Wow...Shape Shifting Owl

Dingue, j'adore ! Décidement on aura beau se creuser la tête on poura jamais etre aussi surprenant que le nature.

That bird is such an anime character come to life. Now I know where Miyazaki gets his ideas!

Popo-chan!~~

No idea what was said but it was great nontheless.

It looks like James Hrynyshyn - the Global Warming Parrot. Skwawk Skwawk.

I have to admit that I normally bristle a little when people stress out animals just to see what they do. But I'll totally overlook it this time because that shit is amazing and adorable!!

Hey, guys, when are you going to start breeding mini, shape-shifting owls?

We got to see what that owl does when two other kinds of owl are nearby. I wonder what it does when other kinds of owls show up... Maybe it falls to the ground and plays dead?

Okay it's cute but what the hell kind of owl is it? Please send me the species name.

ROFLmeow! I saw this on Cute Overload yesterday. Must have watched it half a dozen times in a row. AWSUM.

Dior, That's a white-faced scops...

Thanks for sharing this. It's amazing though point well taken about stressing animals.

This video should be called "Torturing the Scops Owl."
He responded to the barn owl (not normally a predator of other owls) with an attempt at intimidation, but the eagle owl, which eats every owl smaller than it, scared the crap out of him and made him try to disappear. I wonder how many times a day they put this poor little guy through this routine. A little stress is OK, but this is just flat-out cruel. Tied to a perch in broad daylight, surrounded by a roaring crowd with nowhere to hide, and presented with two apex predators--everything about it is an owl's idea of Hell.

Pure magic.

I can't wait until they dub this for MXC.

zooillogix has gone into the business of breeding miniature shapeshifting scops owls. we will call them odo. we are taking orders now for 2012. demand is high. do not miss out.

Are these owls all from the same area? I know we have barn owls in the US, but how would an owl from South Africa know an owl from North America isn't a threat? Have I missed something?
Thanks,
Wendy

Just goes to show how much of the own is "feathers." There ain't much meat on those bones!

Longsmith:

The idea is that the animal is reacting to differently-sized threats. A barn owl, which is only slightly larger than the scops, might be frightened away by the scops's display, but a much larger eagle owl doesn't give a fig HOW fluffy his wee nibs gets, he might make a tasty mouthful. So the scops is recognizing this, and trying to blend in to his surroundings, which would normally include a tree. If he deflated and hooded his bright eyes like that and leaned against a tree trunk, a predator wouldn't even notice him. Notice how he turns with the owl, to keep himself as wee as possible.

I've been watching Attenborough's The Life of Birds, and a Potoo (this little parrot-like character) did the same thing: deflated himself and hooded his bright yellow eyes. He looked like nothing more than a broken branch. It was awesome.

If I'm not mistaken, that's at Kakegawa Kacho-en. I'm planning on going there in May.

http://kamoltd.co.jp/kkee/Toppage/index.htm

They have quite the owl collection. Also, the "water lily pool" sounds only marginally interesting until you find out the area is full of friendly toucans and conures.

I'll see if the gift shop has any shot glasses. ;-)

They have quite the owl collection.zooillogix has gone into the business of breeding miniature shapeshifting scops owls.

So the scops is recognizing this, and trying to blend in to his surroundings, which would normally include a tree. If he deflated and hooded his bright eyes like that and leaned against a tree trunk, a predator wouldn't even notice him. Notice how he turns with the owl, to keep himself as wee as possible.

Are these owls all from the same area? I know we have barn owls in the US, but how would an owl from South Africa know an owl from North America isn't a threat? Have I missed something?

a predator wouldn't even notice him. Notice how he turns with the owl, to keep himself as wee as possible.

even notice him. Notice how he turns with the owl, to keep himself as wee as possible.