Comparing Hawk and Owl TalonsIt got me thinking about owls and hawks. The photo shows one way to tell most hawks and owls talons apart. The Owl has feathers down to the talons. Talons are the business end of birds of prey. But not all owls have feathery talons. Insectivorous owls tend to have unfeathered and delicate toes, whereas carnivorous species have stronger feathered toes with more robust talons. Like most birds owls also use their claws to tightly grip perches. Most birds have 3 toes pointed forward and one (the hallux) pointed backward. Among all the birds of prey (owls , falcons, hawks and eagles) only owls and ospreys can reverse the direction of their outer toes, resulting in two toes pointing forward and two backward. This arrangement helps catch concealed prey. The reversible outer toe arrangement enables owls to create an 8 point box like pattern when striking at prey. This really helps in dark situations. Ospreys deal with slippery fish. The feet and toes of some owls especially in colder climates (snowy and hawk owls) are densely feathered, where as those living in warmer climates have sparsely feathered feet and toes. Some tropical owls have nearly featherless feet. This variation known as Kelso’s rule can be found within some species whose distributions vary many degrees in latitude such as the Barred Owl. Golden Eagles and Rough Legged hawks are two non owl raptors that I can think of that do have feathers down to the talons.
Speaking of Raptors
In case you haven't been to Anchorage lately there is a group up there doing good things for around 30 bald eagles that chose the wrong buffet a couple of weeks ago. These folks are working hard to get the eagles back out on their own. Its worth a visit.
http://birdtlc.blogspot.com/
