This short clip shows a white owl, which from the still image looks like a snowy owl, closing its eyes and opening its beak wide while making a call that sounded to viewers like a hearty human laugh. According to the original description, the bird was a rescued owl being cared for at an animal sanctuary, and its carers filmed the moment. The video spread widely as "the most hilarious owl" online.
Below we explain what the clip showed, what kinds of sounds snowy owls really make, and why a call can sound like laughter to us without the owl finding anything funny.
What the video showed
(The video originally embedded here is no longer available on YouTube.)
The original YouTube video is no longer available, so we cannot replay it or confirm who filmed it or where. The still frame that survives shows a snowy owl standing indoors on a mat, eyes squeezed shut and beak open, a pose that looks very much like someone laughing out loud.
The owl's white face with dark flecks on the body suggests a female or a young bird: adult male snowy owls are usually much whiter, while females and juveniles carry more dark barring. Because the setting is indoors, the bird was clearly in human care rather than in the wild.
What sounds do snowy owls make?
Snowy owls are not the quiet, hooting owls of children's books. Their main territorial call is a series of rough, barking notes, often written as "krooh krooh krooh". Researchers have recorded up to about 15 different call types. The alarm call is a loud, grating, hoarse note, and both males and females can produce clucks, squeals, grunts, hisses and cackles, especially when they are excited.
That last point is probably the key to this video. A rapid run of cackling or barking notes, delivered with a wide-open beak and closed eyes, can easily sound like a chuckle to human ears. Owls also click or clap their beaks when annoyed, and that can add to the comic effect.
Is the owl actually laughing?
Almost certainly not in the way people laugh. Human laughter is a social signal linked to play and humour, and there is no evidence that owls share the joke. When a captive owl vocalises like this, it may be calling to its keeper, reacting to something it sees, begging for food, or showing mild alarm. Without the full context, nobody can say exactly what this owl was expressing.
Still, enjoying the clip is harmless. Seeing animals as funny or charming can make people care more about them. The important thing is not to treat the "laugh" as proof that the bird was happy, or to assume owls make good pets because they look friendly on camera.
Viral "smiling" snowy owls
This is not the only snowy owl to become famous for its expression. In 2012, newspapers shared photos of a snowy owl in Washington's Olympic National Park that seemed to be grinning broadly from a branch. Snowy owls' round faces, large eyes and facial discs make them especially easy to read as human-like, which helps explain their popularity, from viral clips to the fictional Hedwig in the Harry Potter books and films.
Snowy owls in the wild
Snowy owls breed on the Arctic tundra of North America, Europe and Asia, usually north of about 60 degrees latitude. They are large: females can reach about 71 cm long with wingspans up to about 1.8 metres. Their breeding success depends heavily on lemmings, and in poor lemming years many owls wander far south in winter, which is when people in southern Canada and the northern United States sometimes spot them.
The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Its population was once estimated at more than 200,000 birds, but more recent data suggest fewer than 100,000. The reasons are not fully understood, but climate change in the Arctic is considered a likely factor.
Why rescued owls end up in sanctuaries
Owls are often brought to rescue centres after collisions with vehicles, windows or fences, or after being found weak and hungry. Many recover and are released. Birds that cannot survive in the wild, for example because of permanent wing or eye injuries, may stay on as education animals, and staff sometimes share videos of them to raise awareness and funds.
If you find an injured owl, keep your distance, avoid handling it with bare hands, and contact a local wildlife rescue or vet for advice.
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Sources: Wikipedia: Snowy owl; Peninsula Daily News: smiling snowy owl in Olympic National Park (2012); Wikipedia: Anthropomorphism.
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