Trick-or-Tweet

Trick-or-Tweet and Happy H-owl-o-ween! From Hitchcock’s The Birds to Poe’s The Raven, birds are undeniably spooky. While bats are an obvious animal to associate with Halloween, the trope of dark shadows ominously flitting across the sky could also apply to feathered fliers. Don’t be bird-brained—keep reading to learn some chilling facts about four of the creepiest birds around: the great horned owl, crow, black vulture, and the common loon.

Great Horned Owl: The Tiger with Wings

The only thing scarier than a tiger is a tiger with wings. That’s the nickname of the fearsome bird of prey, the great horned owl. With its glaring yellow eyes, horn-like feather tufts, and high-pitched screeches, you can understand why it’s so frightening. These terrifying birds of prey are found throughout the continental United States, as well as in Alaska. Like most other owls, the great horned owl is nocturnal, spending its nights awake in search of prey.

Great horned owls are one of North America’s largest owl species, however, they only average about three to four pounds. They make up for their size by being great hunters and having very few predators. Their sense of hearing is so acute that they can detect a mouse stepping on a twig from a distance of 75 feet (23 meters). This owl is one of the very few animals that will hunt skunks, and they may eat more than 4,000 mice and other rodents per year!

The majority of their diet consists of mice, voles, rabbits, and other small mammals. Their flight feathers have such soft edges that they allow them to fly virtually silently and ambush prey, feeding on hawks, crows, waterfowl, and other birds, including smaller owls. To make things even spookier, the great horned owls are rarely even seen due to their nocturnal habits and excellent camouflage.

Crows: The Mega Murder

Spine-tingling omens of death, or just misunderstood? Crows’ association with death and darkness may stem in part from their reputation as scavengers. They could sometimes be seen circling around battlefields and cemeteries, so people imagined that a lurking “murder” of crows, as their groups were named, meant that someone nearby would die soon. But other than easily accessible roadkill, crows actually eat very little carrion overall , as their beaks are too dull to break through the skin of most animals. 

It’s not just what crows eat that scares people though, it’s also their uncanny intelligence and behaviors—from their ability to memorize and recognize human faces, to using tools to scavenge for food, to even holding crow “funerals.” This is where the birds will gather around a dead crow and make loud “scolding” sounds for 15-20 minutes, in what researchers have discovered to be a method for crows to determine the cause of death and spread news of danger to others.

Perhaps the scariest sight of all is when crows congregate in large roosts together over late fall and winter in murders of a few hundred up to even two million crows. As cities have grown larger and more widespread across the country, these massive groups have begun to move into urban areas—which in Minneapolis, MN, residents have dubbed their annual “mega-murder.” While crow sightings probably don’t foreshadow death and despair, these little goths are perfect to celebrate in our spookiest season.

Black Vultures: Scary Scavengers

Vultures—scraggly-looking, corpse-eating, bald buzzards—are pretty metal. But even more metal? The black vulture (Coragyps atratus). Black vultures live in the southeastern United States, and their range extends through Mexico into South America. They are found in Mayan hieroglyphics and codices, often as a symbol of death, and Mayan texts describe how they will pluck out the eyes and intestines of their prey first. Spooky!

Like most vultures, black vultures primarily feed on carrion, but they will kill and eat the young of other animals as well. While feeding on rotting animal carcasses sounds like something out of a slasher flick, this gruesome behavior actually helps clean up dead animals from the environment and prevent the spread of disease and bacteria.

Black vultures have a worse sense of smell than turkey vultures, so they will wait for turkey vultures to locate “fresh” meat, and then swoop in and feast—fighting off any turkey vultures in the process.

A stomach-churning fun fact—vultures have extremely strong stomach acids to digest their specific diet, and when threatened, they will vomit up this harsh, stinging acid on their attacker as a defense. This tactic seems to work well, as adult vultures have few natural predators!

Common Loon: Will Seal Your Doom

The common loon’s beady little red eyes mean evil dwells within them, right? Surely they are the spawn of the devil herself. Not to mention their eerie bird calls that sound like something straight out of a horror movie and send shivers down your spine. Listen below while you read their tales of woe!

Loons are masters of the outfit change, as their feathers transition from a tuxedo-like black and white color scheme during warmer months to a softer gray and white during the winter months. 

These demon-like water birds are found breeding on lakes surrounded by forests in Canada and the northern United States, including Alaska. In the winter they migrate from northern lakes to coastal ocean waters. Mainly built to live in the water, loons have solid bones (as opposed to the hollow bones of most flying birds) that help them swim underwater to catch their prey. They typically stay close to the water’s edge but only come ashore to nest.

As for their red eyes filled with ill intent, this trait is actually thought to potentially help loons locate prey more effectively while submerged. They can eat quite a lot, too: biologists estimate that loon parents and their two chicks can eat about a half-ton of fish over a 15-week period.

Bloodthirsty for more spooky content? Read last year’s Halloween blog about wildlife-inspired horror movie icons.