luminosity in owls (1 Viewer)

[bubobubo]

Hello,

I am not a scientist or even an ornithologist, just a plain nature lover and an even bigger owl lover. I am doing some research though on the well known phenomenon will o' the whisp (also known as jack o' latern or minmin light). It is suspected that barn owls are the creators of this strange natural phenomenon. Have any of you experts ever observed this strange 'light' moving around in the dark? if so i would love to hear of your experiences.
bubobubo

 

[birdman]

I can't give you any owl info bb, but I was under the impression that will o' th' wisp was cased by methane emissions from swamp grounds.

 

[Paul G]

It is suspected that barn owls are the creators of this strange natural phenomenon. Have any of you experts ever observed this strange 'light' moving around in the dark?

I think birdman is correct.....The only way Owls could be connected is when they "fly" in or around these emisions, stimulating the gases.

 

[scampo]

That is the case for the true "Will o' the Wisp", as far as I know, but I would think a silently flying barn owl's eyes picked up in a car's headlights might look rather eerie!

 

[Paul G]

OK I cant help this one (sorry) but there maybe a strange breed of owl that carries a box of matches and to attract the female sets alight to his own ,lets say emmisions ! It is sometimes confused with a screech owl when a blow back happens !!

 

[bubobubo]

hello again,
i thought will o the whisp was the cartoon i used to watch when i was little hehehehe no seriously, loads of ideas have been checked out scientifically but the barn owl has shown up in many reports even a sighting where one person saw the light shot it down (as many inconsiderate people do when they don't understand something) and where the light fell, was a barn owl. There is one author is australia who is covering this subject (i am waiting for his book to arrive - i shall give details if anyone is interested) but there is also another guy who wrote a book on this mysterious phenomenon, he doesn't believe it to be barn owls. (night orbs is the title of his book - again i shall have to look for the name of the author). I personally believe that barn owls are involved, so i just wondered if anyone knew anything about it. Some did mention luminous fungi in the tree trunks but if that was the case then the feathers on the back and wings would glow not just the breast feathers (as was stated in many documents).

Thanks for you replies anyway.

 

[Paul G]

Intersesting !

Please forgive my flippance.

Could it have something to do with reflection and or water ?

 

[birdman]

I suppose there might be many things that have been taken to be will o' th' wisp... and I guess it's not too much of a leap of faith to believe that Barn Owls might have been confused with the phenomenon. After all, it is reasonably considered that Barn Owls were the source of many ghost/banshee sightings.

The mention of night orbs reminds me of another little studied phenomenon (although that is changing, I believe) that could eithetr be, or be misidentified as, will o' th' wisp - that being the reported lights/electrical discharges that are thought to be caused by tectonic activity.

 

[bubobubo]

hi paul, and you are forgiven ha! no reflection is not an issue here nor is possible lighting around the barn owl. Barn owls can apparently turn on and off this light at will especially when it is frightened or startled. No light what so ever around (be it lamposts, house lights or any other lights). As soon as i find the brief article i read then i will try and post it. Believe me any birder, especially owlers) will find this truly amazing.

 

[Larry Lade]

All this does sound rather incredulous. I suppose if Barn Owls did emit some sort of luminosity it would necessarily be transmitted from their feathers. That would be strange indeed for owls to have this ability to turn on/off their feathers!

Bubobubo, I will await further developments in your research.

 

[birdman]

I've just reread this intriguing thread, and it seems that you believe the owls actually are the cause of (at least some) will o' th' wisp.

Some sort of bioluminescence???

I have to say that I strongly disagree with you on this, as I would have expected such an ability to be common knowledge in such a familiar bird.

Also, it does seem rather unlikely that any natural fright mechanism would make a night-time creature more visible.

Bu-u-u-u-t... as much as I think this is (frankly) hogwash, I don't think you should readily dismiss the possiblity that certain feathers may react to ingested (?) luminescent agents differently from others.

 

[bubobubo]

There are a lot of things that mother nature made that none of us really understand or even know about but that does not mean it is not possible.
Birdman, the reports i have read so far suggest that it is only the breast feathers that seem to 'glow' so if the barny did swallow something illuminous then the other feathers would also have this effect but that is not the case. And why would the fact that being frightened would make the bird visible? on the contrary, after being frightened the barn owl 'turns off the light' thus making himself unseen. (i do sound silly saying this but it is the only way i can put it until more is found out about it) I understand it seems strange but you have to admit, it is something to check out. The only thing i can suggest for the moment is to look in www.owlpages.com in the january 2004 newsletter and you will find the document explaining a little (and the book that i have just ordered). Many studies have been carried out on the feathers, etc to see if they possess some sort of oil, special structure etc. I am going to try and dig much deeper but first i have to get more background info.
bubobubo

 

[Larry Lade]

Hi Bubo,

I checked out your owlpages website and found it very interesting. I had not heard of owls possibly being luminescent. Thanks for the reference.

Also, Welcome to BirdForum! I look forward to future posts from you.

 

[birdman]

Sorry, bb, I "read" that you had said the owl turns on its luminosity when startled, but after looking back, it is clear that is not actually what you wrote.

However, in an attempt to throw another spanner in the works, it seems equally unlikely that an owl would bcome luminous when not startled. Surely, if it is not fleeing a threat, it is by its very nature being stealthy - either hunting or hiding. Being luminous would seem to go against the success of this.

Whetever though... not all feathers are the same!

 

[nigelblake]

There have been a couple of reports of noticable owls that have noted a glow to the birds plumage, this is most likely to be a result of the particular viewing conditions at the time, but there is a chance that bio-luminescence or chemical flourescence in micro / bacterial feather parasites may have been been the cause of this rare phenomenon.

As Birdman states though, Will o' th' whisp is strongly considered to be Methane emissions from marshland.

 

[bubobubo]

Hi everyone, yes will o the wisp is ONLY CONSIDERED but not actually founded. As i have no idea yet what this all means or what it actually is , i can't put forward any more debates but i am still going to look into this. From now on i will call it the min min light then there will be no confusion :bounce: .
bubobubo

 

[bubobubo]

Hi Larry, forgive me i forgot to thank you for your welcome. Nigelblake, wouldnt micro/bacterial feather parasites target all the feathers instead of just the breast feathers?

 

[birdman]

Hi again bb,

I’ve done a bit of googling, and found many references to will o’ th’ wisp, but apart from the Owl Pages, I have come across no other instances of the Barn Owl connection.

Whilst any "proof" must begin as a "theory", it does seem that the luminescence of Barn Owls is anecdotal as best, and yet this tenuous evidence is put forward as an explanation for will o’ th’ wisp!

I would be ill-advised to dismiss it out of hand, but I am a long way from accepting there is any substance to this.

Also, the Owl Pages article, as you say, relates the luminescence of Barn Owls to min min lights.

There is much stronger evidence to suggest that there is an alternative explanation for min min lights – and that min min and will o’ th’ wisp are not related.

Will o’ th’ wisp we have discussed, min min light are strongly believed to be a light phenomenon similar to fata morgana.

I’m going to take a lot of convincing yet!

 

[Steve G]

Can't wait for the new Harry Potter blockbuster: HARRY POTTER & THE TYTO TORCH.

 

[bubobubo]

I LIKE IT STEVE. hahahahahaha and yes it is only theory at the moment that is why i can not say anymore but you do have to admit it will be fun checking out.