Yesterday, a wildlife rehab group released two saw-whet owls back into the wild from Inwood Hill Park. Wildlife In Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation released the two, plus a juvenile red-tailed hawk, after bringing them back to health.
Owl Pages explains, "The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a very small, short-bodied, Owl with a relatively short tail. The overly large head has no ear tufts and may appear distorted due to an asymmetrical skull. They look small when perched and tend to shuffle their feet, but in flight appear larger because of their broad wings." In other words, THEY ARE REALLY CUTE—but they are still birds of prey, "When prey is plentiful, a Saw-whet Owl will kill as many as 6 mice in rapid succession, without consuming any of them."
More photographs here. Last month, a tiny saw-whet owl was released into the wild after being injured in Brooklyn.
