From Wild Care
What a scene! This dramatic display is what WildCare's Med Staff saw the moment they opened up this Burrowing Owl patient's enclosure in preparation to give him his daily prescribed medications. He was already on edge after just hearing the impressive vocalizations from his fellow patient and current neighbor, a very feisty Barn Owl, who had also had to come out for meds.
This fancy feather display is a standard defensive response for owls. Fluffing up their feathers instantly makes them look bigger, and by rotating their wings forward and down as they crouch, their side to side movement has the maximum impact! This tiny predator only weighs 150 grams-that's about half the heft of an average pigeon-so looking big and scary in the face of a perceived threat is particularly vital.
As you can see, this owl was eager to get back out into the wild and out of the bothersome hands of humans! We are glad to report that it wasn't long after this video was taken that he was cleared for release and is now living in his natural habitat in a colony with other Burrowing Owls.
I would back away very slowly and come back some other time. Bullets aren't that big either, and they can do a lot of damage.
I found a story the other day about how a Screech Owl's (the tiniest bit smaller than a Burrow Owl) talon can go through a fingernail, so the little ones are no joke!
Raptor gloves are made of multiple layers of kangaroo leather as normal cowhide is not tough enough to safely deal with talons.