Owls

The deadly beauty of a barn owl attacking its prey in slow motion

This mesmerizing video shows off the mechanics of a barn owl in attack mode. The folks at Earth Unplugged have filmed the flight of the barn owl as it pursues its prey and replayed it in super slow motion. Earth Unplugged team members Sam and Simon helpfully break down what we’re seeing in the footage,…

io9 Lauren Davis Apr 28

How do owls twist their heads all the way around without dying? At last we know.

You probably know that owls can rotate their heads a remarkable 270 degrees in either direction. It’s practically their trademark — but it’s a move that by all measure should result in a massive stroke or embolism, the result of torn blood vessel linings and the onset of fatal clots. Nobody’s understood the physiology that…

io9 George Dvorsky Jan 31

Newly-discovered owl makes the ultimate “mwhaha!” face

Meet Ninox Spilocephala, an owl whose face seems destined to become an internet meme. Just look at those eyes! I wish I could muster up that expression. N. Spilocephala is one of several new owl species found on the Philippine island of Mindanao. Here’s a nice shot of the feathery little grump, all ready for…

io9 Annalee Newitz Aug 20

The end of Harry Potter leaves hundreds of pet owls homeless

When Harry Potter first appeared in books and on screen alongside his loyal owl Hedwig, many folks were so charmed that they ran out and bought pet owls of their very own. But know that the books and movies have run their course, the magic of owning a nocturnal bird has worn off, and hundreds…

io9 Lauren Davis May 20

Owls Aren’t So Intimidating Without All Their Feathers

They might look like badasses of the forest as they fly from tree to tree at night hunting for a meal. But if this cross-section of a taxidermied Great Grey Owl is to be believed, more than half of their intimidating bulk comes from their fluffy feathers. It makes sense given they’re really only active…

Biology Andrew Liszewski Apr 17

Shhh! Spooks want drones as silent as owls

They hover, spy, take photographs, fire missiles. But there’s just one major problem with drones – they’re too damn loud. Now Iarpa, the intelligence community’s blue-sky research division, wants to hush them up. And it’s turning to nature’s own stealth flyer for inspiration. In a recent announcement, the agency outlines its new Great Horned Owl…

io9 Lena Groeger - Danger Room Jul 31

80 years ago, the best headline ever about owls was written

It’s been a big week for owls, what with the last Harry Potter film hitting theaters and an unfortunate British owl hitting a bedroom window. So it’s rather fortuitous that this fantastic article from a 1930 issue of Modern Mechanics was brought to my attention. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-what-happens-when-an-owl-crashes-into-your-wind-5820125 This is my second favorite orthinological headline I’ve ever…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jul 16

How Did This Owl Ghost Magically Appear On a Window Pane?

“For the Unholy Underpants of Voldemort, what bollocking sorcery is this?” That’s probably what Sally Arnold thought when she arrived to her house and saw this perfect image of an owl over the window. How did this spookiness happen? According to the boffins from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, this freaky image…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Jul 12

This is what happens when an owl crashes into your window

And like that, Mother Nature’s entered the Harry Potter viral marketing game. An unlucky tawny owl recently collided with the home of Sally Arnold of Kendal, England. The owl dusted her bedroom window with the protective powder that shields its new feathers. Said Val Osborne of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, “This…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jul 11

How owls developed stealth technology

The Guardians of Ga’Hoole, Jareth the Goblin King, and Harry Potter’s messenger owls have the power of creeping up on people. So do owls in real life, due to the design of their wings and feathers. Owls are the bird of choice for the freaky supernatural beings. They look cool. They have the freaky-head-turn thing…

Movies Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 7

A brief video history of owls in science fiction and fantasy

The new movie Legend of the Guardians presents owls as heroic warriors fighting rival owl eugenicists. (Really.) But the owls of Ga’Hoole are just the latest in a proud tradition of fantastical owls that are alternately wise, creepy, mysterious…and awesome. https://gizmodo.com/zack-snyders-owl-movie-is-a-hoot-oh-i-went-there-5647816 Maybe it’s because my first major knowledge of owls came from Winnie the Pooh’s…

Television Alasdair Wilkins Sep 26

Zack Snyder’s owl movie is a hoot (OH I WENT THERE)

Thanks to a title that was seemingly lifted from Finnegans Wake, I initially had no idea what Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole was about. But now I do. It’s about owls. Like, a metric shit-ton of owls. More precisely, it is about owls who are apparently committed to reenact Snyder’s sword-and-sandals blockbuster…

Movies Cyriaque Lamar Sep 25

Remainders – Things We Didn’t Post

An Owl in a Box…Google Finally Solves PDF Searching…Lo and Behold: Teens Prefer the Apple…Rock Band Coming to iPhone? We could try to justify this post in many ways, but it would be a stretch. We can’t even call BS and claim it’s Photoshop. The fact is, it’s just an owl in a box. And…

Tech News Wilson Rothman Oct 7

Bubo, The Hax0ring Owl

This owl can wreak havoc in the IR universe. Bubo will sniff out the IR transmissions from a variety of devices, intercept the signals and begin learning the commands of the IR device and casting random commands. Put two of these owls in one place and watch and epic battle for the IR kingdom. Bubo…

Tech News Travis Hudson Feb 18

The deadly beauty of a barn owl attacking its prey in slow motion

How do owls twist their heads all the way around without dying? At last we know.

Newly-discovered owl makes the ultimate “mwhaha!” face

The end of Harry Potter leaves hundreds of pet owls homeless

Owls Aren’t So Intimidating Without All Their Feathers

Shhh! Spooks want drones as silent as owls

80 years ago, the best headline ever about owls was written

How Did This Owl Ghost Magically Appear On a Window Pane?

This is what happens when an owl crashes into your window

How owls developed stealth technology

A brief video history of owls in science fiction and fantasy

Zack Snyder’s owl movie is a hoot (OH I WENT THERE)

Remainders – Things We Didn’t Post

Bubo, The Hax0ring Owl

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