"OWL Be Home For Christmas!" ~
A Burrowing Owl is helping Bing Crosby sing, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" ~
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NFUTVmEslY</
He was seen at the OWL FEST in Apopka, Florida and is kept at the The Avian Reconditioning Center ~
Please View On Black
Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia
Identification: A small owl without feather (formerly known as ear) tufts. Burrowing Owls are brown with spots of buff and dull white above, whitish below and heavily barred with brown along the flanks. The eyebrows, lower half of the face, and bib are white and the eyes are yellow. These owls are 8-9 inches long with a wingspread reaching 22 inches. This species is often found nesting in colonies.
Range & Habitat: This owl is primarily a western species, occurring commonly in southwestern Canada, the western states and lower South America. This species also occurs in Florida from Alachua County south to Monroe County. In Florida, Burrowing Owls are found on dry prairies and altered habitats such as golf courses, ballfields and airports.
Reproduction: These owls nest in the deserted burrows of mammals such as prairies dog, woodchuck and skunk, or in holes dug in soft soil by the owls themselves. In Florida, they may use an abandoned Gopher Tortoise burrow for their nest. Burrows provide habitat for numerous other species, including reptiles, amphibians and insects. The cavity may be lined with feathers, grasses or other debris. Clutch size is typically 5-7 white eggs, incubated for about 3 weeks by both parents. It is unknown at what age the young birds begin to fly.
Diet: This small owl takes insects, small mammals, toads and occasionally small birds.
Remarks: Calls are a cackling alarm note and a two-note "coo-o-o-o." which resembles the call of a Mourning Dove. Although the owl nests on the ground, it does not spend all of its time there. It does fly and perch, usually on fence posts and utility wires. This is one of the few species of owl that fits into the niche known as crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk). When approached too closely, the Burrowing Owl will bob up and down and finally dive into its burrow rather than take flight.
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I'll Be Home for Christmas
Wikipedia~
In 1943, this song joined "White Christmas" to become one of America's most popular holiday songs. The recording by Bing Crosby shot to the top ten of the record charts that year and became a holiday musical tradition in the United States. The idea of being home for Christmas originated in World War I when soldiers at first thought that the war would be quick and they would return by Christmas time. This inevitably did not happen, hence the line "if only in my dreams".
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" was recorded by Perry Como (1946), Frank Sinatra (1957) and countless other artists.
In December 1965, having completed the first U.S. space rendezvous and set a record for the longest flight in the U.S. space program, the astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell hurtled back to earth aboard their Gemini 7 spacecraft. Asked by NASA communication personnel if they wanted any particular music piped up to them, the crew requested Bing Crosby's recording of "I'll Be Home for Christmas."