OK, he’s really trying to make himself invisible so the bigger owl won’t kick his ass.
But it’s still pretty damn funny!
I didn’t even get far enough in to see the impression. Birds freak me out and that owl is one of the freakiest birds I have ever seen. Damn birds of prey being all evil and scary!
Survival of the fittest: these tactics helped the species proliferate. I’m fascinated by these types of techniques that animals employ to survive. I forget what kind of bird it is, but there’s a species around here that will fake a limp away from the nest in order to lure prospective predators away from its young. Ingenious, except for the fact that it’s all just hard-wired in the birds brain.
Well, pbbth, if you want to FF, the normal “fluff up to scare enemy” scene is at 1:11 and the freaky impersonation is at about 1:40. I know you’ve never seen anything like it!
I think the limping bird is a ground-dweller, like a quail or bobwhite or ptarmigan.
Killdeers do the limping thing
AHHHHH! AAAHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
I will never, ever, ever sleep again. Ever. Now I have to find a suitable anti-bird weapon to carry around with me for the rest of my life.
I’m sorry, pbbth, really. Really, really sorry for your distress. The tears running down my cheeks as I snort into my coffee might indicate otherwise, though. But I am. 
Yep. That’s it. Thanks.
Alternatve title: Nature imitates bad CGI.
I should have known better than to even open the link. I know I am freaked out by birds. Why would I open a bird link if I know that it is, in fact, a link to birds? Because I’m stupid, that must be why.
Right now my only anti-bird weapons are a stapler and a pair of scissors. I will pick up some sort of mace or sword or something off of amazon.com when I get home.
Anyone who speak Japanese (or who knows the species) know why it reacts in one case by fluffing up and in the other one by looking angry?
I’ve also been looking to see what kind of bird that is.
According to my sister, who read a translation somewhere, the first bird presented is small enough that the owl felt he would be threatened by fluffing up his feathers to present a more intimidating foe. The second bird presented is much larger, and the owl realizes his puffery would present no threat. So his only other recourse is to try and make himself invisible by becoming as thin as possible. That’s why he keeps presenting his side to the other bird as the trainer circles him.
Looks like it might be an African Scops Owl
(Warning to pbbth: many scary bird pictures in link!!!)
Thanks! I didn’t even know where to start looking.
I like how the (beautiful) barn owl doesn’t seem to give a shit about the transforming owl that’s trying so hard to intimidate.
[hijack] Why do Japanese shows like this alway have a picture-in-picture reaction shot? [/hijack]
The mom bird did that in Riki Tiki Tavi when the cobras were threatening her babies. I don’t know what she was.
The owls are hilarious.
Toronto, right? Might be a killdeer. I saw one doing its gimpy act as I approached while on a walk one time, so I figure the nest must have been right there somewhere. I didn’t go looking for it.
They’re “celebrities” (often not very big ones) and they’re there to show the viewers the celebrity reaction to the program. Think of it as a slightly higher-brow laugh track.
Possibly a Northern White-faced Owl
ETA: Wait, I think it’s the Southern variety.