Jessica Palmer - author

Barred Owl

	The hatchling means a recently hatched bird--a few days old. The hatchling owl arrives as a ball of white fluff. Despite their size, they need to two to three times more food than an adult bird. When they begin to develop colors, they are called nestlings. (<-pictured here)
When the hatchlings arrive, they can barely stand, but they grow quickly, doubling and tripling in size in a matter of weeks. Here the owl is getting ready to fledge. It makes short flights, and even when stationary, they will hop about on thier branch and flaps their wings. By this time, the bird has begun to develop the distinctive bars from which the species get their name.
	In its transport carrier on its way to release. The owl is fully flighted and has provent itself capable of the hunt, having successfully captured live food while on the wing. This was not an easy lesson. It had many false starts, such as the time owl, after loosing his precious dinner, found himself being chased around a pen by a mouse.

jessicalittledeer	Latest page update: made by jessicalittledeer , Jul 2 2008, 7:53 PM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by jessicalittledeer 1 word added view changes - complete history)
	Keyword tags: animals birds night hawk owls raptors wildlife More Info: links to this page