I found this downy feather right next to my bird bath and it looks remarkably like a down feather from an owl. Could it be from another raptor or bird? I'm not at expert when it comes to bird feather so let me know what you think. BTW, the feather might appear bluish but this is just because of the light setting. I tried taking the picture with a flash but it washed the detail on the feather out. This picture was taken without a flash and as a result the white background appears gray.
11/23/2007
Owl Feather?
I found this downy feather right next to my bird bath and it looks remarkably like a down feather from an owl. Could it be from another raptor or bird? I'm not at expert when it comes to bird feather so let me know what you think. BTW, the feather might appear bluish but this is just because of the light setting. I tried taking the picture with a flash but it washed the detail on the feather out. This picture was taken without a flash and as a result the white background appears gray.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Downy feather are extremly hard to identify. I'm not familiar with what type of owls are in your area. You might want to research that and also look around for any other artifacts. Be careful though, possession of artifacts is illegle without permits from USF&W and your states fish & game. Have fun!
Dave,
Thanks for the response. Are downy feathers unique to owls or could it be from another raptor?
You're welcome. No, they are not unique to owls. Eagles, Hawks, etc. have them. Insulation.
I agree, downy feathers are tough. Usually when I've found a downy feather from an owl from the mews at The Raptor Center, there's barring or striping at the tips.
Don't crows have downy feathers too?
Yeah good point Crows could join the list of suspects. Actually now that I look at it real closely it has a tinge of blue on the tip of feather. It has to be too big for a non-raptor, but I can't think of any raptor with blue on it. This has to be some sort of anomaly. We need a bird CSI team!
Post a Comment