Welcome to the Owl of the Year!
We’ve seen a ton of great owls this year, but it is time to choose who is the most superb of all!
The White Faced Owl is your returning champion. Hailing from Africa, just about anywhere south of the equator, this smaller owl is adaptable to near anything it encounters. This is the famous “transforming owl” that can go from cute and fluffy, to long and skinny, to looking possessed by demons! It’s also one of only 3 owls studied for their amazing ability to seasonally adapt its metabolic rate, up to 45% to deal with climate extremes. Will this versatility keep it on the road to the title?
Looking to snatch a surprise victory is the masked bandit from the Andes, the Buff Fronted Owl. This owl just squeaked into the qualifying match and now gets to try to take down the king. Not too much is known about this dashing bird, but it lives in many environments in almost every South American country, inhabiting mountains, rainforest, and orchards and palm groves. Its closest genetic relative is actually Canada’s Saw Whet Owl. This owl has a great sense of style with a mysterious flair. Will the suave newcomer steal a win today?
Vote for your favorite below by upvoting your choice. Winner is the owl with the most upvotes after 24(ish) hours. Feel free to vote for both, but no downvotes, as they will be thrown out. A neutral third party will break any ties. Cast your vote now, and feel free to cheer on your choice in the comments, but no bashing the other owl or your fellow community members. They are all superb!
#superbowl #owloftheyear2024
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I’ve added your vote. If you got a link to any neat SA plant stuff I will take that as well!
I thought I had some web pages saved from researching possible plants for my garden here in the UK, but I can’t find them now unfortunately. This book, however, is very nice! https://rbgeshop.org/products/plants-from-the-woods-forests-of-chile
Ps I deleted my post as I realised afterwards that the round had actually finished already (it was a bit of a slow-brain day!!), but you clearly read it quickly! Thanks for adding my late vote :)
Thanks for the link!
I figured that was why you deleted it. In most apps if you click reply on a deleted message you can see what it said. Since it didn’t affect the outcome, I figured it would still be nice to include your participation. I try to make everyone’s voice be valued here if one takes the time to comment, so I added you in. 😁
Gotta be the Scops for me, bro.
WFS is a strong contender, and I can see it going all the way to the top again. It’s an owl anyone can find really great qualities in, and it’s visually distinct from other owls without you needing to be a big bird nerd. True champion pedigree!
White Faced Scops
Buff Fronted
Scops is clearly a champion, but Imma vote Buff because he looks like a vulcan owl would. Got those smooth smoky eyeshadow eyes, the groovy tan, you know when he files nearby everyone hears a bossa nova version of “Smooth Operator”
Just met a Saw Whet owl this weekend and this BFO looks quite a bit different, surprised they are closely related! I wish this wasn’t the first matchup as I think the Buff would have a good chance against anyone else.
I was at a place with a few Saw Whets once, but they were hiding in the rafters and I only really saw their eyes. It took me like 3 visits to their enclosure to even see they were actually in there. Tiny little ones for sure.
I thought it’d be a bit more popular, but maybe it’s too new. I really like its look. Still not a total annihilation, and it’s got more votes here than in the qualifier, so it’s picking up some more fans.
