From Raptor Rehab of KY
Why does Mogwai look like that?
Many of our educational birds are molting right now making them look like they are unhealthy. This is not the case though. If you have ever been around birds, you know that they go through a process called "Molting". Eastern Screech Owls tend to lose many of their head feathers at one time making them look like they are balding.
Did you know:
A feather is a "dead" structure, analogous to hair or nails in humans and made of the same basic ingredient, the protein keratin. This means that when they get damaged, feathers can't heal themselves-they have to be completely replaced. This replacement of all or some of the feathers is called molt.
Molt is extremely variable. Observed patterns can vary by species, by individual, from year to year, and by individual feathers on the same bird. Molts can be either complete, in which the bird replaces every one of its feathers over the same molt period; or partial, in which the bird replaces only some of its feathers (for example, flight feathers or body feathers).
Molt keeps birds in top flying condition by replacing feathers that have become worn or damaged with completely new feathers
