From The Raptor Center

You voted, and TRC's newest raptor ambassador officially has a name!

The name of this special little Northern hawk owl is Aurora because where the Aurora Borealis can be seen, the Northern hawk owl is likely nearby. Aurora is sure to delight bird lovers and inspire a passion for raptors in all who meet her. When you take a tour of The Raptor Center, you just might get to see her.

Northern hawk owls like Aurora are not often seen in human care. In the wild, these owls are found in the boreal forests of near-polar regions.

But why is this owl named after hawks? Well, they are classified as an owl due to their most dominant features, but have hawk characteristics not seen in other owls. They are diurnal, or active during the day like hawks, using mostly eyesight to hunt small mammals and birds.

Another feature that differs from other owls is that their ears are symmetrical behind their facial disc. This doesn't stop them, however, from hearing and catching small mammals under 30" of snow.

These birds are not secretive despite their remote territory. In fact, their favorite place to perch is the very top of a conifer (evergreen) tree. Since they have low population densities, Northern hawk owls are not rare but are rarely seen in U.S. states.

The Raptor Center feels very fortunate to share this spectacular bird with the public.

Video with more footage or jump to 4:37 and there is the lady training the owl for 4 minutes if you want to see owl training in action.

This is another very new captive bred Hawk Owl, like Pip was earlier this year, for those that remember his amazing but tragic story. This still makes Aroura a very special pioneer for her species.