Silent Owl flight

[Snicklefritz]

The flight of an owl is almost absolutely silent, due to the structure of its wings, the leading edges of its primary feathers have ‘ fringe’ that funnels air smoothly over the wing and dampens sound
Watch this comparison

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

Using sensitive sound equipment the team try to find out how an owl can fly so silently compared to other birds.Taken from Super Powered Owls. Subscribe to B...

t.co

 

[Montero]

My understanding is that the down side is that owls feathers are less waterproof as a result of the change in structure, and so they can't hunt in heavy rain.

 

[Yozh]

When I was younger a long-eared owl decided to spend the day sleeping next to our back porch. It was indeed amazing how when this huge bird finally flew off it made no sound at all. Makes you doubt your senses, like was it even really there?