Went to check on a Pueo (Hawaiian Short-eared Owl) patient in the raptor aviary. Can you believe that this is the same bird 30 seconds apart? The photo on the leftis an alert stance (notice the ear tufts fully raised) and the photo on the right is a defensive stance with her feathers puffed out. She looks like a completely different bird!
There are a bunch of great Hawaiian owl facts I found out looking for today’s bird.
The Pueo is the only living native owl.
It is a subspecies of the North American short eared owl.
It is only found on Hawaii, and is thought to have been brought there by the Polynesians. Honey, did you remember to pack the owls?
The only other owl on Hawaii is the barn owl, Barn owls were brought to Hawaii the 1950s as way to control rodents. Their number is growing as the Pueo is now endangered.
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