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Henry, a captive-bred European Barn Owl, was
"chamber-raised"
by his parents until the age of 5 weeks old. Chamber-raised means a
hatchling
remains in the "chamber" or "nest" with its parents and without any
human
interaction until it is removed for training. Spending the first few
weeks
of his life with his natural parents enabled Henry to "know" that he is
a
Barn Owl and allowed him to learn many normal Barn Owl behaviors. For
the
next 5 weeks, his care was provided by specialized handlers who began
to
"socialize" Henry with humans to prepare him for his future "job" as an
education
ambassador.
ARC had been seeking a rehabilitated Barn Owl capable of
flight
for over a year. With no suitable candidates available, ARC decided to
purchase a captive-bred bird. Special adaptations like serrated primary
feathers and
legs feathered all the way to the toes allow them to fly silently and
ARC
feels it is important to include flight demonstrations with this
interesting species in our education programs. European Barn Owls are
very similar to the Common Barn Owl indigenous to the U.S. with the
European species being a bit smaller and having a shorter tail.
By the age of 10 weeks, Henry was ready to travel to his
new
home here at ARC. Because the summer temperatures in Florida prohibited
him from traveling by air, ARC's certified vet tech, Carol, flew to St.
Louis
and drove Henry home-over 1,000 miles! Henry quickly settled in at ARC
and
is now quite comfortable in his new surroundings. He enjoys being
outside
on the porch and will often hop down and wiggle his way between the
fronds
of huge staghorn fern near his perch to nap.
In the wild, Barn Owls perch high up in barns and other
similar
structures so it's no surprise that Henry inquisitively searches the
rafters
of the open-air education pavilion for a suitable perch. Henry is well
mannered when on the falconer's glove and allows his handlers to gently
lift the feathers behind his facial disk to show his large ears.
Although found on every continent except Antarctica, Barn
Owls
are elusive and rarely seen in the wild making Henry very popular with
birding
enthusiasts and the general public as well. Barn Owls are also called
the
"Valentine" or "Sweetheart" owl because of their heart-shaped face.
Henry's
darling face and sweet manner have earned him the well-deserved
nickname
of "Sir Henry the Heart Throb."
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