Contented Owl

03/24/2010

I recently posted about the ticklish koala and noted how strange and fascinating it is when animals make the same facial expressions that people do when they feel joy or contentedness.  Well, here's another excellent example.  Just watching this owl's eyes droop in pleasure at getting scratched "behind the ears" mellows me out!

Plus, this species of owl (a barred eagle owl, native to Southeast Asia) is truly odd looking, wouldn't you agree?  It almost looks like a puppet!

Comments

[msthrowfist]

cats being thrown into a wall by a ceiling fan is NOT funny.

[David Mizejewski]

I wholeheartedly agree msthrowfist. I think you've left your comment on the wrong blog.

[shannon]

i agree with msthrowfist aswell...ive seen that vid i hope he was ok...but this owl is hella creepy

[Roberta]

AWWW. Our kitty does the same thing.

[euphoricseraph]

That is SUCH a fake bird. Notice the edit done right after it shows the real one, and then how the bird stops completely when the hand moves away, and also how it's movements are a little twitchy...like animatronics or someting.

[sesims5]

Thats adorable!!!!

[Filthy Dave]

That's a Furby.

[anonymous]

Its a puppet I've seen this video before

[anonymous]

here is what a real one looks like:
http://www.owlpages.com/image.php?image=species-Bubo-sumatranus-1

[Charlotte]

You kids are really starting to scare me. No wonder all of the animals are going extinct. But don't worry; when all of the animals are dead, at least we'll have videos...("FAKE! PHOTOSHOP!")

This is a real bird. Birds look like that. "Twitchy and animatronic-like"; that's birds in a nutshell.

[jennxsomething]

FFFFFUUUUUUURRRRRBBBBYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!

[christellar]

I want one!
Is this a tame owl? how did he trust the scary human?

[ellopickle]

Yes, this definitely is a real owl. Bird mannerisms are pretty twitchy like that. They do tend to love a good scratch on the head, since they cannot reach to unsheath new feathers in their own heads, they often rely upon other birds to preen each others' heads.

Plus, closing both sets of eyelids and cooing would be very difficult to mimic in an animatronic critter that looks that good (unless they used a real owl, which is illegal in most countries). Either way, this owl is totally adorable; I'd love a little hooter friend!

[AskKetchem]

It's a pokemon!

[Rattler]

No a pokemon. Its gremlin!

[allison gagliano]

um.... yea...

[scott @ paxil birth defects]

That is an interesting looking owl! I want one! 2nd cool owl vid I've seen today! Lol!

[selena]

how fascinating!!!!

[CC]

I have no proof but i must say that while i know that birds are twitchy like that it does seem suspicious how they edited right after the beginning. Also the beak looks plastic and it would most likely have bit or scratched the person before they could even start scratching. or flown away.

[CC]

i also just read the beginning paragraph and noticed how the author states that it looks like a puppet O.o

[Michael]

I've lived in SE Asia for most of my life. That is definitely a Barred Eagle Owl. A REAL one. The one's in the wild, while generally skittish, seem to not mind the locals one bit. I've seen more than a few people petting or stroking this bird in real life. Look at the birds eyes and mouth when they open, it would have to be an amazing puppet to have the proper second eyelid and actual flesh and a tongue in its beak.

Great video.

[SD]

This is clearly not a puppet. For those of you that believe it is a puppet, your expectations of puppets should decrease greatly.

[amazing creatures]

that's fascinating!

[Shelby]

it looks liek a furby.

[Rae]

Hey that owl is so cute! Where can i find one? haha jkjk