Superbowl @lemmy.world anon6789 @lemmy.world 11mo ago

2023 Owl of the Year FINALS! Snowy Owl vs White Faced Scops Owl

WINNER: WHITE FACED SCOPS OWL 125-99

We've reached the final battle of the year!

Snowy Owl's charms and grace have kept it in the upper echelon of owls for a very long time. They are elegant, they have a captivating personality, they are the only owl with primarily bright plumage. Truly a one of a kind owl.

White Faced Scops is a master of expression. From innocent to sinister, it has a look that embodies any emotion. It has a modern silverish grey wooden look. It's got beautiful amber orange eyes. Long thick plumicorns. And of course, the trademarked moustache! It has so many features we love in owls, all in one amazing bird, yet it uniquely its own.

Who will be your champion today? Vote now!

55 comments

White Faced Scops
- I love snowy owls, but this boi is just peak owl - the horns, the big eyes, the slightly irritated look, and that little beak mustache. One superbOwl.
  
  It's more than the sum of its parts, but they are some dang good parts to begin with.
  
  Better ingredients, better owls?
- The first picture in this comment convinced me; can't disappoint a face like that.
  
  I tried to get something for everyone and make the choice as difficult as possible! 😉
Snowy Owl
- Remember this guy? He should win.
A very difficult decision, but I knew I had to go with old faithful, the Snowy.
- At times like this, you gotta go with your heart!
It's time! Feel free to drop a post on [email protected] to celebrate the finals
- Dang, this would have been good to have at the start of this!
  
  Can still do a nice summary there this time though. Thanks!
Oh no! My Snowy Owl is not doing well! At least WFS is an opponent worthy to lose to.
- No matter where the total ends up, Snowy will always be considered a superb owl by just about everyone!
Make sure to vote, this one is for all the marb-owls!
The final battle? So it's the Superb Owl Super Bowl?
- Supersuperbowlbowl
- Superbiest?
Funny enough I had a feeling it’d find down to these too. The owl made famous by Harry Potter vs the owl of many faces.
- Agreed. Even though the finalists were fairly predictable, the road to get here certainly wasn't! Even now I'm surprised the poor start the Snowy is having. I felt it almost unfair how great I thought today's Snowy pics are, but it seems to not be affecting voting whatsoever. I joked on the other post how it seems the Buffy and Flammy fans are out for revenge on the voting so far.
  
  My thought is that the snowy owl wouldn’t even be in the running if it weren’t for its fame from the series. The white faced owl really stands on its own.
Snowy FTW
But they're both so glorious! So derp, so a n g e r y

How do we even choose??
- I made my spouse choose
  
  They're there to get us through our tough times! 😁
- Just upvote both!
  
  Really and honestly, I did though
WFS Propaganda: https://ebird.org/species/nwfowl1
- Whoever that was that posted the Dutch name for the Snowy Owl has my eBird settings set to Dutch now for everything! 😂
  
  Seems the White Faced Scops is called Noordelijke Witwangdwergooruil. Google says that means "Northern White-cheeked Scops Owl."
I've been showing all these matchups to my grandma. We didn't know so many different owls existed! She votes for the snowy owl.

(Do we vote by commenting or is there a poll somewhere?)
- You never get too old to learn!
  
  I'm glad you both get to enjoy them together!
  
  I'll try to remember to add a vote for her tomorrow when I close the poll. No reason she can't play along as well.
I love the walrus stache!
- It's such an eye catching feature!
  
  It is definitely one of the coolest owls that I had never heard of before the tourney started. Thanks again for all the work putting this together, it's been fun and educational.
Great write up! Great photos! The snowy owl reminds me of a seal #superbowl
- It does look like a seal a bit!
  
  I wanted to find some rrrrrrealy good pics for the final, but that's what I did every round, but I do feel I managed to find some real good ones.
Snowy owl!!
- He's starting to get a little surge in the votes.
  
  I'm not counting him out yet!
A vote for the snowy please, but they are both excellent owls.
- They are!
  
  Have you learned about any new owls in the tournament that you really like now?
Clearly this is an ancient Queen and King reincarnated as birds
- They are quite regal! 🤴👸
This has been so much fun. I hope you enjoy some personal time over the holiday season. We'd love to see you back but, if not, you've given us a truly entertaining superbowl
- Oh, I'll still be here. I got a few specific things planned yet, but otherwise I intend to share pics and news with you all. Just on a less strict schedule and not quite as many pics all at once!
Yay! My dorky cutie won! 😁
- It's a great owl that deserves the spotlight back on it for a bit!
  
  I hope to show you many more new derpy ones in the future!
  
  Tbf, they're all great owls, I'm just competitive lol
I'm not going to say how I voted, but it ended up being a surprise to me.
- I'm so positively surprised how seriously people seem to have taken this whole tournament. Everyone looks to have had a lot of fun, but also so many of you seem to have really put a lot of thought and feeling into it instead of just going with what your immediate instincts were.
  
  Everyone was also very receptive to all the new birds. I expected most to score very low, due to being unfamiliar, but with some of the upset victories, it's clear you all put much thought into it.
  
  I'm glad I could show you all both new birds and new sides to all these animals. I tried to capture them all fairly with the photos I chose. They're all worth your attention, and I hope you've all found some new ones for your favorites lists!
Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?
- I think Buffy would have made a good Hufflepuff owl. The Scops makes me think more Ravenclaw.

55 comments