An owl rescued from a ditch and thought to be injured was in fact just too fat to fly, a bird rescue centre has said.
Suffolk Owl Sanctuary said the "soggy" bird was brought in by a landowner.
When staff examined the little owl (Athene noctua), they found it to be "simply extremely obese" and "unable to fly effectively" as a result.
The owl was put on a "strict diet" to slim down from its 245g to a more "natural weight" and has been released back to the wild, the sanctuary said.
The sanctuary, based in Stonham Aspal, said when the bird was weighed, it was roughly a third heavier than they would expect a large healthy female little owl to be.
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Suffolk Owl Sanctuary said the "soggy" bird was brought in by a landowner.
When staff examined the little owl (Athene noctua), they found it to be "simply extremely obese" and "unable to fly effectively" as a result.
The owl was put on a "strict diet" to slim down from its 245g to a more "natural weight" and has been released back to the wild, the sanctuary said.
The sanctuary, based in Stonham Aspal, said when the bird was weighed, it was roughly a third heavier than they would expect a large healthy female little owl to be.
Full article here