help me identify this talisman!

August 17, 2007 9:40 PM

please help me identify this beautiful feather...

found this feather in malibu, early summer 2007. any ideas what kind of bird it's from? if hawk, what kind of hawk? done image searches...could be turkey? but are turkeys even indigenous to california?!

posted by seeka to science & nature (16 comments total)

Link or something?
posted by Flunkie at 9:45 PM on August 17, 2007

Pic?
posted by rancidchickn at 9:45 PM on August 17, 2007

A link would help.

Turkeys are not indigenous to California, but all the same we have lots (and lots and lots) of them, and they all drop feathers.
posted by rtha at 9:49 PM on August 17, 2007

link to pic
posted by iconomy at 9:50 PM on August 17, 2007

Great horned owl?
posted by luftmensch at 10:03 PM on August 17, 2007

It looks like it could be a Great Horned Owl feather, but that's just a guess.
posted by iconomy at 10:03 PM on August 17, 2007

Great horned owl.
posted by rtha at 10:06 PM on August 17, 2007

I mean, it looks just like some great horned feathers I would have, if one were allowed to own raptor feathers, which one isn't (if you're in the U.S.), unless one has a collector's permit, and I don't, so I don't. Own any feathers, that is. Like great horned owl feathers.
posted by rtha at 10:08 PM on August 17, 2007 [3 favorites]

sorry, link = http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1221/1155086819_1e74b95d8e_o.jpg

thanks!!!
posted by seeka at 10:21 PM on August 17, 2007

Great Horned Owl.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 12:51 AM on August 18, 2007

Good find!
posted by wsg at 1:29 AM on August 18, 2007

Definitely a Great Horned Owl. I picked up a feather exactly like that in a cave that had one inhabiting it. Beautiful birds.
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:09 AM on August 18, 2007

Beautiful plumage. Bird's probably pining for the fjords...
posted by miss lynnster at 6:12 AM on August 18, 2007

More info: it's a flight feather, either a secondary or an inner primary, and it looks like it was probably dropped my a molting bird, given how worn it looks around the edges. Excellent find!
posted by rtha at 6:34 AM on August 18, 2007

Wow, that's really cool! I used to find those kind of feathers in the yard when I was a kid, but I never knew they were owl feathers! I always assumed owls didn't live in my area, since I never saw any.
posted by gueneverey at 12:22 PM on August 18, 2007

If it has a velvety texture on the top surface it is from an owl.
Because they hunt as silently as possible owls flight feathers are padded with a downy surface and a frill in the front.
posted by Iron Rat at 12:46 PM on August 18, 2007