> Hi Tweeters,
>
> I am curious, after our short thread on Jim Rosso's owl photo, of just how
> many have seen long-eared owls in flight - real flight. I have only seen
> them on short hops within a grove of trees; never fortunate enough to have
> watched them hunt. Darkness would be a factor, I'm sure.
>
I've only seen Long-ears in groves, but there is a difference in the shape
of the wing as well as a difference in the color near the shafts of the
primaries (orange in long-ear, buffy in short-ear). The carpal mark is
far more prominent in Short-ears, and their flight pattern tends to reveal
it a little more if you're at an angle. the flight shape is very
distinct--Long ears look like mini-Great Horns and Short-ears, as Don B
said, do look like flying barrel cacti (a great tagline).

Then there was the time my dad took my mom to our favorite grove north of
Omaha (since destroyed). He put her in the clearing between the two
roosts and said "wait here." He then flushed about 8 owls right at
her--she wouldn't get out of the car when we went back two years ago.

RK


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Korpi "The more you complain, the longer God
Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA lets you live."
rkorpi at csci.clark.edu --heard on _Prairie_Home_Companion_,
President, Oregon Field 11-28-98
Ornithologists
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