappy that I saw him. I’d been to a few places that supposedly had them before, but I’d never seen any of them. I’d like to see another one in a better mood, this one didn’t seem to want company.
Flammy’s back!! 🥰🤘🏼
It’s such a cool looking owl, I’m not sure why it doesn’t seem to be over your average person knows about.
Dusky is holding its own, but Flammy Fever still looks to be hot!
Tough matchup out of the gate for Flammy, dang.
I’m glad I took the time to do an actual seeding process this year. Even the matches that haven’t been close still felt fairly competitive to me. At least for me, it still feels like this is an actual competition with real stakes, even though I know it’s completely meaningless. 😆
Meaningless?! I think you underestimate the superbowl community’s fickle subjective whims!
You guys always keep me pleasantly surprised! 😝
Dusky is very beautiful. This is an interesting match imo bc so far it’s kinda been 2 of similar types and these guys are so different. Flammie is the small owl in my bracket, except Burrowing
I love how dark and mysterious the Dusky is, but Flammy is like a Screech Owl on fire, uh, in a good way 😅
A very hard choice and I’ll be sad to see either one go.
Impossible choice.
Both so handsome and stoic, Flammy with the burning embers look, and Dusky with those orangish eyes and puffy pants look. So much to love about both!
Right: smelt it
Left: dealt it
😁
dusky in that picture looks like it has extremely big legs and a tiny torso, and i love that
Some definitely look like they could be a person in an owl suit and it makes me chuckle every time! 😁
They’re both greats, that’s certain. But I gotta say. Flammulated AF always takes the cake.
It’s undeniably one fine lil owl!
