Turns Out, Baby Owls Sleep Face Down As Their Heads Are Too Heavy

Animals have a way of making even the simplest things adorable.

This time it is baby owls who are making us go “awww” and it’s all because of their hilarious sleep position.

It turns out that baby owls are born with heads that are too big and heavy for their little bodies, and as a result, they sleep face down!

I’ve just discovered that baby owls sleep face down like THIS because their heads are too heavy. Also, I don’t think I’ve seen owl legs before…. pic.twitter.com/dfKii2JtS8

— Mark Rees (@reviewwales) June 21, 2020

This adorable discovery was quickly spread around Twitter, although some people thought that it was too cute to be true.

However, these doubts were quickly put to rest after other users began sharing corroborative material featuring napping owls.

Replying to

@Travel4Wildlife

@SarahMackAttack

and

@tamsenann

I’ve been trying to find the original photographer for this image, but no luck. It’s obviously a captive bird. Regardless, yes, young nestling owls do sleep, or rest lying down. Their heads are too heavy for their bodies. Here are some saw-whets from my Ph.D. research 🙂

We just couldn’t be happier to hear that these fluffy little baby birds really do sleep facedown!

Of course, as the owls grow older, their bodies eventually “catch up” up their comically oversized heads and allow them to sleep sitting up.

#TuesdayThoughts: juvenile snow owls sometimes sleep face down. Older ones can sleep whilst perched, but the weight of their heads could make a young snow owl topple over if they slept this way. THEY ARE NOT DRUNK OWLS!

The face-planting owls have quickly gone viral, and online, people from all over the world are enjoying a good chuckle at the sight of these snoozing sweethearts.