More Northern Pygmy-Owl

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The eyes and light eyebrows of the Northern Pygmy-Owl can be seen in the top pic as the owl was looking down at me in this photo. If you look hard you can see the beak though the falling snowflakes are better seen.
In the bottom pic the owl is perched facing my direction but it's head is turned to the side to look at something other than me (which I am glad for as it is important that these owls are able to watch for predators and look for food, not just focus on birders). This pic does give the best view of the narrow black streaks on the belly of the owl which are framed by whitish sides. Interestingly this is only about a hundred feet from where I found a pair of Northern Pygmy-Owls in April, 2008 (see photos and post about that in my old blog) that were engaged in 'allopreening' (mutual preening), singing and a most unusual melodic singing that is still a mystery. SeEtta

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