This expression is to remind us that despite what she looks like, she is not up for cuddles. The fluffy feathers surrounding her beak act like whiskers. Owls have such great distance vision that their close vision suffers. Those feathers help sense things close to her face, like food and hungry owlet beaks.
From DuPage Wildlife Conservation
Our patient of the week is just a short-term visitor, both to Illinois and to the hospital. Snowy owls are winter migrants, and some years show up in greater numbers than others. There have been scattered sightings in the area this winter.
This bird was found near O'Hare airport with some visible bleeding. Upon arrival, clinic staff discovered a wound under the wing and one on her foot. Because we see plenty of raptors with rodenticide poisoning, including snowy owls, we were initially concerned. Bloodwork (red blood cell level and clotting time) and radiographs (X-rays) were performed and thankfully, no significant findings were noted. Both wounds healed quickly and didn't require long-term management.
Snowy owls live in the arctic tundra most of the year and are well equipped for that lifestyle. Dense and plentiful feathers insulate from head to talons. She has been perfectly comfortable with our temperatures, but not so much with her surroundings. These birds are not as used to human interaction and developed areas as our year-round owls are. The open areas around airports or even large parking lots resemble the habitat they know, making these attractive roosting spots. The snowy owls that fly south in search of food resources end up in areas with far more traffic (people and vehicles) that can expose them to potential dangers.
Happily for this bird, she only needed to stay for a week and was already released!
Since they can't move their eyeballs, the moustache lets them "see" in front of the beak. They're called rictal bristles!
I actually searched it up, turns out the reason for why rictal bristles exist is still unknown. So my theory of it actually being a mustache is still on the table 😂
It's amazing how we are all familiar with owls, but there is so much we still don't know about them.
Them being nocturnal, silent, and ferociously antisocial and uncooperative has made them a difficult animals to study even though you can find one nearly anywhere.
I admire that anti-authoritarian attitude! 😁
Basically airborne cats.