From Derek Deihl
The Winterberry Bared Owl, photographed in 2020 this wild bird was very photogenic providing crazy flight shots at point blank range.
Minnesota 2020
Reminds me of how cuttlefish make these ripply colors as they approach their prey: video takes a minute to get to the point
Different time scales, but maybe the same mesmerizing or visually confusing idea.
I love cuttlefish! Cute in an alien way, the eyes are so funky, and the Rorschach mask effect being a real thing is just too wild.
Having existed for 500 million years, they’re a real window into a long lost age. For comparison:
- House cats - 10,000 years old
- Domestic dogs - 15,000 to 30,000
- Homo sapiens - 200,000
- First owls / dinosaur extinction- 65,000,000
- Stegosaurus - 150,000,000
- First dinosaurs - 250,000,000
- First land animals - 425,000,000
- First land plants - 460,000,000
- Cuttlefish - 500,000,000
I think the owl pattern works like dazzle camouflage. It doesn’t hide the object in question, but in the shirt about of time prey has to react, it makes figuring out the distance, speed, and angle of attack very hard to determine.
Ooh, I didn’t know about that, but that makes sense so many raptors have those bars.
I don’t know if I’ve posted on it, but I’ve read a few things about how raptors plan their attacks and dazzle camo would really work to their benefit. Combined with the element of surprise, it’s a deadly combo for little critters. I think most of the articles were about hawks, but I’d guess if they’re hunting the same prey on the go, tactics would be similar if they get spotted.
