this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2024
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For owls that are superb.

US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now

International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com

Australia Rescue Help: WIRES

Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org

If you find an injured owl:

Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.

Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.

Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.

If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.

For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.

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Birds don't get "pregnant" , because the birdy babies don't develop inside the mother. Instead, birds are "gravid" when they are carrying an egg.

Fertilization cannot happen through the shell, so the egg is fertilized first, and then the shell calcifies around the baby.

From Carolina Raptor Center:

Just in time for our Baby Shower tomorrow - this morning as we performed an intake exam on a Barred Owl found trapped in a chimney, we got a surprise on its radiograph.

She's gravid (see the egg?)! Many native raptor species are currently preparing their nests and laying eggs. In about a month, the eggs will hatch!

This owl will remain in our care while she recovers from an eye injury she sustained while being ina chimney (make sure your chimneys are capped!).

If you are wondering how owls do the nasty...

From Ask an Academic

Like most birds and reptiles, owls lack external genitalia, with both sexes instead possessing a cloaca. This is a urogenital opening – an orifice which serves as an opening for the excretion of both urine and faeces, as well as serving reproductive purposes. During copulation, sperm are transferred via a ‘cloacal kiss’ – a brief contact of the cloacae, during which the sperm is transferred very quickly into the female reproductive tract. In some birds this can occur in less than half a second. Although two ovaries are present during the embryonic development of the female bird, the adult usually only possesses a single functional ovary. This is connected to an oviduct, through which the eggs travel, slowly becoming calcified during their journey.

There you have it, the miracle of life! 😮

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It seems it's that way in a few languages, thanks to the Romans.

Do you know if your other language has a different word for when a bird, fish, or reptile is carrying an egg, or is it just gravid for both?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Fish would "rognbærende" which is composite of "rogn" (roe) and "bære" (carrying). A bird you would say is "rugeklar" which is a composite of "ruge" (nesting) and "klar" (ready). For non-humam mammals, we might use the word "drektig".

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I thought it looked scandanavian! Thanks!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I like it! Seems much more specific.

Now I keep thinking of someone having a weird used car commercial but for birds, like "Come down to Crazy Carl's Chicken Sales! All models come nest-ready!"