Great Horned Owlets (Part 1)

[epatman07]

Oh, by the way.. that whole "beak-clicking" thing means get away.

[willis420247]

man there kinda scarry lookin

[AthenaScissorhands]

Owls are meaaaaannnnn mean mean.

[dreydman1]

lol i thought that was bubble wrap at first

[LowBasslin3]

0:53 "get. out."

[xSplatteredx]

Gimme the beat, dudes! :D

[lieutenantstormy]

Quoth the owlet "Click, click."

[lasercow1]

how is it that they can move there upper jaw as well? is it not that it is part of there skull? (funny way of putting it :\ )

[lasercow1]

sounds like a room full of bubble wrap

[stewart3245]

There Eyes Are Like 0_0 I'm Gonna Get You

[stewart3245]

"go away human, the popcorn is ours" :D

[stewart3245]

0:20

[juansosa555]

lol they are all watching you o_o

[363Magi]

There clicks are like music to me

[suzyjonas]

amazing!

0:21 my fav part!! :)

[Thewhiteandorange]

maaaan...how can something be so redonkulously poofy.... Forget the warning clicks I'd go face-first into that fluff...be totally worth it

[1burdladee]

@Thewhiteandorange LOL.....Lots of sharp edges inside that fluff!

[jakehubbb]

look at the mother smiling that someone is enjoying her kids

[mairead027]

so incredibly beautiful!

[stewart3245]

nice owls 1burdladee

[phantompanther]

Wow, I didn't know owls made that kind of noise! Neat. =)

[1burdladee]

@phantompanther  Owls clack their beaks and hiss as a warning to stay away. Sort of like a dog growling.

[briham86]

Sounds kinda like someone popping bubble wrap.

[TheWiggler1234]

Those beaks sound like they'd hurt pretty bad..

[EquestJess55]

I just adore owls--birds in general. Would you know of any rehab facilities in the Cincinnati, Ohio or Northern Kentucky area that might want a volunteer? I'm in college for veterinary medicine with a focus on avian/exotic medicine. Not only would I love to help out, but it would be nice to get experience under my belt on for a vet school resume.

[Doccarson]

What kind of PSI do the beaks produce at that age? The amount of noise would suggest its quite a lot.

[BronyaCovooper]

those are sweet.....

[FLambert1985]

They're so gorgeous!

[tragoidia88]

I never knew Great Horned Owls made that clacking noise. Is that a juvenile thing, or do adult owls do it too?

[1burdladee]

We have had Great Horneds,Barreds,Screeches and Saw-whet owls and they all clack their beaks, adults and juvs. It is a warning sign kind of like a dog growling.

[Mazryonh]

How exactly do owls foster unrelated offspring? I thought that animals like lions did their best to kill unrelated offspring to protect their own line.

I think it's funny how the owlets are more annoyed at the camera than Oscar is.

[1burdladee]

All of our program birds foster young of their own kind during the spring and summer months. We are very careful to make sure they except the young bird before we leave them alone together. It is very important for young birds to be in with their own kind as soon as possible so they don't become habituated to humans which could put them in danger after release Birds of prey don't have the same social structure as lions so they wont kill to protect their line but may kill for food

[1burdladee]

or to protect a territory.

[Mazryonh]

I see. So fostering is best done on a case-by-case basis, because infanticidal cannibalism is a waste of your time.

I'm surprised more raptor species aren't nomadic; it's quite the waste to have fratricidal cannibalism just over land that may not actually be productive. Some like Snowy Owls can just go elsewhere, hunger permitting, if a place isn't productive enough.

But isn't raising other's offspring a form of "brood parasitism"? Like what a cuckoo does?

[1burdladee]

If I'm not mistaken cuckoos lay their eggs in the nest of another species for them to raise what we are doing is introducing young of the same species to our adult captive birds. Also "fratricidal cannibalism" will occur between siblings in the nest if not enough food is available. Siblings hatch out a few days apart and their can be a significant difference in size betwwen the first and last hatchling. Squabbles over land are usually between adults before breeding season.

[Mazryonh]

I was thinking "parasitism" in a genetic sense, since from a gene's viewpoint it's a waste of your time and resources to raise unrelated offspring in most cases. Hence the murderous tendencies of lions towards cubs not of their own line. I have heard that Great Horns will eat one another if they squabble over land and one of them doesn't fly away.

How do you keep nestlings from eating each other? Do you keep them under close supervision? Are some birds just more violent than others?

[1burdladee]

We make sure the birds are close in size and they are all very well fed. Yes some birds (species and individuals) have a tendency to be more aggressiive than others. Check out the owl vid we just posted(same owls plus one). The owl in the foreground at the beginning of the vid is extremely aggressive.

[naachill]

sounds like there popping bubble wrap.lol

[qwerti666]

"go away human, the popcorn is ours" :D