this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
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Superbowl

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For owls that are superb.

Also visit our twinned community for wholesome content: https://lemmy.world/c/wholesome@reddthat.com

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If you find an injured owl:

Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.

Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.

Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.

If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.

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Sexual Dimorphism in Long Eared Owls (how to tell boys from girls by just looking at them) (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by anon6789@lemmy.world to c/superbowl@lemmy.world
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Today's post is from the Owl Research Institute.

Did you know you can tell the sex of an adult Long- eared Owl by color?

Though it may be subtle to the untrained eye, Long- eared Owls display sexual color dimorphism in their plumage. The Owl Research Institute tested this using a soil color chart to score the facial disk, tarsometatarsus, and underwing coverts of adult Long- eared Owls. Overall, females were found to be darker in color than males.

Photos 3-6 show adult male and female Long-eared Owls side-by-side. Can you guess which are which? Comment your guesses below!

Read more about sexual color dimorphism in Long- eared Owls in ORI's 2016 publication titled 'Sex Differences in Long-eared Owi Plumage Coloration'.

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[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 17 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Amazingly superb stuff!!

But also a bit of a familiar format (not the topic tho) ... knowyourmeme.com/family-guy-skin-color-chart

I mean ... they even have about the same expression on their faces ...

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

This image was the first thing I thought when I saw this post. I figured this one could get us on the front page today.

[–] SatanicNotMessianic@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The girl owls generally have bigger hooters.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

You're not supposed to stare at those though! 😜

Just as a reminder though, since owls don't nurse, they lack those hooters.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago (2 children)

[–] simple@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago

I love how the owls just look offended at how they're being grabbed and inspected

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

Since I got beaten to the Peter Griffin meme....

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Quick definition of sexual dimorphism from Wikipedia:

Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecious [things with distinct male and female organisms, ie dont reproduce asexually] species, which consist of most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, color, markings, or behavioral or cognitive traits. Male-male reproductive competition has evolved a diverse array of sexually dimorphic traits. Aggressive utility traits such as "battle" teeth and blunt heads reinforced as battering rams are used as weapons in aggressive interactions between rivals. Passive displays such as ornamental feathering or song-calling have also evolved mainly through sexual selection. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated and may be subjected to sexual selection and natural selection. The opposite of dimorphism is monomorphism, when both biological sexes are phenotypically indistinguishable from each other.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Yes, I will try to owl-ify the meme you are probably thinking of at some point today!

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

(I couldn't wait - that's why I said 'can't wait')

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Thanks for saving me the work!

I was going to have Male and Female as the key and try to leave Peter's outfit, but you did a great job!

It's not showing up in my app (Summit) so I'm just going to repost it here for anyone else with the save problem. It showed up on the web version just fine.

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This post I can't get to show up on any of my apps or the web. I'm not sure what's been up between lemm.ee and .world lately...

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Weird, tho the pics are just embedded previews (eg https://i.ibb.co/pRRLsnM/20240113-203239.jpg), not hosted on lemm.ee ... but I have had problems with previews from lemmy.world not showing up in Discord not that long ago (it lasted for days, it's fine now).

But then again (for me) it works as intended in Eternity, Voyager, and Jerboa.

Perhaps I should unload images elsewhere.

This one is on lemm.ee:

[–] teft@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I read that as long eared dimorphism and was so confused for a second.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Some of the pics show one with longer looking ears, so you're still technically correct! 😁