this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023

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2023 Owl of the Year FINALS! Snowy Owl vs White Faced Scops Owl (files.catbox.moe)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by anon6789@lemmy.world to c/superbowl@lemmy.world

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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!

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[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 130 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

White Faced Scops

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[–] espentan@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The first picture in this comment convinced me; can't disappoint a face like that.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

I tried to get something for everyone and make the choice as difficult as possible! 😉

[–] Pandantic@midwest.social 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.world 3 points 9 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.world 96 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Snowy Owl

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[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 13 points 9 months ago

Remember this guy? He should win.

[–] walden@sub.wetshaving.social 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

A very difficult decision, but I knew I had to go with old faithful, the Snowy.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago

At times like this, you gotta go with your heart!

[–] otter@lemmy.ca 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's time! Feel free to drop a post on !communityPromo@lemmy.ca to celebrate the finals

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 7 points 9 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!

[–] dandroid@dandroid.app 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Oh no! My Snowy Owl is not doing well! At least WFS is an opponent worthy to lose to.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

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

[–] rigatti@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

Make sure to vote, this one is for all the marb-owls!

[–] sik0fewl@kbin.social 8 points 9 months ago (2 children)

The final battle? So it's the Superb Owl Super Bowl?

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Supersuperbowlbowl

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Superbiest?

[–] Chetzemoka@startrek.website 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

But they're both so glorious! So derp, so a n g e r y

How do we even choose??

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I made my spouse choose

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

They're there to get us through our tough times! 😁

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Just upvote both!

[–] Chetzemoka@startrek.website 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Really and honestly, I did though

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Same! My girlfriend weighed in on the Flammy vs GHO tie.

[–] JizzmasterD@lemmy.ca 7 points 9 months ago

Snowy FTW

[–] ramble81@lemm.ee 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 4 points 9 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!

[–] PolistesPicante@mander.xyz 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

WFS Propaganda: https://ebird.org/species/nwfowl1

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 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."

[–] TinyLightShow@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Snowy owl!!

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

He's starting to get a little surge in the votes.

I'm not counting him out yet!

[–] Maruki_Hurakami@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I love the walrus stache!

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's such an eye catching feature!

[–] Maruki_Hurakami@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

I'm glad!

I hope everyone still enjoys the normal content after this!

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

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.world 2 points 9 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.

[–] streetfestival@lemmy.ca 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Great write up! Great photos! The snowy owl reminds me of a seal #superbowl

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 6 points 9 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.

[–] qdJzXuisAndVQb2@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

A vote for the snowy please, but they are both excellent owls.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

They are!

Have you learned about any new owls in the tournament that you really like now?

[–] NoSpiritAnimal@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Clearly this is an ancient Queen and King reincarnated as birds

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[–] bmsok@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

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

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[–] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm not going to say how I voted, but it ended up being a surprise to me.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

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!

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