Singer
Barn Owl
Singer the Barn Owl is very handsome. We know this not only because we can see how beautiful he, the female barn owls told us so. Singer came to Wildworks in September 2018. Unfortunately, he had been kept as an illegal pet. This species has an important job to do out in nature (pest control), and keeping them as a pet prevents them from doing that job. When Singer first got to us he was used to flying at people’s faces, another unfortunate side effect of being kept as an illegal pet. After spending time with him perched on the glove he became accustomed to his new home and caretakers. There was just one more thing he thought he would like to have, a girlfriend. Along came springtime. Living across from Dancer our female barn owl, Singer would call out his mating song to her. Dancer being an imprinted bird who was raised by humans wanted nothing to do with him. One morning as Meagan was checking on all of the animals, she came over to Singer’s home and confused began counting. One, two, three. Then she crossed over to Dancer’s home, where Dancer slept contently as she always does in the morning. Not understanding why there were three barn owls in Singer’s home, she went to Mollie and asked why this was. Mollie thought Meagan was joking. Both animal care professionals walked out to Singer’s home and sure enough there was Singer, and two wild female Barn Owls. This was a first in Mollie’s more than 25 years of animal care. Singer’s home had a window made of pvc slots that gave him a different view than the rest of his home, they were spaced so small it never occurred to us an owl could squeeze through. Singer may have been named to compliment Dancer, however clearly this was the perfect name for him as his “singing” mating call brought not one, but two ladies to him.
Dancer is no longer with us after a wonderful 20-years of life.