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:
-
Sea Slug Day
-
Women s suffrage at 100
-
Hiding in plain sight
-
Field of Light at Sensorio by Bruce Munro
-
Let the games begin
-
Big wheels on a big mountain
-
A crane for good luck in today’s big game
-
A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
-
Milford Sound/Piopiotahi rainforest in New Zealand
-
Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
-
International Kissing Day
-
Bonifacio on the island of Corsica, France
-
Working for that cliffside view
-
Playa del Silencio, Spain
-
Dragon dance performed in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China
-
Square Tower House in Mesa Verde National Park
-
Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, India
-
Chestnut-eared aracari in the Pantanal, Brazil
-
Telašćica Nature Park, Dugi Otok, Croatia
-
A ‘Superior’ paddle
-
Travel Sunday: Liverpool
-
Independence Day
-
Bernina Pass, Graubünden, Switzerland
-
Pumpkin patch
-
Upstate autumn
-
Happy World Laughter Day
-
Christmas Tree Point Road and Twin Peaks, San Francisco
-
Ukrainian Independence Day
-
We stand with Ukraine
-
World Maritime Day
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

