Good to see that bewildered look on one. They are still cute, but perhaps not as cute.

This is beautiful. 🧡

This one looks much more judgy than the Northern one. It kind of looks like a cross between the juvenile Northern Saw Whet and the grown up one. Like the edgy teenage version.

Looks like alyssum to me.

A fully toasted one!

I guess that makes sense. Well, maybe send some government scientists to find the feathers to test them? Probably like a needle in a haystack. I just would really like to know what caused the coloration.

Wait, why illegal?

Thanks for posting this update. I’m glad to see it’s returning to normal coloration. Maybe someone will find some of the molted feathers and be able to figure out what caused it.

👋 I’ve mostly just been lurking and upvoting. Life has been busy. But also, I had the flu and haven’t felt like doing much of anything. 🤒 😴

Have a good summer, little guys! ❤️

I hope Indira is happy in her new home. I’ve enjoyed reading about her.

He lost his tail!

I love seeing the continuing adventures of Indira. I hope she finds a forever home soon. ❤️

Be careful! Remember what happened to Squirrel Nutkin!

Dramatic! ❤️

These manuals are very interesting! There are a pair of Snowies at my zoo and their enclosure seemed a bit small, but I may be remembering it wrong. You can also check if your zoo is AZA accredited here: https://www.aza.org/inst-status Mine is!

Thanks for posting this. His enclosure was definitely small. 😕 I have mixed feelings about zoos. They are doing conservation work and it is nice to be able to see animals in person that I would never have a chance to see in the wild, but there is something sad about keeping them in a fraction of the space they would normally roam in. I would like to see what the minimum size recommendations for enclosures are for other animals. Some of the ones at my local zoo seem heartbreakingly small.

Poor thing. Because it’s a “first-winter” bird does that mean it will keep its feathers longer or molt sooner? Or does it have nothing to do with it and adult Snowies all molt on the same schedule?

My favorite naturally occurring heart since Pluto. ❤️

Me too!