Avian Beauty Podcast #14

08/02/19 • 2 min

Based on response I get to this podcast and to my bird photography, it's safe to say that people love raptors and particularly owls. (One exception is on the African Continent where most people think they are evil - but that's another podcast.)

For all of man's time on this earth, owls have been used as symbols of knowledge, wisdom, power and even as idols in some religions. Whether it's ancient or modern culture, owls seem to capture our hearts and our minds.

Owls are referenced in many spiritual texts, including the Bible.

I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. Job 30:29

Many North American Indian tribes thought owls were sacred. Yakima Indians used them on totems.

Owls have always been part of the root metaphors of how humans relate to the land. One of the earliest human drawings dating back to the early Paleolithic period was of a family of Snowy Owls (Nyctea scandiaca) painted on a cave wall in France.

They pop up in petroglyphs, paintings and now in books and movies.

U.S. Geological Survey databases reveal 576 places in the United States that in some way are named "owl," such as Owlshead Canyon, Owl Mine, Owl Creek, and Owl Hollow.

Owls play a big part in our popular culture.

Whether it's Wini the Pooh or The Owl And The Pussycat, owls have been featured in nursery rhymes. In movies, owls were prominent figures in Twin Peaks and of course Harry Potter, where Hedwig serves as an important symbol of Harry's childhood and owls are used to deliver the mail. Woodsy Owl, the U.S. Forest Service mascot, has encouraged children to protect the environment for almost four decades. His motto was “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!” Then there is Hooters the restaurant chain and I think I'll stop there.

Owls are a big part of our lives and are possibly the avian world's best known ambassadors.

Next week, I'll talk more about raptors - this time bald eagles, and how they fit into our popular culture.

I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Avian Beauty. Thanks for listening.

Be sure to visit avianbeauty.com for more bird inspiration and information and please consider subscribing (for free) to our blog and podcast. I’m Scott Bourne. Happy birding.

Owls are referenced in many spiritual texts, including the Bible.

I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. Job 30:29

Many North American Indian tribes thought owls were sacred. Yakima Indians used them on totems.

They pop up in petroglyphs, paintings and now in books and movies.

U.S. Geological Survey databases reveal 576 places in the United States that in some way are named "owl," such as Owlshead Canyon, Owl Mine, Owl Creek, and Owl Hollow.

Owls play a big part in our popular culture.

Owls are a big part of our lives and are possibly the avian world's best known ambassadors.

Next week, I'll talk more about raptors - this time bald eagles, and how they fit into our popular culture.

I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Avian Beauty. Thanks for listening.

Be sure to visit avianbeauty.com for more bird inspiration and information and please consider subscribing (for free) to our blog and podcast. I’m Scott Bourne. Happy birding.

Previous Episode

Avian Beauty Podcast #13

The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) is a successful hunter. Early naturalists called these owls "winged tigers" because of their ferocity. While rare, a great horned owl can occasionally catch and kill even a peregrine falcon! When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The owls use this deadly grip to sever the spine of large prey.

To aid them in their hunt they have large eyes and large pupils that open wide for excellent night vision, paired with excellent hearing.

Distributed throughout vast portions of North and South America, the great horned owl is famous for its hoot. This is the owl most children are first exposed to in story tales.

They hunt at night, drifting silently looking for insects, reptiles and other birds.

There are roughly 225 living owl species, and of those about 50 have ear tufts - including the great horned owl. Though the tufts on their heads resemble ears, and are indeed often called "ear tufts," they are really just tufts of feathers. An owl’s ears are located lower down on its head, on the margin of the facial disk. Great horned owls use these tufts of feathers when they are agitated by a potential intruder or when they want to carry out threat displays. Some researchers think the tufts are helpful in species recognition.

Without birds like the great horned owls, the food chain would be unbalanced. Also some animals would become over populated. Owls are important to farmers because they kill/eat rodents that kill the farmers crops.

Next week, I'll talk more about owls and how they are referenced in both ancient and modern culture.

I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Avian Beauty. Thanks for listening.
Be sure to visit avianbeauty.com for more bird inspiration and information and please consider subscribing (for free) to our blog and podcast. I’m Scott Bourne. Happy birding.

Next Episode

Avian Beauty Podcast #15

Last week on Avian Beauty, I talked about the role of owls in our culture. This week, it’s the eagle’s turn.

Whether it’s music, the written word or our national symbol, the eagle is a much beloved figure in popular culture.

Bald Eagle Photograph by Scott Bourne

Bette Middler sang of eagles as the wing beneath her wings. Singer-songwriter John Denver wrote and performed a song about an eagle and a hawk. An American rock band is even named The Eagles.

And while every state in the United States of America has its own official bird, the bald eagle soars high above them all, representing the United States of America. Images of the iconic raptor can be found everywhere, from coins and paper currency to passports and the president’s official seal.

The bald eagle was partly chosen because of its association with authority and statehood in fact, the eagle had been used as a symbol of governmental power since Roman times.

The USA’s first official use of the bald eagle was on the one-cent coin issued in Massachusetts in 1776.

Not only is the eagle a national symbol, but a religious symbol too.

In Christian art, the eagle often represents the resurrection of Christ. It is the artistic symbol of the Gospel of St. John, perhaps because that text is lofty in it theological perspective, and it is one of the four animal symbols seen by the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:10.

In the book of the prophet Isaiah, we read, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

It’s not just modern religions – the eagle prominently appears in many ancient religions. It was sacred to the Greek god Zeus, to the Sumerians and to the Egyptians.

If you aren’t convinced that the bald eagle is extremely important to Americans, I’ll leave you with this. At least two acts of Congress make it a potential crime to possess even a single unauthorized feather. Bald eagles are a special part of our lives here in America. Are there other avian species that are special to Americans? Tune in next week to find out.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Avian Beauty. Thanks for listening.

Be sure to visit avianbeauty.com for more bird inspiration and information and please consider subscribing (for free) to our blog and podcast. I’m Scott Bourne. Happy birding.