Owl feathers are less dense to begin with and they have a higher wing:body ratio compared to most birds.
The way I explain it is like a larger diameter CPU fan needs to run at a lower RPM than a small fan to move equal amounts of air, and will therefore run quieter. The owl uses this so it has to flap less, making flight quieter. Plus the feathers being less dense pushes the air less, making less turbulence and keeping noise down as well.
Getting to hold an owl, hawk, and condor feather all at once at the National Aviary really let me feel they are worlds apart in structure. The owl feather we’ll say would be yarn, the hawk would be braided wire, and the condor would be solid core wire. The difference was quite shocking, and honestly I thought that was more fun than actually holding the owl because I didn’t get to pet it! 😜
Owl feathers are less dense to begin with and they have a higher wing:body ratio compared to most birds.
The way I explain it is like a larger diameter CPU fan needs to run at a lower RPM than a small fan to move equal amounts of air, and will therefore run quieter. The owl uses this so it has to flap less, making flight quieter. Plus the feathers being less dense pushes the air less, making less turbulence and keeping noise down as well.
Getting to hold an owl, hawk, and condor feather all at once at the National Aviary really let me feel they are worlds apart in structure. The owl feather we’ll say would be yarn, the hawk would be braided wire, and the condor would be solid core wire. The difference was quite shocking, and honestly I thought that was more fun than actually holding the owl because I didn’t get to pet it! 😜