No, those aren’t really horns on the great horned owl, shown here blending in nicely with its surroundings in central Florida. The distinctive tufts of feathers on top of its head are known as ‘plumicorns.’ They have nothing to do with hearing—instead, they’re thought to be used to show expression and for camouflage. Feel free to impress your friends with this bit of trivia during the Great Backyard Bird Count, a four-day event in February that invites participants to help monitor bird populations.
Great horned owl near Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Maritime forest on Cumberland Island, Georgia
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National Hispanic Heritage Month
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Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea
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Black History Month
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Avatars of the Wolf Moon
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Merry and bright
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‘Ciao’ from Varenna
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Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey
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World-class art comes to Arkansas
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The Unfinished Obelisk near Aswan, Egypt
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A path to access
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Into the woods
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Mount Rainier National Park
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Pi Day
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A day of death and rebirth
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A glimpse of the Blue Forest
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Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, New York
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A circular celebration
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The moon rises for Mid-Autumn Festival
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A leafy seadragon in the waters off Wool Bay, Australia
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Native American Heritage Month
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Surströmming Day
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Sequential images of a total solar eclipse
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Happy Bee Day to you
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It’s oh so quiet
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A unique perspective from Italy’s ‘golden sands’
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Indigenous Peoples Day
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Victory Day in Valletta
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An island in the Highlands
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Celebrating a Paris landmark