Barred Owl Skull

*Strix varia*, or the barred owl, can be commonly found in dense forests and wooded swamps in southwestern Canada, Washington, Oregon and northern California. The barred owl is, on average 48-51 cm tall, and has a rounded-head with grey-white facial disc. Where many owls have ear tufts, the barred owl does not. The small serrations on an owl’s primary feathers creates small vortices reducing noise from wind drag to near zero. The silent flight of owls inspired the biomimetic solution to wind noise caused by the Shinkansen Bullet Train as it travels near 350km/h. These serrations also inspired the redesign of Ziehl-Abegg, Inc’s fan blades, reducing noise and improving energy efficiency. Read more here: https://asknature.org/idea/shinkansen-train/ https://asknature.org/idea/fe2-owlet-axial-fan/ More info here: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Strix_varia/ Accession number: 158.14 Scanned and digitally sculpted by Louis Rakovich