Screech Owl Sock Check
From Dane D Ward
Female Eastern screech owl pulling up her pant legs to check out her fuzzy little raptor legs. **I know its a female because the babies got too big inside the nesting cavity so she perched outside of it just a few feet away. 20 feet away from her was the even smaller male.
*She's actually biting at the brood patch. But it looks like shes pulling pant legs up...I dunno. That's how I see it.
My yard
Dunnellon, Florida
5 replies
Oh yeah! I should probably give a refresher on brood patches...
So, where her face is, you can see a bit of a bald patch on her belly. When it's egg laying time, momma birds will pluck this area, and the skin will get a bit slack. By clearing out those feathers and that fleshy spot getting a bit more supple, she will get better body heat transfer to the eggs and then to the hatchlings before their down grows in.
Here's a clearer view of a brood patch on a Little Owl.
It’s like this owl is lifting her petticoat and checking out the pantaloons or bloomers or whatever they were called back in the day.
And then throw your legs in the air and do a cancan.
My thoughts exactly!