Number One is the Tawny Owl

OK, the answer to number (1) on the quiz is (D) the tawny Owl.

Here is the photo that the eyes where taken from. I really like this photo because it shows off the birds nictitating membrane. to refresh your memory the nictitating membrane is like a third eye lid that is partially transparent that helps to protect and moisturize the eyes. This nictitating membrane is a lot cloudier and less transparent then the ones on other birds that I have seen or photographed.

The tawny owl is an Eurasian owl, it has a distribution range that stretches from England to Korea. It is a nocturnal hunter which relies on its acute hearing as well as its binocular vision to find its prey which consists of mammals up to the size of a baby rabbit, birds and some insects. It catches its prey by scoping it out from a perch and then dropping noiselessly down on its prey talons first.
This tawny owl was named Tigger and he was a part of a show that was put on by the World Bird Sanctuary as part of a series of lectures and shows being held at Carpenter Nature Center. He was raised in captivity which made him very accustom to people. It was interesting to watch the difference in behavior between the captive raised birds in the program and our education birds at The Raptor Center. No matter how much we work with our education birds they will always be more wild and unpredictable then birds that are raised by human hand.