Eastern Screech Owl 2013 Safari Ltd Incredible Creatures

About the bird :
( from Wikipedia)
The Eastern Screech Owl or Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) is a small owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada.

Adults range from 16 to 25 cm (6.3–10 in) in length and weigh 121-244 grams (4.3-8.6 oz).[3] The wingspan can range from 46 to 61 cm (18 to 24 in). They have either rusty or dark gray intricately patterned plumage with streaking on the underparts. Mid-sized by screech-owl standards, these birds are stocky, short-tailed and broad-winged. They have a large round head with prominent ear tufts, yellow eyes and a yellowish bill. Rusty birds are more common in the southern parts of the range; pairings of the two color variants do occur. A pale gray variation also exists in western Canada and the north-central United States. The color variations are referred to as "red morph" and "gray morph" by bird watchers and ornithologists.

Red morph :
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I had never heard about this cute looking, little owl before, so I was very curious to see the model.
However, it is size 1 : 1,5 which made me hesitate, untill my famous (lack of ) will power overpowered me
And it IS a huge model  
But really, really cute  
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This is a wonderful model of a unusual specie But to huge for my zoo

But big congratulations for you (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)): (o)):

Wow, congratulations Susanne! The figure is really big and beautiful

Wow she's great
Congratulations Susanne (o)):

Oh,. it's beautifull

Thankyou, friends
At first I was not too sure , but now I have begun to love my big, little owl

Congratulations, it looks very cute!! Lovely newcomer Susanne

Susanne, I know my honesty won't change your love for your new huge owl. It is also not my goal.
The exagerations of head elements and flashy coloration turn that figure in a real cartoon. It was not needed at all once the real animal is enough charming. Also it is hard to understand the 1:1,5 scale. If they wanted to make it big, so why not real size scale? 1:1 is only a little larger than it is at the moment and would give the correct impression of animal's dimmensions.
The figure is beautifulonly it is not realistic. I like the concept of that line, mainly when they show unusual animals in their real size. Safari could only do it better.
Thanks for showing with such nice pictures and congratulations for this new addition.
P.S. I noticed that your owl has a 4-legged chick, but, except the ear tufts, it doesn't look too much like his parent, it looks much more like the kid of your goat tread.

Great addition, Susanne!

I don't know if it matters, but this model actually is 1:1 scale. It is only 1:1.5 if it is to represent a maximum sized female. As it is, it represents a smaller specimen, granted, but it is still life size. When measured, this guy came out to about 18cm long, beak to tail.

This is an exceptional model, really. I've been a collector of professionally carved birds for years, and this figure sits comfortably on the same shelf. The feather deatail is outstanding, and the colors are accurate. The only thing I think that should have been done better are the eyes. as they can appear "hazy" or fake if they light hits them wrong; but to be sure, with overhead lighting, the eyes appear glossy, alert, and alive.

Can you elaborate on the head dimension problems, Roger? I'm not seeing a problem. I'm not saying that the proportions aren't wrong, I'm just not seeing what you are.

Regardless, for the money, you definitely won't find a nicer 1:1 scale bird model out there. Professionally carved Eastern Screech-Owl models generally cost between $325 to $500, and those are a bargain. So this little fella is a welcome addition to my Birds of Pennsylvania display!

sphyrna18 wrote:

Can you elaborate on the head dimension problems, Roger? I'm not seeing a problem. I'm not saying that the proportions aren't wrong, I'm just not seeing what you are.

Regardless, for the money, you definitely won't find a nicer 1:1 scale bird model out there. Professionally carved Eastern Screech-Owl models generally cost between $325 to $500, and those are a bargain. So this little fella is a welcome addition to my Birds of Pennsylvania display!

Chad, It is just an opinion, I am not saying it is expensive or an unrespectable work and even if it is cheap, it is also a professionall work. Because eyes are too big the huge size of the head is not so visible, perhaps, but, although they are not exactly on the same angle, I think it is clear how massive is the head of Safari owl when compared with a real specimen. I think also the texture and feathering is nice but almost geometrical and artistic, I can't find such a pattern in real animals not even the coloring. Facial markings are also exagerated, they look much more subtile in real animals. As I commented when it was presented, it looks like a Pokemon to me what doesn't mean I am wrong or that it is not recomendable, if it was small like the CollectA barn owl or smaller I would buy it for sure even I don't like the design.
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Cool model! It reminds me a little of the decoy owls that are used to keep pigeons, etc off buildings... Would love to see someone do a repaint, maybe show off all that feather detail a little more.

Aahhhh this is so cute!<3
And also funny looking<3

Congrats, Susanne!

But I'm afraid it's a bit too huge. Though I think it would look cool on a shelf with no other animal figures... like a book shelf or something..


The Kaiyodo is very nice too. But not that... action-grabbing :)

I wasn't saying you were wrong, Roger. I was only asking what you were seeing that perhaps I am not. I understand about the coloration now, and they may have been able to "rough" it up a little, keep it from being so crisp, but on the plus side, from a distance, it looks really sharp And I was only commenting on it in relation to the carved birds to make the point that it can sit side-by-side on a shelf with them and fit right in without costing anywhere near what they cost, so to me, that's a tremendous win.

Regarding the size of the head, though, Screech Owls do have really big heads in proportion to their bodies. In fact, the head can be as much as 1/3 of the bird's total size. If the figure's head is too large, it's only by a trivial amount; but having seen these minibeasts alive and up close, I really don't think the head is too large.

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@sphyrna18 - thank you for the pics and explanations about the head Those little birds have incredible proportions indeed.

@krista - What is an action-grabbing ?

sphyrna18 wrote:

I wasn't saying you were wrong, Roger. I was only asking what you were seeing that perhaps I am not. I understand about the coloration now, and they may have been able to "rough" it up a little, keep it from being so crisp, but on the plus side, from a distance, it looks really sharp And I was only commenting on it in relation to the carved birds to make the point that it can sit side-by-side on a shelf with them and fit right in without costing anywhere near what they cost, so to me, that's a tremendous win.

Regarding the size of the head, though, Screech Owls do have really big heads in proportion to their bodies. In fact, the head can be as much as 1/3 of the bird's total size. If the figure's head is too large, it's only by a trivial amount; but having seen these minibeasts alive and up close, I really don't think the head is too large.

If you know them personally and if you feel it looks realistic and with good proportions, I cannot add anything more to my opinion, I am just watching pictures and building my opinion based on them. I am glad you like the figure and that you are satisfied with the work the brand performed here. Many brands work with our concept of the animals, if you think in an elephant as a massive animal and if a brand makes it 30% more massive than it should be, nobody will notice once it follows what we expect from this animal, on the other hand, if a brand makes an elephant 30% less masive than it should be, everyone will notice once it breaks completely our perception of the animal. In both cases, there is a conceptual mistake of 30% with different results on general appreciations. To me the figure has a massive head and oversized eyes even considering that the real animal as them unusually big. Caiyodo looks much better balanced in terms of proportions. Just my perception as I told.

Hello, hello, I am back

My net-connection was fried in a horrible thunderstorm wednesday afternoon, so I have been missin y`all for over 50 hours !!!!

It is really great to see how a nice discussion has developed about the little birdie !

I must say, that when googling the Eastern screech owl, I was astonished to see how huge their head and eyes are !!
So very different from the owls we have here, I found that the model actually expresses the special, strange proportions of this little owl.

Looking at a variety of pictures, it seeems that there is great variety...perhaps they puff up the neck feathers if disturbed ? In that case the head is perhaps not relly much too large.

The kayodo is ( of course ) beautyful, too. But if I had seen only that model, I would not have understood what distinguishes this one from the larger owls, which I know from nature here.

Hmmm, does it make sence ?
Amazing how my English seems to have gone rusty in such a short time

SUSANNE wrote:

Hello, hello, I am back

My net-connection was fried in a horrible thunderstorm wednesday afternoon, so I have been missin y`all for over 50 hours !!!!

It is really great to see how a nice discussion has developed about the little birdie !

I must say, that when googling the Eastern screech owl, I was astonished to see how huge their head and eyes are !!
So very different from the owls we have here, I found that the model actually expresses the special, strange proportions of this little owl.

Looking at a variety of pictures, it seeems that there is great variety...perhaps they puff up the neck feathers if disturbed ? In that case the head is perhaps not relly much too large.

The kayodo is ( of course ) beautyful, too. But if I had seen only that model, I would not have understood what distinguishes this one from the larger owls, which I know from nature here.

Hmmm, does it make sence ?
Amazing how my English seems to have gone rusty in such a short time

Welcome back, Susanne!