Because Their Heads Are Weighty, Baby Owls Sleep On Their Backs Until They Are Grown Enough
Images of newborn owls sleeping upside down have been widely circulated on social media in recent days, and they have undoubtedly astonished thousands of people all around the world.
At first, one of the photographs appeared to be a simple meme depicting someone sleeping after a night of heavy alcohol consumption, but it was gradually recognized as a more severe issue that was a complete surprise to many.
Several individuals have posted similar photographs, and it’s been speculated that owls’ heads are excessively heavy when they’re infants, causing this strange sleeping pattern.
Because adult owls are fully developed, they sleep upright, but baby owls are unable to hold the weight of their heads and must lie face down to rest.
Regarding one of the posted photographs, one of the Twitter users stated the following:
“I’ve been looking for the original photographer for this shot but haven’t been successful. It’s clear that this is a caged bird. In any case, juvenile owls do really sleep or relax when lying down. Their heads are disproportionately large in comparison to their bodies.
An essay released by the non-profit organization National Audubon Society, which is committed to fighting for the conservation of wildlife, validated the specific sleeping style.
I finally had the chance to fact-check this and I think it’s true?
Which is all kinds of amazing because TIL human toddlers & teenage owls are both champions of the Awkward Nap. https://t.co/uZbcuMDeyL
— Mika McKinnon (@mikamckinnon) June 3, 2019
According to Joseph Clark, a listener of the BirdNote Podcast, which is affiliated with the National Audubon Society, he once rescued several juvenile owls that had fallen from the tree and received guidance from Kasha Breau on how to monitor them. take a nap, astonished by what he had seen. They clung to a limb and laid on their stomachs till they passed out.
In addition, the guy stated:
“Their naps are brief, and they don’t want to be woken up or even fed when they’re sleeping.”