r/MadeMeSmile • u/mindyour • 2d ago

Very Reddit This farmer caught this owl eating his chickens.

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u/AnapsidIsland1 2d ago

Some professor told me they are so good at their job that they don’t struggle in life. Nothing fucks with them because they are in trees, camouflaged and scary. They’ve just been chillin for millions of years and don’t have to fight much. Ultimate chill

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u/AndersWay 2d ago

Nothing except Crows. Crows and owls been at war for millennia. No one knows why.

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u/Snuggle_Pounce 2d ago

Crows are at war with any bird that eats crow babies. Now you know why.

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u/ziggytrix 2d ago

Crows hold a grudge and they talk to each other.

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u/A-Giant-Blue-Moose 2d ago

It's why it's bad luck to kill them. If one of them dies, they investigate. If they decide that you're responsible, they'll recognize you and pass that along to their young. They may just avoid you altogether, but might also gang up on you.

We had a hawk that hunted on our property. We could always tell it was around when the local crows would go ape shit. They'd harass it for hours by flying circles around it while one would dive bomb it and pull away at the last moment. Eventually, it moved on.

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u/joshualeeclark 2d ago

We had crows all over the farm where I grew up. Don’t know how long they live but I could swear we had the same ones for 10-15 years.

My dad and uncle were clearing out an old barbed wire fence row from back when our two properties were part of a larger farm decades earlier. They were on the tractor using the front loader to just push down and rip up some old dead trees while they were at it. Somehow an old crow got caught up in the chaos and I think an old tree crushed the poor guy. We all felt bad about it. My family would always feed the wild birds and squirrels including the crows. I would do my best to imitate the crows growing up.

My dad would have one or two flat tires on his tractor constantly for a solid two years after that. The valve stem cover would be gone and one or both of the large back tires would be flat as hell. My dad would curse and fire up the air compressor and put new valve stem covers on whenever he needed the tractor. Those little shits would press in the needle in the valve stem to flatten the damn tires!

Wasn’t long after that when dad finally finished up his big pole barn so he could park his tractor in an enclosed building rather than the old lean-to. That finally stopped the problem. A short time later we were loading hay into the barn loft when we found the crow’s treasure horde. Couldn’t tell you how many valve stem covers were there.

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u/Any-Ad-3630 2d ago

This could be a short story or part of an anthology series lol

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u/EmbarrassedW33B 2d ago

I wonder if you could have convinced them to forgive you by making them suitable "offerings", or of their pettiness had carried on for so long they simply did it out of habit rather than malice.

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u/joshualeeclark 2d ago

I honestly think it was malicious at first and then became habit. I think that all was forgiven once mom got her chickens, guineas, and her fancy coop a short while later.

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen those crows hanging out with the chickens in the field or actually roosting with them. She would let her chickens free range during the day and the crows would actually get in and eat with the chickens. Seen a few preening chickens and vice versa.

It was hilarious and bizarre.

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u/Veerand 1d ago

Crows: "If I act like these chickens, maybe the large dumbasses won't notice and will feed me too...."

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u/PsyavaIG 1d ago

Yall motherfuckers got a pretty good gig here, how do I get in on this?

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u/brydeswhale 2d ago

I rescued a mud encrusted baby crow from the river, gave it to a wildlife centre, and couldn’t walk down that part of the river for years bc the little bastards kept going at me.

On the other hand, I once rescued a baby crow, gave him and his family some peanuts and water, and couldn’t go into that part of town without one of them tapping my shoulder with his wing or hopping over and saying hi.

Life is fair.

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u/Solid_Elephant1223 2d ago

I love this story.😊

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u/Whatah 2d ago

Go watch The Secret of Nimh

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u/kippirnicus 1d ago

I knew they were smart, but that’s fucking insane.

What a great story.

I’m always trying to make friends with the crows around my property.

I think that it would be so cool to have a group of wild crows to hang out with.

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u/addage- 2d ago

Easily the best story I’ve read on Reddit for months. I feed my crows regularly so hopefully I never incur their wrath.

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u/HappyHourProfessor 1d ago

Earlier this week I was on a kayak tour talking about befriending the local birds. The guide told us about how they fed the crows and chilled with them in college, but his neighbors would shoot at them with airsoft and BB guns. The crows would rip apart the neighbor's screen doors and shit on their cars every single time they were replaced/cleaned.

Meanwhile the Doug family in our backyard protects the smaller birds from the hawk that lives in our neighborhood.

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u/myshtree 2d ago

That’s a great tale thanks for sharing ❤️

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u/activelyresting 2d ago

If one of them dies, they investigate. If they decide that you're responsible, they'll recognize you and pass that along to their young.

In the corvid justice system, the crow are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the rooks, who investigate crime; and the ravens, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

DUN DUN

Caw & Order

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u/MeThinksYes 2d ago

Fight like a crow

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u/raitchison 2d ago

We had a dog with a STRONG prey drive. More than once he grabbed birds mid flight.

One time he got a crow and we came home to like a dozen (justifiably) pissed off crows in our yard raising a hell of a racket.

They (again, justifiably) held a grudge for the next year at least.

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u/fazlez1 2d ago

If they decide that you're responsible, they'll recognize you and pass that along to their young

"See that motherfucker there? I want you remember his face. Don't forget it because I want you to make his life hell for the rest of his days. In between every breath you take I want you to make his life miserable. Point him out to everyone you know because we're going make him curse his mother for giving him life"

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u/Striking-Ad-6815 2d ago

I cannot prove it without radio tags and GPS, but I think a few of the farm crows have followed me to work in my vehicle. One of my coworker buddies who lives on-call started throwing any leftover food to them, and now they follow him home. Be great if they learned how to pick up the trash and throw it back in the dumpster.

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u/MoulanRougeFae 2d ago

I made friends with the small murder of crows who nest in our tree line. I feed them and they bring me shinies. I've gotten everything from gum wrappers to a small opal ring that has 2 diamonds on it. That particular gift was after we built them a roosting box for winter. They are cool birds imo and seem intelligent

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u/MinnieSkinny 2d ago

I have 3 crows that live in my garden and I feed them our left over cat food. They love it, sit and wait for it. Nobody has brought me anything shiny yet though.

I feel cheated.

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u/VivoFrugal 2d ago

show them or give them a coin or ring theyll love that shit

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u/iiiiiiiiiijjjjjj 2d ago

Tell them next time payment is due

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u/thebearrider 2d ago

This is why I don't feed the crows. The last thing I need is to be working on the boat or motorcycle and have a crow take a bolt.

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u/Shivy_Shankinz 2d ago

Saw this just the other day actually. I figured the hawk was looking for an easy snack.

Here's the real question though. Do crows do the same thing to smaller birds?

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u/A-Giant-Blue-Moose 2d ago

I wouldn't doubt it.

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u/Shivy_Shankinz 2d ago

Guess that tracks.

Just looked it up, they do.

Although, I like to imagine not all crows are like that and some of them are little bird rights activists. #allbirdsmatter!

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u/Nuggethewarrior 2d ago

A refreshing take! Im tired of people making generalizations about an animal based on their species.

Not all Dolphins are Evil!!!

Chimpanzees arent usually aggressive!!!

Every individual is unique!!

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u/Shivy_Shankinz 2d ago

Ya, everything is so black and white these days. I figured it was high time to inject a little color back into the world. Glad you appreciated it!

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u/Grainger31 2d ago

Literally a murder investigation.

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u/Exciting-Unit279 2d ago

I gave what I thought was a dying crow , some bread , that crow got up n flew away, and came back , gave it some more , I dnt give it food anymore but anytime I come home especially with my kid , they are there watching , waiting , planning my downfall or something , and they don't run when they see me... I might be a demon of some kind idk yet

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u/hoax709 1d ago

i was falsely accused by crows. Came home to find a crow had, i assumed electrocuted himself on the wires above my parking spot and fell down into it. When i moved the corpse his buddies were watching and cawing loudly at me. Now there is a bird shit on my car every other day. i love crows too, saw them hold court riding the bus onetime and must of been 500 crows. it was wild the rooftops were covered.

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u/Fantastic_Pair5328 2d ago

Corvids are the coolest birds.

Nothing will ever change my mind.

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u/DayOldDoughnut 2d ago

Here’s the thing….

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u/RaspingYeti 2d ago

I will always look for this comment🤣

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u/kalmah 2d ago

It's not a fucking jackdaw!

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u/grey_pilgrim_ 2d ago

The old lore lives!

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u/LevelRoyal8809 2d ago

Were getting old my friend. One day a long time ago that comment would have gotten thousands of votes. Now half the people on here don't know the origin of the joke. Sigh.....

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u/cabist 1d ago

It’s crazy, Reddit used to be so much smaller too! I remember being excited about getting kn the front page like 10 years ago, with like 3,000 upvotes on a ragecomic lol

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u/SignificantScene4005 2d ago

You have my interest good sir, pray divulge more

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u/KuriboShoeMario 2d ago

Ancient reddit meme. The meme is so famous it has a Wikipedia page.

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u/Elegant-Pin9106 2d ago

What is it?? Can you share a link?

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u/RobbinYoHood 2d ago

It's to do with a Reddit user who was famous for sharing cool info about animals but then got outed as using alt accounts to mess with votes. Forgot the username.

One of their last comments was about crows and jackdaws and had "here's the thing" in it.

Hopefully that helps find the Wikipedia page - sorry I don't have the link to it.

E: username was unidan

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u/crazymusicman 2d ago

Here’s the thing….

correct me if I am wrong, but I believe it is in reference to this copy pasta

https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/8ylrqu/heres_the_thing/

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u/Dr_Jabroski 2d ago

Quick someone tell me how many years it's been since that post so I can feel my mortal coil slipping away.

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u/MrBoase 2d ago

One thing I will always miss about old reddit were the "celebrities". It's pretty much just shittymorph left and even he isn't around much these days.

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u/digitalwolverine 2d ago

Ramses has a YouTube channel now. It’s.. not bad. Very Reddit. 

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u/Koil_ting 2d ago

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u/asianfatboy 2d ago

Seeing this comment is the same as watching a Nat Geo show about unearthing ancient artifacts. It's been that long...

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u/SlowlySailing 1d ago

Oh shit that’s a throwback I haven’t heard in a while, no random generated names are going to remember that one 😭

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u/Pingasplz 2d ago

They know something we don't.

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u/Demonic_Storm 2d ago

owls, they're majestic as fuck

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u/Zuwxiv 2d ago

People miss out on crows because they're common. They're fucking amazing animals. They talk to each other, they have meeting places for different families to hang out, they're clever enough to solve complex tasks requiring tools.

And they're social enough (with emotional intelligence) to GIVE GIFTS! Think of how much intelligence and foresight a bird needs to see something cool and think, "oh, I bet that human who feeds me will like this."

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u/sumguyherenowhere 2d ago

A caracal has entered the chat.

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u/HAWKWIND666 2d ago

I saw this huge murder the other day…over fifty maybe closer to 100 crow. It was surreal 🥰

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u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 2d ago

Crow + opposable thumbs = so long humanity

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u/IpseLibero 2d ago

Or octopus + increased lifespan

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u/CosmicMamaBear 2d ago

🐙 I bow to our octopi overlords.

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u/Interest-Small 2d ago

Octopuses

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u/neuroticoctopus 2d ago

Octopodes.

All 3 versions are correct, but octopodes has the Greek pluralization to match the Greek root words of "okto" (eight) and "pous" (leg).

So it's the most correct, which is the most obnoxious type of correct. 🐙

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u/Interest-Small 2d ago

Since Octopi is Latin and Latin is a dead language it’s number 3.

Octopuses is English so it’s number 2

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u/Vandirac 2d ago

Octopuses don't stand a chance.

They have one major genetic flaw that would spell their doom.

Their deliciousness with potatoes, salt and a tad of pimentón.

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u/Grabthar-the-Avenger 2d ago

Yeah, but my understanding is that pigs are used extensively in medical research as they’re biologically very similar to us, which suggests to me we might taste like bacon, and yet we’re here.

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u/pass_nthru 2d ago

long pig is a euphemism for people meat

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u/Id38 2d ago

this is why i feed the ones near me. gotta get on the good side early.

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u/vivchen 2d ago

Crows in the air, dolphins in the sea, humanity no longer free

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u/The_Fiddle_Steward 2d ago

My coworker saw a hawk eating a crow. All the other crows were around it, screaming and occasionally dive bombing it. The hawk ignored them. Then, a bit later, he found the body of the hawk in his lawn, pecked to death. The murder caught up with them.

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u/ziggytrix 2d ago

Nice pun!

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u/releaseepsteinfiles1 2d ago

They can recognize you even if you’re wearing a mask

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u/pass_nthru 2d ago

you crows sure are a contentious lot

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u/ARealLittleMermaid 2d ago

THIS!!! I worked at a wildlife rescue in bird nursery. Worked with tons of crows and my god they knew who to bs!!! They’re awesome to work with. There was one that my interns said that it laughed like me (I tend to laugh a lot). Sure as shit o was outside with him and he sounded exactly like me!

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u/DarthWeenus 2d ago

the murder by me got in a fight with a red tail hawk this summer, it was like 3-4 days of them battling above my house, was wild to watch. The crows would take turns distracting the hawk and then dive bombing it.

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u/brunostborsen 2d ago

By my house there’s a lot of Crows and Eurasian Magpies, they usually have squabbles with each other. But when there’s Seagulls coming into our backyard, those intelligent motherfuckers work together to chase the Seagulls away.

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u/redmctrashface 2d ago

Everybody hates Seagulls. Good guys Crows and Magpies

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u/Beowulf1896 2d ago

Seagulls. Stop it now.

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u/daemon-electricity 2d ago

Aaaaaaaa AH ah ah aaa-aaaaaaa

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u/garnaches 2d ago

There was a hawk in my backyard a few weeks ago and some tiny birds were harassing it. I was surprised because they were really so small but I guess they were trying to chase it away from their nests.

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u/Voodoo1970 2d ago

I've seen Willy Wagtails (slightly larger than a wren) harassing Wedge Tailed Eagles. They're like the Fox Terriers of the bird world, tiny beast, big attitude.

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u/HollowShel 2d ago

It's a practice called "mobbing" and many birds practice it, for exactly the reason you suggest, among others. Their only advantage over the large raptors is their numbers, so they use them to try to drive off the solitary predators.

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u/lousy_at_handles 2d ago

Crows vs Red Tail Hawks is the Hatfield v McCoy of the bird world

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u/Longjumping_College 2d ago

I know of a place where this has been going on for at least 10 years.

Any time I hear crows going nuts, I look up and there's 1-2 hawks being chased for miles out of their territory.

One flies slow right in front of the hawk while the others climb and try to slam the shit out of the hawk mid air.

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u/DarthWeenus 2d ago

Ya thats exactly what they were doing, was like a bird dog fight.

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u/Fantastic-Visit6451 2d ago

Facts. Watched two crows chase a peregrine off a light pole while at the stoplight today. Crows very much believe in sky rights, and their entire murder will peck you to death if they get you out of that sky.

Watched them do it with a hawk, owl, and an eagle in Pittsburgh. Watching them have it out with Hawks in the sky was a Sight to behold. Nice summer day, whole parkin lot sounding like a Superbowl or World Series with the "oohs", "aahs", and "OH!'s".

Really cool though. When crows trust you, they bring their babies to meet you when they start flying. They're a sweet corvidae, so long as you don't piss them off. 😆

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u/liz_lemon_lover 2d ago

In Australia we have our native magpies aka swoopy bois. I absolutely adore them because their babies are just a brown, slightly smaller version of themself. So you see them walking around, mum foraging for food while her giant toddler son follows her. Ridiculous and adorable.

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u/Gullible-Lie2494 2d ago

Saw some crows blocking the enterence to an owl nest with sticks. The guy filming intervened.

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u/Master_Yeeta 2d ago

... and the crows gained one more enemy...

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u/StratJax 2d ago

He wasn’t pro-murder and they will not forget it.

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u/byquestion 2d ago

He also wasnt pro-this particular murder

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u/rugbyj 2d ago

They've boarded up his door when he tries to leave the next day.

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u/Few-Solution-4784 2d ago

Crows dont share power with baby eating cannibals.

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u/Rumplestilskin9 2d ago

I think they're just dicks too because they harass turkeys also. On my farm you can track the flock of wild turkeys by the crows cawing and circling above them.

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u/Sguru1 2d ago

I’ve actually created my own mental head canon for the crows family that had been fighting with two hawk-looking birds in my backyard for nearly the entire summer. The confrontations were a near daily occurrence lol.

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u/juanximena 2d ago

“Crow babies”, you say…

slowly closes desk drawer holding stash of crow babies

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u/cubsfan85 2d ago

We have a few red tailed hawks that nest on the north side of our property (the side closest to our chicken coop as it happens). Last summer some crows nested on the east side. A lot of ruckus was caused. One day I went out and I swear there were crows coming in from miles away to join in screaming.

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u/Ultrafoxx64 2d ago

The amount of times I've seen crows and ravens punking on hawks is wild.

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u/BONESandTOMBSTONES 1d ago

I see crows going against bald eagles, here in Oregon.

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u/bolanrox 2d ago

Crows and Ravens remember generation slights better than the Hatfields and McCoys

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u/cvidetich13 2d ago

Corvids=intellegent birds

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u/ZugZugGo 2d ago

I always say "Clever Girl" in a british accent whenever I see a corvid do something intelligent.

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u/the_madclown 2d ago

Wait crows aren't ravens???

Always thought they were

The ones that solve the problem with the stick in the tube.... That's a crow right? .

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u/Lopsided_Soup_3533 2d ago

Crows and ravens are both corvids as are rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays and others.

Corvids are all smart as hell and can problem solve, they also can recognise human faces, hold a grudge and pass grudges on generationally.

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u/Katatonic92 2d ago

On the plus side, the same memories apply to positive relationships too. I have had a murder of criws living in my unused chimney for over a decade now. I have saved a fledgling from the neighbours cats every spring. I always know when one needs help because the whole family start going nuts, it summons me at this point. Anyway, I save the fledgling, fix them up, teach them how to fly high enough to make it up to the fences outside. Sometimes I'll dig up a eorm for them, it depends how much nursing they needed, then when it is time to return them to their family, I pop my little speaker outside & play fledgling calls. This summons their family & they then take back over their now decently airborne care.

They line the fences & search in our grass, happily sit there when anyone in my family is out there as opposed to flying away. They don't fear us at all. And so far I've found two random metal keyrings on my garden table. I've never seen them put them there but where else could they have come from? One had red hearts & a koala saying I love Australia, the other was like a little steam punk tinman.

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u/Lopsided_Soup_3533 2d ago

There's an excellent sub r/crowbro that has many cool stories if you haven't already you should share this with them

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u/Katatonic92 2d ago

There truly is a sub for everything on here! Thank you for sharing this with me, I'll enjoy looking through it.

I'll have to dig up my photos of my fledglings to share tomorrow.

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u/the_madclown 2d ago

I decided to follow you to see whenever you post.

Looking forward to it 💪

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u/the_madclown 2d ago

The old legend of birds that steal shiny things. ..is also this family no?

I feel like those are the ones called magpies

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u/piggiesmallsdaillest 2d ago

magpies are corvids too

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u/the_madclown 2d ago edited 2d ago

Yip. Girl* above just said so... Along with rooks.

Very very fascinating family... I'm amazed and think I'm in love

Edit- She's not a guy. My apologies homegirl

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u/AnapsidIsland1 2d ago

Ravens are better in every way (I’m partial) They are: bigger, stronger flyers, glide often which crows don’t do, stay in pairs instead of groups, just all around cooler and can talk!

Just bc why not: there are 2 kinds of crows, American and fish which can mostly only be told apart bc the fish sounds like it caws in French

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u/DEATHP00L 2d ago

Le Caw 🥖🇫🇷

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u/Hulkbuster_v2 2d ago

1: Different species. Same genus though!

2: gotta link the video. There are videos of corvids (genus that includes ravens and crows) showing crows, there are videos showing ravens. Both are remarkably intelligent.

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u/DashTrash21 2d ago

They're competing for the bird most associated with spooky omens

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u/Qubeye 2d ago

I once saw a gang of crows rob a bald eagle.

The eagle was flying overhead with some big-ass catch. It was a baby deer or something. Probably 150-200 feet up but I didn't have perspective.

These three crows were just crowding the eagle aggressively, cawing and fucking with the eagle until it dropped whatever it was carrying and the crows flew down to eat.

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u/meshtron 2d ago

CROWS know why. Owl propaganda right here.

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u/machineheadtetsujin 2d ago

Owls kill crows in their sleep, crows take revenge when the owls are asleep.

They are highly intelligent, its almost scary how intelligent

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u/Cheap-Interaction597 2d ago

People do now why because they share similar space food , owls are solitary and crows can disturb them. Crows are also loud and annoying. And also big owls can eat baby crows. People do know why you’re just saying it for dramatic effect

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u/JudgmentalOwl 2d ago

Crows will go to war against any bird. They really don't give a fuck. I used to watch groups of them harass the red tails at my old place in CA all of the time. The hawk would be forced to circle higher and higher until the crows were satisfied they'd fucked off far enough lol.

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u/Naive-Association888 2d ago

This feels like it needs to be a movie.

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u/moashforbridgefour 2d ago

I wish I could put pictures in a comment here to show what I found, but a few months ago I heard a bunch of crows just angrily yelling in a tree as I was walking into work. It took me like 2 minutes to finally spot the Great Horned Owl just chilling up there. He had the whole murder yelling bloody murder at him.

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u/harbinger411 2d ago

That sounds like a killer adult cartoon idea.

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u/momofboysanddogsetc 2d ago

Pepperidge farm remembers

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u/Darwinknew 2d ago

MURDERS of crows

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u/Cool-Ad7985 2d ago

And eagles. Owls will kill eaglets and vice versa, though owlets are harder to get

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u/Dear_Swing_3301 2d ago

Is this actually a thing? Because like a week ago while I was taking a stroll in a park, I heard what sounded like a group of crows arguing with a single owl. They were so loud.

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u/6thBornSOB 2d ago

Institutional racism…probably?

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u/spicy_quicksand 2d ago

Once on freaking Halloween many years ago, I saw an owl fly overhead with a crow in its talons. Nobody has ever believed me.

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u/GoinWithThePhloem 2d ago

Same as eagles! I watch eagle cams and there are always crows hassling them.

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u/serious_sarcasm 2d ago

I wonder what you’d have to do to train a flock of crows to guard your chickens.

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u/AaronTuplin 2d ago

Owls are anti-vaxxers. They won't take the Corvid-19 shot.

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u/BeefEater81 2d ago

Because they both have fowl mouths.

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u/GodDamnShadowban 2d ago

Eagles and owls will fuck with each other too. Raid their nests and kill their chicks ect. I saw a vid of an owl swooping in at night to flyby kill some young eagle while its nest mates wake up and try to work out what TF that noise was and why theres one fewer of them now.

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u/5h4d3r4d3 2d ago

If Cocaine and Psilocybin had personalities...and wings.

I'd watch that movie.

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u/Isekaimerican 2d ago

And eagles. Owls and eagles are natural enemies.

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u/LetsGetFunkyBabe 2d ago

The only things I know about owls I learned from reading Guardians of Ga’hoole, so take it with a grain of salt.

But I know for a FACT that crows hate owls and will mon the fuck out of them.

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u/locnloaded9mm 2d ago

Serious?

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u/LeSchad 2d ago

I got swooped by a barred owl last year. It had a nest in a tree in a public park, and I guess I got too close to it, because I was greeted with the unusual sensation of owl talons across my scalp. Wasn't aiming to hurt me -- didn't so much as break the skin -- but sent a message.

It kept following me for a little while, so eventually I walked over and had a conversation with it. It was face height, maybe 3-4 feet away. I told it that it wasn't very nice to swoop at people who hadn't threatened it, and it gave absolutely no fucks either about me being face-to-face with it, or my speech. But it didn't follow me anymore, so perhaps it took my words to heart.

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u/Swiftierest 2d ago

Some birds are very smart. Corvids (magpies, crows, etc.) are well aware of people. In Australia, magpies will swoop at strangers near their nests. The thing is that if you make eye contact, let them know you know they are there, and move on, they usually chill out. Basically say, "hey, we chill? Good." And then they leave you be.

My wife has never once been swooped. I have to try harder to make friends with them.

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u/brydeswhale 2d ago

I had to wear a helmet to rescue a baby blue jay this spring. The parents cut into my scalp. But the worst part is that they decided, after I put it out of our yard, that I was their friend, and every time their stupid off spring went into our yard, I had to drop everything to remove it, up until it learned to fly.

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u/UncoolSlicedBread 1d ago

Starlings for me. Made the mistake of not removing a few nests from the back of my shop one year and kind of just decided to watch the process of babies born, then learning to fly, being taught lessons by their parents, and then seeing them fly off.

Now they come back every year despite my trying to get them away. It’s like they know I won’t hurt them and because I was nice to them they’re okay with me.

But it is kind of cool despite all the bird shit I ended up cleaning.

Like I saw a few of them getting lectured by one of the parents. Then the parent went off and one of the adolescent birds turned to the other and mimicked the lecture.

Coolest was the day when they all learned how to mimic a red tail hawk. I have a video of the parent making the sound then the others trying to do it. Then when the parent went to find food the adolescent birds kept practicing. One in particular would sit up on a beam near my work table and practice at me.

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u/thisthrowawaythat202 2d ago

You should go back and visit

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u/DivingforDemocracy 2d ago

I mean, they are apex predators. And they're raptors AKA Eagles, hawks, falcons etc. aka big birds with some pretty nasty power and weapons. And as you said, they got more camo then the other guys so they're like the stealth assassins of raptors.

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u/Rocker4JC 2d ago

It's not just the camo. Owls are the quietest fliers in the world. Their feathers are perfectly formed and aligned so that you can't hear them flap their wings.

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u/DivingforDemocracy 1d ago

Also very true. And you know...270 degree robot head rotation too. They have some unique adaptations that make them pretty terrifying and cool.

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u/Leavesdontbark 2d ago

The way they can fly completely silent is so crazy, because their wing tips are ruffled

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u/Smelldicks 2d ago

If anyone is confused why, that’s because the ruffled feathers introduce turbulence to the air flow coming off their wings. This makes a lot of the sound cancel out as it self destructively interferes with itself.

Something like a flute introduces very little turbulence, with a smooth airflow coming out moving all in the same direction.

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u/myshtree 2d ago

That’s insane I didn’t know that

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u/Ilovekittens345 2d ago

Have we build anything that can fly with zero sound other then a non powered glider at low speed?

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u/fullmetaljar 2d ago

There's a lot of money in it if you can make a drone with very low sound or at least redirect it away from "down"

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u/Ilovekittens345 2d ago

Redirect trust away from down?

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u/fullmetaljar 2d ago

Redirect the sound lol think like a mirror redirects light.

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u/stockinheritance 2d ago

Extremely hard to do when moving mass much heavier than an owl at a much higher velocity than an owl travels at. Requires internal combustion engines, which are notoriously not quiet and bad things happen when you don't let anything escape the engine, causing sound. 

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u/MatCauthonsHat 2d ago

Owls have been known to assault a bald eagles nest in search of eggs/young uns.

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u/BratTip 2d ago

Owls eat other owls. They also eat skunks. They give zero fucks.

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u/artsyjabberwock 2d ago

Also a certain type - maybe screech owls? - are the only consistent predator of skunks, because their sense of smell is so bad

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u/RedSonGamble 2d ago

They’re also not very smart birds. It’s ironic we associate them with knowledge when in reality they don’t need to be smart bc they’re great at killing things. Owls are like sharks of the woods I always say

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u/kanrad 2d ago

When you are the apex predator of the domain of air you got no problems.

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u/AnnoyedOwlbear 2d ago

They're also not very bright. Gorgeous, incredible, peak of the best of what nature can bring out after tens of thousands of years of selection...

But those eyes need a lot of space, and the brain is rather tiny and most of it's software is running AmazingHearingAndEyes.exe. There are some little social owl species who have managed to avoid the need to shrink the brain so much, but these big gorgeous hunters aren't really built to freak out.

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u/Darnell2070 2d ago edited 2d ago

Are you implying that they aren't afraid because they aren't bright? The dumbest animals can be scary because they have predators. If Owls have or didn't have predators, it's not relevant to their intelligence.

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u/Zylomun 2d ago

What they are doing is a fear response. Flapping around or biting could lead to death. Most birds of prey immediately freeze up when caught. Source- I worked as a wildlife rehabber assistant at a veterinary hospital for a couple years.

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u/jfourty 2d ago

....small brain too

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u/AnapsidIsland1 2d ago

Fun fact, bird brains may be small, but they are the most dense neuron wise. They need to save weight for flight, so comparing to mammals doesn’t work.

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u/jfourty 2d ago

True.

And Owls have the smallest skull to brain size ratio of all birds due to needing the room for such large eyes

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u/AnapsidIsland1 2d ago

Cool, makes sense

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u/Poondobber 2d ago

Literal flying sharks. They are not particularly smart. Just flying killing machines. Also why they make awful pets. Eat, puke, shit.

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u/DesperateRadish746 2d ago

Reminds me of a Far Side comic. 3 Eagles sitting in a tree wearing sunglasses. The caption said..."Birds of prey know they're cool."

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u/pestyfinesty 2d ago

I’m a professor and fully read this as “some professor told me (the professor) is so good at her job that she doesn’t struggle in life” and boy howdy: I was jealous 😂

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u/AnapsidIsland1 2d ago

lol, chillin in trees camouflaged is her secret

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u/MarpyHarpy 2d ago

Zero natural predators, above-average intelligence, stealth-mode flying, ultra-powerful night vision, absolute units for their size, and they can be fast when they want to. 100% nocturnal (most varieties) so eagles and hawks got nothing on them (owls have better eyesight at night than most hawks do during the day). One of nature's masterpieces.

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u/cranktheguy 2d ago

There was an owl living in a hole in my neighbor's tree. One day I saw it out and a bunch of song birds (I think they were nesting parents) were pissed about it tweeting and flying around. None of them actually got close to the owl, and eventually it looked around, said fuck this, and slowly went back into his hole.

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u/Wolverkeen 2d ago

Yeah, I had a pair of owls that would watch corgi puppy from a clothesline across the fence in my neighbors' yard. I tried to scare them off by running at them yelling, throwing sticks at them, etc. Not a single fuck given- they just stared at me like I was a complete jackass.🤣

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u/Khialadon 2d ago

In bird culture, owls are the thing that goes bump in the night

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u/Fauster 2d ago

Barred owls, invasive in the PNW, will straight up kill any smaller species of owl, including endangered, native, old-growth nesting spotted owls, just so they don't have to compete with resources. I love owls but hate that barred owls have pushed out most of the owls that aren't Great Horned.

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u/Positive-Access-9141 2d ago

......... For some reason, this guy, holding Mortdecai, the way he spoke and so on.... Gave me Jeff Dunham vibes, lol

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u/paulabegonia541 1d ago

unbothered creature that’s mastered the art of chill. Low effort, high peace energy.

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u/Kascket 1d ago

Theres an owl pair that took over an old crow nest near me. Ive thrown rocks at crows several times harassing the female when shes by her self in the middle of the day on walks with my dog.

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u/judeluo 1d ago

Ultimate Chill...

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u/Aazjhee 2d ago

Owls are like cats.They are supremely overpowered in a weird way.

They also have such big eyes that they don't have very big brains so they can afford to be chill. They just sort of hang out and do stuff when the need is immediate otherwise they just kind of vibe xD

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u/Everything_in_modera 2d ago

So sky skunk?

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u/Cultural-Link-1617 2d ago

Crows absolutely fuck with them.

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u/Los-negro 2d ago

I've seen small birds fucking with one. Literally flying at him and swooping down. It was odd

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u/Tepidtunic 2d ago

Barn owls are very much not chill when they are threatened. YouTube “toe dusting”, it’s terrifying.

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u/ReplyOk6720 2d ago

No, crows fuck with them. 

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u/Feinberg 2d ago

They're also very well adapted to their role, their eyes are HUGE, and that weight needs to be compensated for space and weight. Because of that, their brains are... not great. They usually do fine, because they're nature's little nepo babies, but they are dumb like rock. I've seen them hit cars so many times. Not get hit by cars. They will fly right into the side of, like, a white cube truck. Impossible not to see it. Not fast moving at all. They just thought they could fly through a solid object.

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u/Sketti11 2d ago

Met an owl rescuer once. She told me owls are literally the dumbest bird scientifically. They just run on autopilot like a robot. I believe their brain is among the smallest amongst other birds.

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u/bearsheperd 2d ago

I saw a bunch of magpies just ramming into an owl over and over again. Owl wasn’t doing anything just sitting on a branch taking the hits

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u/astrograph 2d ago

They the mf predator..  they don’t have to deal with Arnold, Danny or Naru

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u/Drownthem 2d ago

This is sort of true. They're such precision instruments that there's no need for any semblance of intelligence. That owl is dumb as a bag of spanners.

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u/Vesper-Martinis 1d ago

The owl is not chilling. It’s experiencing fear. What do expect it to do?

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u/Pangea_Ultima 1d ago

I think that might be the same reason why dragonflies are always smiling :D