Glowing Owls

I ran across the phenomenon of luminescent owls when I was writing about orbs recently.  I had never heard of glowing owls!  I live in the woods, and there are a lot of owls here.  I have heard the calls of five different species, and had the pants scared off me by a barn owl once.  But I've never seen a glowing owl!

First, on the glow itself.  There are two main theories:

1.    Reflection.  Barn owls in particular have a very high albedo, which is a measurement of how much light reflects off them.  And it's true, on even a partly moonlit night, a barn owl can reflect a lot of moonlight at the right angle.  

Also, if you are walking across the road to get your mail from the mailbox in the dark, take it from me: a barn owl can very effectively flash in the moonlight right in front of you.

2.    Fungus.  There are several species of bioluminescent fungus and single-celled organisms.  Because owls often nest inside hollow rotten tree trunks, their feathers could become contaminated by these fungi.  

Glowing owls have been spotted several times throughout history, by fairly reputable witnesses.  I found an old article in the New York Times, published February 2, 1908, which collects accounts of glowing owls in and around London.  In North Norfolk, a pair of glowing owls was repeatedly seen "almost every night hawking, like barn owls, along the hedgerows."

Another series of sightings took place in Ireland in 1911.  The ferryman at Villierstown spotted the owls crossing back and forth across the river many times, and frequently pointed them out to passengers.

One person in this account claims to have owned an owl which would glow at night, but only when it was sick.  In another account, the strange flying light was shot and found to be "a poor old half-starved barn owl."

These accounts of glowing owls being sickly ones supports the fungal theory.  A sick owl would be less likely to groom itself properly, which would allow hitchhiking organisms like bioluminescent fungi to take hold.  Additionally, the fungus itself might have been making the owls sick.  Birds have exceptionally delicate respiratory systems, and inhaling fungal spores can be extremely bad for them.

It must be said that another tale of luminescent owls started out as a viral ad campaign by LG, but has spread to take on a life of its own.  In early 2009, LG began dribbling out bits of video about the "legendary owl of the Smamot tribe."  The video is pretty obviously fake.  It purports to follow an obscure African tribe which has formed a partnership with a group of owls that basically can use their eyes as flashlights.

LG won several awards for this ad campaign at the time.  But the website it was pushing people towards has become a parking page for a domain squatter. Which only deepens the mystery.  Nevertheless, you heard it here first: the Smamot tribe in Africa, and their legendary glowing owl hunting deer, are 100% fake.

Creative Commons-licensed image courtesy of Flickr user nickpix2010