ahh that's the spot
November 17, 2011 2:50 PM Subscribe
That was cool.
Goldfish in Liquid Notrogen popped up in the sidebar and did not have the ending I was expecting, though it did have the line of dialog of "I think he was in there a little too long the first time."
posted by cjorgensen at 2:56 PM on November 17, 2011
Goldfish in Liquid Notrogen popped up in the sidebar and did not have the ending I was expecting, though it did have the line of dialog of "I think he was in there a little too long the first time."
posted by cjorgensen at 2:56 PM on November 17, 2011
Is it possible to keep an owl as a pet? They seem intelligent enough. That little one with the big eyes bowled me over. I'd regurge dead vermin into it's tiny maw in a heartbeat.
posted by Renoroc at 2:59 PM on November 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Renoroc at 2:59 PM on November 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
I could watch tiny owl petting forever.
posted by The Whelk at 3:01 PM on November 17, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 3:01 PM on November 17, 2011 [9 favorites]
Lovely, thank you.
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:01 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:01 PM on November 17, 2011
Now I really want a teeny owl that will allow me to skritch it like that.
posted by rtha at 3:04 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rtha at 3:04 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I want to be that owl.
posted by not_on_display at 3:11 PM on November 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by not_on_display at 3:11 PM on November 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
I had a duckling for a time, that loved being petted and carried around and snuggling. This made me miss the little bugger intensely.
Is it possible to keep an owl as a pet?
Around here, Fish and Wildlife would want you to report any critters you found, there are fairly specific laws about what is and isn't allowable as a pet.
posted by Stagger Lee at 3:15 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Is it possible to keep an owl as a pet?
Around here, Fish and Wildlife would want you to report any critters you found, there are fairly specific laws about what is and isn't allowable as a pet.
posted by Stagger Lee at 3:15 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Put a much-needed smile on my face - thanks for posting.
posted by Currer Belfry at 3:35 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by Currer Belfry at 3:35 PM on November 17, 2011
Owls are basically cats: Really adorable and fun to pet and cuddle, but every so often they remind you that they are, in fact, highly evolved predators refined over millions of years to kill and devour rodents, and for some reason we don't appreciate how tasty mice are.
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:41 PM on November 17, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:41 PM on November 17, 2011 [9 favorites]
Incidentally, "Tiny Owl Petting" is the name of my next album.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:42 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:42 PM on November 17, 2011
Owls are very easy to keep. The Barn Owl Trust believe there's three times as many Barn Owls in captivity in Britain as there are in the wild, for example, but that creates problems as they breed like rabbits and it's pointless (and illegal) to release them in the wild.
posted by joannemullen at 3:51 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by joannemullen at 3:51 PM on November 17, 2011
U JELLY. ORLY?
posted by yoyoceramic at 3:53 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by yoyoceramic at 3:53 PM on November 17, 2011
Incidentally, "Tiny Owl Petting" is the name of my next album.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:42 PM
That's interesting because "Tiny Owl Petting" is the name of my new mission in life.
The text says something like:
The protagonist of this video is Spring, a "Little Owl" (Athene noctua) that loves to cuddle. All the owls in the video belong to "I Falconieri della Orobie"
posted by nanojath at 4:34 PM on November 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:42 PM
That's interesting because "Tiny Owl Petting" is the name of my new mission in life.
The text says something like:
The protagonist of this video is Spring, a "Little Owl" (Athene noctua) that loves to cuddle. All the owls in the video belong to "I Falconieri della Orobie"
posted by nanojath at 4:34 PM on November 17, 2011 [2 favorites]
(Athene noctua is a guess based on machine translation and googling around, I don't speak Italian, but it looks right).
posted by nanojath at 4:35 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by nanojath at 4:35 PM on November 17, 2011
U WANT PET ME? GIVE ME DEAD BAT.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:46 PM on November 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:46 PM on November 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
Want!
posted by Space Kitty at 4:49 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by Space Kitty at 4:49 PM on November 17, 2011
Slightly less cute owls
That was still cute. Unless you are a rat, I suppose.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:58 PM on November 17, 2011
That was still cute. Unless you are a rat, I suppose.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:58 PM on November 17, 2011
I get to scritch my bird's head like that every day! He's a lot smaller, though
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:07 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:07 PM on November 17, 2011
The protagonist of this video is Spring, a "Little Owl" (Athene noctua) that loves to cuddle. All the owls in the video belong to "I Falconieri della Orobie"
posted by nanojath
To be more accurate:
The protagonist of this video is Molla*, a "common owl" that loves to be cuddled. All the owls that appear in the video belong to the falconers of orobie.
*Molla doesn't technically mean spring as in the season. It's closer to the spring-loaded part of spring-loaded mattress as well as a variety of other uses for the word molla.
posted by lizarrd at 5:14 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by nanojath
To be more accurate:
The protagonist of this video is Molla*, a "common owl" that loves to be cuddled. All the owls that appear in the video belong to the falconers of orobie.
*Molla doesn't technically mean spring as in the season. It's closer to the spring-loaded part of spring-loaded mattress as well as a variety of other uses for the word molla.
posted by lizarrd at 5:14 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Note: It is actually the Athene Noctua, as nanojath pointed out. Apparently, it is called a common owl in Italian. If it is that common, I kinda wanna move over there. It's so cute.
posted by lizarrd at 5:16 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by lizarrd at 5:16 PM on November 17, 2011
I had a duckling for a time, that loved being petted and carried around and snuggling. This made me miss the little bugger intensely.
Little bugger? So you've seen this research then?
posted by howfar at 5:16 PM on November 17, 2011
Little bugger? So you've seen this research then?
posted by howfar at 5:16 PM on November 17, 2011
What a hoot!
posted by argonauta at 5:54 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by argonauta at 5:54 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
This is going to sound like an odd question and/or that I'm high as fuck right now, but... why would the owls like being scritched? I've noticed both cats and dogs love that kind of scritching, the top of the head scratch and the between-the-eyes rub and I guess it makes sense. Although I wonder what it's like to them- it's a dexterity and focus they can't experience with anything but humans- we have hands, yay!- so what do they think of it? Are they all "Holy cow, for all their other flaws, these strange oversized creatures sure know how to rub my head!!!"?
But... even assuming owls do some kind of nuzzling/huddling with each other, why would they or any other birds react so positively to head scritching? What is it analogous to that they'd enjoy it?
posted by hincandenza at 5:56 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
But... even assuming owls do some kind of nuzzling/huddling with each other, why would they or any other birds react so positively to head scritching? What is it analogous to that they'd enjoy it?
posted by hincandenza at 5:56 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
What's so lovely about this is that it lets non-bird people see something that they might have been completely unaware of: birds really like to be pet. It's not something you'd normally think of, but they really, really enjoy it.
One of my birds will sit, completely placid and unmoving for as long as I'm willing to scritch. The same absurdly cute slow blinks and all. Hell, a cat could wander by and as long as the fingers kept going under the feathers, the bird wouldn't even react.
They may seem like aloof spooky feather covered reptiles, and they kinda are, but they can also be wonderfully sweet and loving.
posted by quin at 6:06 PM on November 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
One of my birds will sit, completely placid and unmoving for as long as I'm willing to scritch. The same absurdly cute slow blinks and all. Hell, a cat could wander by and as long as the fingers kept going under the feathers, the bird wouldn't even react.
They may seem like aloof spooky feather covered reptiles, and they kinda are, but they can also be wonderfully sweet and loving.
posted by quin at 6:06 PM on November 17, 2011 [3 favorites]
YES PLEASE I WOULD LIKE TO BE SCRATCHING AN OWL NOW ESPECIALLY FOR A JOB
posted by dismas at 6:08 PM on November 17, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by dismas at 6:08 PM on November 17, 2011 [5 favorites]
birds react so positively to head scritching?
it's a social thing - when their feathers grow in, there is this thin papery sheath around them that protects the feather as it's growing. Once the feather is ready, the bird preens off the sheath - but - they can't reach their own heads. They have to rely on their flockmates to preen the head feathers. When a person does it for the bird, that sends a signal - I am your flock mate, I will take care of you. Also, the new feathers are itchy, so a nice gentle scratch feels goooood.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:52 PM on November 17, 2011 [12 favorites]
it's a social thing - when their feathers grow in, there is this thin papery sheath around them that protects the feather as it's growing. Once the feather is ready, the bird preens off the sheath - but - they can't reach their own heads. They have to rely on their flockmates to preen the head feathers. When a person does it for the bird, that sends a signal - I am your flock mate, I will take care of you. Also, the new feathers are itchy, so a nice gentle scratch feels goooood.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:52 PM on November 17, 2011 [12 favorites]
I have watched this so many times
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:59 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:59 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I shared a house with a friend who had a medium sized green parrot. This guy liked skritching (that is so the right verb), and the parrot took to me fairly quickly, and he would be comatose on my chest while I watched TV and picked gently at his head. He would also attempt to groom me, and was very good at finding tiny ear hairs.
posted by Artful Codger at 7:16 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Artful Codger at 7:16 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've been watching this all day, and it's blowing my tiny mind. I had no idea until this morning that one even could scritch a baby owl, let alone that I wanted to do it so very, very badly. I have been demanding my husband obtain a scritchable baby owl for me with all possible haste, but he has yet to do so. Instead he is out buying a couch. It is disappointing.
posted by mostlymartha at 7:23 PM on November 17, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by mostlymartha at 7:23 PM on November 17, 2011 [8 favorites]
Metafilter: head scritching
posted by exphysicist345 at 7:48 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by exphysicist345 at 7:48 PM on November 17, 2011
Wait.
Wait.
Does this mean that we missed out on skritching dinosaurs?
posted by darksasami at 7:52 PM on November 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
Wait.
Does this mean that we missed out on skritching dinosaurs?
posted by darksasami at 7:52 PM on November 17, 2011 [4 favorites]
This owl has been in my tool bar for um..well... in case of emergencies. He has been unceremoniously bumped for that one with the scritching, and I'm all "Cutest Owel Ever who?" just like that.
posted by peagood at 7:59 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by peagood at 7:59 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]
Does this mean that we missed out on skritching dinosaurs?
posted by darksasami at 9:52 PM on November 17
Screw chaos theory, get with the mosquito-in-amber/frog DNA jiggery pokery science types!
ssssoooo cute OH GOD MY HAND
posted by nanojath at 8:15 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by darksasami at 9:52 PM on November 17
Screw chaos theory, get with the mosquito-in-amber/frog DNA jiggery pokery science types!
ssssoooo cute OH GOD MY HAND
posted by nanojath at 8:15 PM on November 17, 2011
What I don't understand about the head scritching is how come it's so easy to interpret the owl's expression. We are so different from owls: their "happy relaxed OMG-that's-great" face should be alien and uninterpretable to us. Right?
posted by lollusc at 11:07 PM on November 17, 2011
posted by lollusc at 11:07 PM on November 17, 2011
GODDAMMIT INTERNET I ALREADY WANT A FOX AND A MOAT FULL OF OTTERS MY IMAGINARY CASTLE CAN'T SUSTAIN A MUCH LARGER HUSBANDRY BUDGET
posted by flaterik at 4:15 AM on November 18, 2011 [10 favorites]
posted by flaterik at 4:15 AM on November 18, 2011 [10 favorites]
Speaking as someone who does it every day, there are very few things more relaxing than skritching a happy bird's head. My lil' Senegal acts just like this little guy, right down to the sleepy blinking. Birds are astonishing, delightful pets.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:33 AM on November 18, 2011
posted by kinnakeet at 6:33 AM on November 18, 2011
I have watched this so many times
The looks that one gives when the skritching stops are priceless: "Dude, who the fuck told you to stop? Put that hand back on my head right now or so help me God I will take it from you."
posted by zombieflanders at 7:16 AM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
The looks that one gives when the skritching stops are priceless: "Dude, who the fuck told you to stop? Put that hand back on my head right now or so help me God I will take it from you."
posted by zombieflanders at 7:16 AM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]
...a little to the left please.
posted by The Owls at 11:36 AM on November 18, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by The Owls at 11:36 AM on November 18, 2011 [5 favorites]
Fantastic music choice for the video; it makes it that much funnier.
posted by Fui Non Sum at 12:33 PM on November 18, 2011
posted by Fui Non Sum at 12:33 PM on November 18, 2011
For the record: in the US, owls (as with all raptors) are illegal to keep unless you are a bona fide master falconer.
Keeping a chipmunk may break some state game law or city code, but keeping an owl is an entirely different level of penal code.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:56 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Keeping a chipmunk may break some state game law or city code, but keeping an owl is an entirely different level of penal code.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:56 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
The phrase "bona fide master falconer" fills a void in my life that I didn't know was there.
posted by argonauta at 1:29 PM on November 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by argonauta at 1:29 PM on November 18, 2011 [3 favorites]
bona fide master falconer
I have found my new band name.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:55 AM on November 19, 2011
I have found my new band name.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:55 AM on November 19, 2011
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posted by w0mbat at 2:54 PM on November 17, 2011 [3 favorites]