Screech owls are currently going through a molt and look pretty rough despite this being a normal occurrence for this time of year. Oracle is less than thrilled to have his bad hair day documented!
And since you are going to ask:
he was injured as a chick and has permanent damage in the right eye.
His ears make up for the lack of depth perception, so he’s fine in that regard.
It’s wild how different the eyes look! It’s like eyes from two different owls
He’s auditioning for the clinic’s production of The Dark Knight. 😁
Their eyes are so different and complex, and their bodies have different proteins than ours, so it makes many injuries look very unusual. I’d rather see them healthy, of course, but I learn so much from reading about these injuries.
Having such large and delicate organs right up front on a flying creature with a flat face poses a lot of risk in accidents, but thankfully with their asymmetrical hearing, many are able to compensate with their ears to overcome that lack of visual depth perception.
Oh true I didn’t think about the proteins or the hearing compensation (I didn’t know about the proteins so TIL lol)
Oh wow interesting!
I don’t like seeing the hurt birdies, but it is very intriguing to look at!
Yeah it is
Wait - class pictures are today?? Oh man. Mom is gonna be pissed. Oh well.
Yeah…we all been there 😓
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I’d never heard scrunkly, but if anything fits the definition, it’d be a molting Screech! 🥰
His right?
His messy hairstyle is temporary, mine is permanently that way.
Sorry I meant the eye on his right? I assume it’s that one?
Ah, yes, his right eye is the damaged one.
Ah I see, thanks. Poor little one. Looks like he’s in good care now though.
Yup, it looks like Oracle is one of four Screechies in permanent residence at this rescue. He’s got a loving home for life now, he’s pretty safe from predators, there’s all the mice he can eat, and free healthcare. What more could an owl want?!
