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Dec 29, 2008

Holy Hooters!

People, get a load of this shape-shifting owl action. It's a delightful slice of Darwinism!

Via Huffington Post's 10 Incredible Animal Videos.

Posted by Meg on December 29, 2008 in Birds | Permalink

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Umm... WOW!: Aimz; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:11 PM

For a moment I thought he had turned into a bunny, so high was the disapproval in the last act.: Ponygirl; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:16 PM

I wish I understood Japanese. What the heck was that owl doing?: AuntieMame; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:17 PM

That is morphantastic than anything I have ever seen. Now, to watch the other 9 videos....: berthaservant; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:27 PM

I like how the Death March music from Star Wars plays in the background... LOL!: punkpie; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:29 PM

WOW! Really creepy look!! Too scary for me ! Looks like a nightmare owl!! *runs and hides under blankie*: Sahrawi Wife; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:30 PM

Wow, what personality these birds have! Are they trying to mimic some other animal, like a fox or something? Resident Japanese speakers, please help!: Julie Kang; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:35 PM

Wow. God creates incredible animals!: Beth Ashton; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:36 PM

On second look, he almost looks like a squirrel from far away when he's in "compact" mode. So interesting!: Julie Kang; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:37 PM

Fabulous!!!! Wish I could make myself instantly thin like that. Would come in especially handy after xmas... Does anyone know what breed of owl this is?: snugglebum; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:40 PM

Do these feathers make me look fat? How about if I turn sideways and really suck it in?: Deborah Godin; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:49 PM

Wow! Orson Welles to Basil Rathbone in 1.4 seconds!: Von Zeppelin; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:51 PM

Okay, that second 'form'? I'm gonna have NIGHTMARES about it....looked really, REALLY evil.: Dr. Mercurious; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:51 PM

At first i thought the first one was a mating ritual or something, but now i'm confused.: Blopes; | Dec 29, 2008 at 02:53 PM

basically narrator is saying: Popo-chan makes himself big and mean when he sees a smaller, "lower-class" owl. Then when he faces larger, predator owl, he shrinks his feather to mimic a branch. (lady walks around Popo-chan with "darth vader" owl) And he even quickly turns himself to show only the back feather, which is darker, more wood-like colored, to the predator.: coel; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:00 PM

I'm neither an owl expert nor a Japanese speaker, but I'm guessing that in the first one it tried to make itself look as big and scary as possible to scare the other owl (which was slightly bigger than him). In the second one, the owl was so much bigger than him that this tactic would never succeed, so he tried to camouflage as a branch or something. Again, not an owl expert, just my two cents of guessing :) What do you guys think?: Louise; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:05 PM

@coel: Huh, cool! That's pretty much what I guessed :) Yay!: Louise; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:05 PM

From Romanesque to Gothic.: Theresa; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:06 PM

In the first part it's trying to make itself look bigger to scare off the other owl (which is about the same size). In the second part, it's trying to hide from that last owl, which is much larger. Usually they're in a tree, so pretty hard to spot in "shrunk" mode.: nescire; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:12 PM

Yikes! File this one under "Cute or Scary?"!: Space Cowgirl; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:22 PM

For anyone that's interested, I think it might be a white-faced scops owl. http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/southern.white-faced.scops-owl.html: snugglebum; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:23 PM

k the branch owl is scary o.o anyone notice the first owl a barn owl? was like meh... he really didnt care while the morphing owl was freaking out. I also loved the star wars music with the predator owl the japanese are so good at presentation hehe: Charlie; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:39 PM

OMG, popo-chan finally made it's way on here! This video had me laughing non-stop when I first saw this.: chanpon; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:41 PM

Wow is that ever cool! I wish I could change 3 dress sizes in the blink of an eye! :D: Michelle S; | Dec 29, 2008 at 03:55 PM

Holy crap, I want one of these just for when it goes in to "branch" mode or whatever!! Freakin hilarious w/ the squinty eyes!!!!: LisaL; | Dec 29, 2008 at 04:08 PM

That was SO cool.: Kristabelle; | Dec 29, 2008 at 04:13 PM

Are you KIDDINGKS me? That is the coolest thing ever. More proof that the natural world holds more wonders than we can even conceive of. *polishes nerd glasses*: binky-mama; | Dec 29, 2008 at 04:16 PM

Here's a full explanation of what's happening with this fabulous little guy for those of without Japanese language skills: http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/south-african-owl-popochan-on-japanese-tv/: Els; | Dec 29, 2008 at 04:19 PM

so...this was fer real?? not a shopped dealio? all i could think was what the hay-yull?? if real, impressive. i wanna go to africa...: wannadance; | Dec 29, 2008 at 04:26 PM

I had read that the last mimic it is doing is one of a cat. Not necessarily a house cat but cats are one of the higher predators over owls and raptors. Nature never ceases to amaze me.: Pooteymom; | Dec 29, 2008 at 04:35 PM

I love when he's morphing into Count Dracula!!!: Gail (the first one); | Dec 29, 2008 at 04:54 PM

wannadance: that's all real!!! IMNSHO, most animal behavior is cooler than anything a person could conceive of photoshopping. :): Beth (in NC); | Dec 29, 2008 at 05:20 PM

Made me think of my little parrot Scout (a blue-crowned conure) may he rest in peace. When agitated or excited, he would shape his body different ways, though perhaps not as dramatically or comically as this very cool owl. He would made himself tall and skinny when scared sometimes. Other times, when he wanted to make himself intimidating, he would puff all his feathers out so he looked twice as big, and then bob up and down, screeching "BWAA!" I miss him so much.: kibblenibble; | Dec 29, 2008 at 05:34 PM

Popo-chan is awesome!: nycat; | Dec 29, 2008 at 05:49 PM

Shibata Rie is in the panel? What show is this?!: MegW; | Dec 29, 2008 at 05:54 PM

That was...AWESOME! I was laughing so loud my sides were hurting when he went POOF! I said, he's acting like a cat. Then, it was like someone just sucked the air out of him. Amazing.: Noelegy; | Dec 29, 2008 at 05:56 PM

oh, huh, ah, very obvious & predictable question: is this for real? I mean, esp. the 2nd "shape shift": can an own really suck in his gut, and make {him|her}self thinner? I know animals can be surprising, but this... is unbelievable. Now, on the other hand, if this was a cat... or me trying trousers in front of my girlfriend... :-\ AC: Anonymous Coward; | Dec 29, 2008 at 05:59 PM

Makes me wish I had feathers I could poof out at people...: LeeshaJoy; | Dec 29, 2008 at 06:10 PM

Hehe popochan is cuuute. I feel bad for him though. They way they stress him out just so he "performs" for the audience.: michelle; | Dec 29, 2008 at 06:24 PM

I was gonna say what Michelle just said. But at the same time, this is something I have never seen and it is a way to learn about this amazing animal. Hopefully they don't do it all the time!: Shannon; | Dec 29, 2008 at 06:36 PM

this was not cute. it was creepy as hell!: amanda; | Dec 29, 2008 at 06:53 PM

AC, You've never seen a bird out in the rain before? The majority of a bird's body shape is just air and feathers.: Katie; | Dec 29, 2008 at 06:54 PM

Ahahaha! Wow. This site never ceases to amaze me!: skip; | Dec 29, 2008 at 07:00 PM

Lol Popo-chan! <3 So cute with those ginormous eyes <3: Annie J; | Dec 29, 2008 at 07:40 PM

Wow! Nature at its finest.: Aby; | Dec 29, 2008 at 07:42 PM

Deborah Godin--Great comment!!! "Do these feathers make me look fat? How about if I turn sideways and really suck it in?": totalee puppy; | Dec 29, 2008 at 08:07 PM

This was really cool but actually kind of creepy, too!! Scawweee!!!: Nancy Tompkins; | Dec 29, 2008 at 08:07 PM

I swear this thing is part cuttlefish. How else can it change shape so drastically? Does it change colors too? Also, I'm sure there's a mouth on this thing right? Right? Right?: Kar; | Dec 29, 2008 at 08:07 PM

Eeek! Too scary for me... I shouldn't have watched this before I go to sleep. (burrows under covers): Naomi; | Dec 29, 2008 at 08:46 PM

(ok because no one has said it...) ORLY? ya RLY! - ok, i'm done.: Aesthetica; | Dec 29, 2008 at 08:49 PM

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Dec 29, 2008

Holy Hooters!

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