You already know which one you are. Some people see the great horned owl, fierce and tufted and absolutely certain of itself, and feel immediately recognized. Other people see the barn owl, heart-faced and luminous and hunting by pure sound in total darkness, and feel the same thing. Some people look at both and cannot choose, which is also a very specific kind of person and equally valid. Whoooo would you choose to bring with you on adventures? The answer says something true about you.
The Great Horned Owl and the Barn Owl
These two owls are not as closely related as they look. The great horned owl belongs to the family Strigidae, the true owls, one of the largest and most diverse owl families on Earth. The barn owl belongs to Tytonidae, its own separate family entirely, so biologically distinct from every other owl that scientists gave it its own classification. They have arrived at similar solutions to similar problems through entirely separate evolutionary paths, which is one of the more quietly astonishing things about the natural world.
The great horned owl is one of the largest and most adaptable owls in North America, recognizable instantly by those dramatic ear tufts rising from the top of its head. Here is the thing about those tufts: they are not ears. They are called plumicorns, from the Latin for soft feather and horn, and they have nothing whatsoever to do with hearing. The actual ears are hidden on the sides of the head at eye level, and in great horned owls they are symmetrically placed, one on each side, a precise and powerful sound gathering system that has nothing to prove and nothing to announce. The tufts are for communication and expression, raising and lowering to signal mood and intent. The great horned owl has opinions and would like you to know it.
The barn owl operates differently. That heart-shaped face is not just for looking ethereal in photographs. It is a biological satellite dish, a precisely shaped arrangement of feathers that funnels sound toward the ears with extraordinary efficiency. The barn owl's ears are asymmetrically placed, one higher than the other, which allows it to triangulate sound in three dimensions and locate prey in complete darkness with a precision that no other owl can match. It hunts entirely by sound. It does not need to see what it is hunting. It only needs to listen.
Two owls. Two families. Two completely different approaches to the same dark night. Both of them extraordinarily good at what they do.
The Piece
Two tiny owl faces, each one less than three quarters of an inch across, each one completely itself. The great horned owl looks out from its stud with those characteristic ear tufts raised and that fierce brow set in the expression of a bird that has never once doubted its place in the world. The barn owl looks out with that round heart-shaped face, softer in expression but no less intent, the feathers of the facial disc rendered in careful radiating lines that suggest the real thing at this tiny scale. Both are deeply oxidized so every carved line reads in sharp relief, the texture of feathers suggested through layers of careful work.
You can wear a matching pair of great horned owls, a matching pair of barn owls, or one of each, mismatched the way the forest is, two different owls on two different ears going about their different business in the same dark night.
Each pair is made to order just for you from sterling silver with sterling silver posts and backs.
The Craftsmanship
- Earrings: just over half an inch each
- Material: sterling silver throughout, oxidized
- Style: stud earrings with sterling silver posts and backs
- Options: matching great horned owl pair, matching barn owl pair, or one of each
- Edition: made to order, each pair unique
A Note from Tamara
I made these because I think owls are one of those animals that people feel a genuine and personal connection to, and I wanted to make something small enough to wear every single day that still carried all of that feeling. The great horned owl and the barn owl feel like two different kinds of people to me. One announces itself. One works in silence. Both are exactly right. I hope whoever wears these finds the combination that feels most like them and carries it with them on all their adventures.
Shipping
Your owls will be made to order just for you in my little studio in the New Hampshire woods. Please allow one to two weeks for them to be created. You will receive a tracking number by email so you can follow them on their journey to their new home.