Barn owls are nocturnal birds of prey that are known for their distinctive heart-shaped faces and haunting calls. They’re not very large, with an average weight of only about a pound, but they are killers of the night with outstanding vision and hearing in the dark.
This mixed with the silence of their feathers makes them nearly impossible to get away from when they attack their prey.
Red-tailed hawks are diurnal birds of prey. Larger in size, at about 2 and a half pounds, they are known for their distinctive red tails and their habit of soaring high in the sky. Red-tailed hawks feed on a variety of prey, including small mammals, reptiles, and birds. They are also known for their aggressive territorial behavior and will often defend their territories from other birds of prey.
While barn owls and red-tailed hawks may occasionally compete for the same food sources, they generally do not interact directly as predators. Barn owls and red-tailed hawks can sometimes come into conflict when they compete for nesting sites, as both species are known to use cavities in trees for their nests. That doesn’t mean it is common though.
This man got to witness the spectacular as he walked up on a hawk and owl tangled up in each other. His curious dog also got to witness the bizarre scene as well, and felt the full force of it when he got a talon to the face. It’s safe to say the pup learned a lesson that day… never try and break up a fight when both parties are swinging some sharp talons.
You can see at the beginning of the video, the hawk grabs the dog by the snout with its talons, but eventually lets go. Meanwhile, pair of birds are latched onto to each other, both staring up at the man as he approaches. They screech and don’t let go.
He described the wild scene:
“This morning barn owl attacked by a hawk right in front of me. I was walking my dog and right before me barn owl was attacked by a hawk and strike down from a palm tree. I saw everything in real action and I wish I had my camera at that moment. In this short video, you will hear how owls cry for help. I never knew they scream like this.”
The owl is seen shaking it off later in the video… no harm, no foul.
Filmmakers Replace Bald Eagle Vocalization With A Red-Tailed Hawk
Wow, I’ve been living in a lie my whole life.
Okay, okay, in my defense I’ve never had any encounter with a bald eagle before in my life, whether it be out in the wild or in a nature park. However, I was fully convinced that the bald eagle “screech” you hear in movies was the actual sound the creature makes.
But, I was today years old when I discovered that this is indeed not the case.
The Alaska Raptor Center set the record straight in one simple tweet, where they’re showing off their two bald eagles, Sunset and Thor, communicating with each other. And as you’ll see, it’s not that stereotypical “screech” that you hear in the movies, and they tend to replace the normal sound of an eagle with a voice over of a red-tailed hawk.
They share in the tweet:
“Sunset and Thor, Bald Eagles here at the Alaska Raptor Center, showing off their vocalization skills! Did You Know Hollywood sound editors often dub over a Bald Eagle’s call, with another bird’s vocalization? The piercing, earthy screams of a Red-tailed Hawk.”
And for comparison, here is a red-tailed hawk and bald eagle vocalizing side by side:
Okay, maybe the red-tailed hawk screech is a bit more intimidating, so it’s understandable why they’d do the switch up in film and what not, but I’m pretty shocked I’ve gone 30 years of my life without knowing this.
