The Cretan Owl (Athene cretensis) is an extinct species of owl from the Pleistocene of the island of Crete, in the eastern Mediterranean. It was first named by Weesie in 1982. In life, it would have been at least 2 feet tall, and flightless or nearly flightless. The Cretan Owl went extinct a while after humans began inhabiting Crete.
Famous quotes containing the word owl:
“I weathered some merry snow-storms, and spent some cheerful winter evenings by my fireside, while the snow whirled wildly without, and even the hooting of the owl was hushed. For many weeks I met no one in my walks but those who came occasionally to cut wood and sled it to the village.... For human society I was obliged to conjure up the former occupants of these woods.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)