2 September 08
Feet
Hopped over to the Raptor Center at lunch to try to draw some turkey vulture feet. They have very long claws which makes me wonder how the “turkey vultures are really storks” lobby can have any idea what it’s about, but they must have their reasons.
Couldn’t resist some others, though: this barred owl’s feet look very much as though they’re zygodactylate (two digits front, two digits back) and a quick glance at the great-horned owls on the way back to my bike revealed the same thing. I’m going to have to look this one up.
A strange cry behind one of the red-tails led me to a gorgeous Harris’ hawk I couldn’t resist drawing. This bird belonged to a falconer for nine years; it’s quite used to having people close by. It picked up its dead chick and ate it companionably next to me while I drew its feet and, finally, its beautiful head. I’d love to come back and spend more time on this one…
UPDATE: yes, owls are zygodactyl. They can move the third digit forward for perching, though apparently they hunt with the 2-2 formation. See what you learn by sketching?
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GREAT head of the hawk! Cool fact on owls! Have you ever thought of taking the bird biology course from Cornell Bird Lab? My oldest son took it and learned so much.