This is Smiley, a male Burrowing Owl. He lives with 3 other owls at Fort Whyte in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Apparently they are going to try to get them to breed in captivity. Burrowing Owls are endangered-everywhere, as far as I know. They are essentially extirpated (no longer occur in the wild) in Manitoba, so this was the closest I am likely to ever get to Burrowing Owls. They are amazing and beautiful. I was able to get a few feathers, which is like treasure to me. I was also fortunate enough to be able to stand about 18 inches away from Smiley without him flying away, he didn't really care about me at all. They make fairly unattractive squawking sounds, which of course I think are beautiful.
