Experiment! How Does An Owl Fly So Silently? | Super Powered Owls | BBC 

Barn owl: Flies silently Also barn owl: REEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Great. Now the Duo Owl can murder me in my sleep.

The way they used feathers to show the turbulence the wing beats create is such a good visual demonstration.

Another thing, which isn't being mentioned here, is that owl-feathers are much, much less stiff. They're quite a bit softer. This not only makes the owls' flight quieter, but it also makes it difficult for owls to go very fast. This isn't much of a hinderance, because a falcon or a hawk is using speed and power to get prey, whereas an owl is using stealth.

Pigeon: Defense Peregrine: Offense Barn Owl: Stealth

Day ** of quarantine: I'm watching different birds flying

I remember once when I was in elementary school, someone from a wildlife sanctuary visited and brought some animals with her -- one was a big white owl. I remember her telling us how they flew silently, and then she demonstrated it by tickling the owl a little bit on its stomach until it flapped its wings. Dead silence. That was more than 40 years ago, and I still remember how impressed I was and how beautiful that owl was. Raptors are stunning creatures.

i’ve seen this so many times. but everytime i’m amazed at how beautiful it is. the birds, the soft voice, the soundwaves, the feathers and the slow motion. it’s really a piece of art!

Owls are just so damn cool they're like the James bond of birds

Night vision,No noise, Long glide, Sharp talons and 100% target Accuracy = Ultimate Stealth fighter.

0:55 I love how the bird flying along the microphones was slowed down so that the sound of it’s wing beat is captured in waves much like a heartbeat.

1:17 I love the smiles on the faces of the individuals recording the birds in flight, the amazement. :)

The dislikes are probably the salty pigeons and peregrins

So that's why no one noticed birds carrying letters in London...

Everything about this video is beautiful, narration, content, everything. Kudos to the team

I’m surprised they didn’t show the main reason why it’s quiet… which is the way their feathers are formed… birds with normal feathers cut through the air as they are sharp, where the owl feathers are fluffy at the edges, which creates a more silent flight as they flap their wings through the air

*The jealous Hawk:* "That wasn't flying! That was... gliding with style."

It has social anxiety so instead of making noise it decides to fly silently to not disturb the world

The quality difference between youtubers' documentaries and proffessional ones is huge.

I remember watching this a long time ago. It feels nostalgic. This was the point when owls became my favorite predatory birds.

When my mom is sleeping: *_I'm an Owl_* When I'm sleeping: *_My mom's a pigeon_*

2:04 She looks so happy and proud of herself

The fact that there are people making incredible films like this, with all the hard work that goes behind it - makes me happy!

Tremendous use of technology to document this incredible bird. Thank you for your work and sharing. Fascinating!

The narrator’s voice is as calm as the owl’s flight

"Wow, owls are really quie-" *SCREEEEEEECH*

I came here because the white owl looks like the Diamond Eyes Deftones album cover, I’m glad I came.

3:25 The owl's feathers are what allows them to fly so silently, so cool to watch.

Damn that wavelength thing is a nice edit

Pigeon: hehehehehehehe Barn owl: *angry screech from hell”

This animal is magnificent! Once in my adolescence, I was with a girl under a large tree, suddenly something white passes over our heads, at the time the girl and I were scared by the ghostly vision. When I looked fixedly at the object I realized that it was a beautiful owl.

Owls: have extraordinary aerodynamic wings for efficient flying. Also owls: have flat face

Rabbit : evolved a set of very sensitive ears to hear everything Owls : evolved noiseless flights to end Rabbit's whole career

When you spend all your points for stealth

I live next to a church (of all places) and one evening, around 9pm a huge owl flew over my head, it was like 1m above me and if I didn't look up I would have never known it was there, it was completely silent in his flight! Amazing birds!

Love this video. Been watching a barn owl in my backyard for months now and yes, if u blink you won’t even hear her …even when she dives straight down to catch a rat, it’s absolutely dead silent. Much thanks for sharing this experiment!

The barn owl is quietest, besides the fact that it *freakin' screeches*

Such gorgeous creatures.

Really interesting video! I saw an owl fly over my garden tonight, never seen one before, it was completely silent and almost glided straight across literally like a drone but totally silent. Never seen any bird like it before so i couldn’t work out what it was, until we then heard the owl sounds a bit further away. Such fascinating creatures, it was very special to see! 🦉

This video makes Me cry all the time

Pigeon: economy car Peregrine: supercar Owl: electric car

owls be like *before flight: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* flies with no sound *after flight :REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

Owls are so amazing. The slow motion combined with the silence made it look magical ❤️🤗

The only time I've ever seen a owl close in person, was late one night when I was letting my dog out to use the bathroom. When it's dark, I take a few extra seconds when I open the door to listen and look for anything unusual before stepping out. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so I stepped out with my dog, and suddenly these giant grey wings suddenly opened up in the middle my yard and with complete silence, flew out of my yard into the sky. I was so stunned and speechless by how quiet it was. If I wasn't looking in my yard, I would have never noticed it. Owls are so cool.

Me : I really need to sleep. RU-vid : do you know how barn owls can fly so silently that even precise microphones can't pick it? Me : well well well let's find out.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how lovely the owl is??

Paul McGann has such an incredible voice for a narrator and radio. Shame he doesn’t get more documentary type work like this. Could listen to him all day.

Amazing experience to have an owl fly next to you at daytime!

I remember seeing an owl in my backyard and it flew from one tree to another and I heard absolutely nothing. It was like a phantom. Definitely strange and fascinating.

Silent, Has impressive eye sights, can turn its head around.. Man I wanna be an owl.. Perfect for a Test

I love the little details and choice of music. The "soundwave" they leave behind while flying, the comparison with the moving feathers-calling it "a little bit more than a whisper" and the calm voice of the voice actor. I dont know why, but when something is made so simply yet beautiful it makes me emotional ❤

The way it flies is truly owl-inspiring...

And you wonder why Hogwarts send their letter to students using owl edit: Why are you guys fighting over Harry Potter lore?

The grace that owl has is mind blowing

I also know they grow quite large. Twice I have seen a white owl over 3 feet tall and I wasn't alone either time. Both visuals were at night in two different west coast states.Thay are silent flyers. Both huge owls were flying after pray and landed perfectly still, in front of my moving car. Amazing creatures!

Beautiful footage. Thank you for informative video on these incredible birds!!! Love watching them fly-so quiet & majestic!!!

Now imagine the narrator reading you some bedtime story

Imagine you're a prey of an OWL, the last thing you'll notice is a gentle breeze before everything goes black.

Seeing birds flying is one of the best things in life

Owls are awesome..

In indonesia, owl literally means "the ghost bird" now i understand why we called it like that

Pigeon: flops through the air like the fatty it is Falcon: precision dynamics and striking ability Owl: *G H O S T*

سبحان الله الخالق المبدع في خَلقِه ❤️✨

That is one of the most beautiful thing I saw.

No one: Absolutely nobody: Also an owl:

I love the fact that pigeons are loud flying crap machines.

I was lucky enough to go on a "falconry experience" with one of these magnificent birds. It was a snowy owl, not a barn owl. Not a sound. Just a glide, then it was on my wrist. Magic.

I wish we had more of such content

2:04 look at that smug face. He knows he's cool

Pigeon: tank Eagle: frontline attacker Barn owl: assassin

This video cannot stop to amaze me even if I watched it a thousand times.

we were sitting outside at night having a campfire about 30 feet from the woods. we weren’t talking, a barn owl flew out of the trees and went right by us, about 10 or 15 feet away! WE DID NOT HEAR A THING, it was surreal. if we hadn’t seen it we wouldn’t have even known it flew by. i love birds so much and the owl is incredible. thanks for this interesting video clip

Owl: quiet Eagle: fast Pigeon: CHONK

The owl is the UFO of the bird community.

Breathtaking

Thanks Team, for this awesome demonstration..also, the keenness in your faces was a joy

"As silent as an owl" please add this to oxford dictionary

Several times I have slept outside at night, been looking up at the stars, and had a white barn owl fly low across and through my vision. So smooth and silent, they leave behind only awe at their majestic passing. Little wonder aboriginal peoples have often seen them as symbolizing wisdom and mystical nature. Most beautiful, owls.

powerful and silent these things are so cool

Wonderful stealth. Also of note, are the owl's wings: "In 1934, Robert Rule Graham, a British pilot and bird lover, identified three wing feather features that suppress sound in owl flight. There was a feature known as a comb, a row of fine hairlike bristles that extend forward along the leading edge of the wing where it meets the oncoming air. There was a belt of wispy vane fringes on the wing’s trailing (or rear) edge. And lastly, there was a soft layer of velvet coating the whole wing." Jennifer Ackerman

Stealth games be like, "don't get spotted". Me: 0:01

This video is very beautiful. Music, lighting, narration and everything is beautiful

Honestly very impressed on how owls can be very quite and gentle

So beautiful.

2am: "Guess I'll get some sleep". RU-vid: "This is pretty cool though, bruv".

At our house we have owls flying arounds us constantly, you will see 3 - 5 owls at night flying. My step dad cared for a barn owl (he found it as a baby and raised it) he said it freaked him out at times because he would leave the owl in one room and go into the living room, garage or some room and the owl will come flying silently to my step dad, landing on his shoulders staring at him.

One of the coolest videos I've seen.

Among the most interesting and revealing videos ever seen.

Might actually start doing my duolingo assignments before i get killed

It's always a pleasure watching professionals at work. 👍 Oh, the humans also did well!

Okay but dod anyone noticed how beaaautiful it was filming... It's like watching an art about birds...

Me when my mom is sleeping: 0:24 My mom when I am sleeping: 0:01

Is nobody going to talk about the narrator's voice and the music? It's so soothing..

It's incredible to me that they have evolved to be the perfect ambush killers. Impeccable vision, smash and grab tactics, but as displayed in the video - arguably the most effective stealth predator on the planet (outside of maybe Octopuses). There is a reason owls are all over the planet, their evolutionary traits are a great example of "If it ain't broke, dont fix it". They are such prolific killers that populate en masse and enjoy total dominance of the night. Incredible animals.

these birds are all amazing and i love how this video was filmed! very insightful 👏

I love how they made the birds' flight paths into sound waves. That's really creative

Owl : *RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* Man : there is no sound here

beautiful creatures.

that owl is sooo graceful, aesthetic, mysterious, wild and free .. everything i want to be ❤️❤️❤️

Pigeon: Graceless flapping Peregrine: Don't need to be quiet when you're fast Own: Demonic screech - silence - you're dead - more demonic screeching