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

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!

    • Pandantic [they/them]@midwest.socialEnglish
      4·
      11 months ago

      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.

      • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
        3·
        11 months ago

        It’s more than the sum of its parts, but they are some dang good parts to begin with.

        Better ingredients, better owls?

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      7·
      11 months ago

      Dang, this would have been good to have at the start of this!

      Can still do a nice summary there this time though. Thanks!

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      5·
      11 months ago

      No matter where the total ends up, Snowy will always be considered a superb owl by just about everyone!

  • ramble81@lemm.ee
    7·
    11 months ago

    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.

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      6·
      11 months ago

      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.

      • ramble81@lemm.ee
        5·
        11 months ago

        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.

        • onigiri@lemm.ee
          4·
          11 months ago

          O RLY? Snowy Owl is excellent even without the Harry Potter boost. It’s pretty iconic among owls.

          • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
            4·
            11 months ago

            I think you’re both correct. Snowy gets lots of attention because it’s great, and it stays in people’s minds due to its constant exposure. It also makes it an owl we’re all familiar with around the world as well. Great Horned Owl is deservedly famous in North America. Tawny Owl is the popular owl in the UK. We don’t have Tawny and they don’t have GHO, so without TV, movies, memes, etc it’s more difficult for them to get ingrained in our hearts and minds.

            Since this is the first tourney, I expected these results, but do you see ones like Buffy, Flammy, and Sooty who were pretty much unknown a month ago to not do even better next year? They’ve gotten your awareness now, and you’re going to look forward to seeing them posted on here again and to vote for them next year, because now they’re a part of your fandom even though you’ll probably never see one in person.

            And that’s how I suckered youb all into loving even more owls so you care about them and their habits even more! Muhahaha!

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      5·
      11 months ago

      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.”

  • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    4·
    11 months ago

    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?)

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      2·
      11 months ago

      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.

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      6·
      11 months ago

      It does look like a seal a bit!

      seabert

      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.

      • Maruki_Hurakami@lemm.ee
        3·
        11 months ago

        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.