Emcee: Ladies and Gentlemen, Owls and Owlets, Prey and Predators:
Welcome to the First Annual North American Owl Awards, coming to you live from Zimman Field at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Tonight we recognize our beloved North American Owls for everything that makes them special to us. All 19 species are here tonight, eager to learn how they stack up in the eyes of our judges. Each of them has traits and talents of which they are particularly proud. Some of our owls preen themselves on their size, others on their adaptability, still others on their flight skills, but the question tonight is: which owls will have their talents validated by the Academy and take home a much-coveted Golden Owl Pellet Award?
In addition to the 19 Golden Owl Pellets that we will be giving away in the main portion of our program, we have reserved one special Owl Pellet for the end of the show. It will be awarded to the Best Owl in a Major Motion Picture. This year's nominees for this coveted award include the Burrowing Owl from "Hoot," the Snowy Owl from "Harry Potter," and the Barn Owl from "The Gaurdians of Ga'Hoole." Who will take home this special Golden Owl Pellet? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, the lights are on, the predators are perched, and the prey are cowering under the red carpet. The bets have been placed and the bookies are standing by with their scorecards. And owl lovers everywhere are hovering over their digital screens, waiting to see if their favorite owl goes home with the gold tonight as, live from Tufts University, we bring you the North American Owl Awards of 2025.
Largest Wingspan in a North American Owl
The Great Gray Owl
Emcee: Tonight's first Golden Owl Pellet goes to the North American Owl with the Largest Wing Span. The nominees are the Great Horned Owl, the Snowy Owl, and the Great Gray Owl. May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for the Largest Wing Span in a North American Owl is...
The Great Gray Owl, Strix nebulosa, with a wingspan as great as 153 centimeters, or 60.2 inches!
Of course we don't grow to this impressive size without help. I would like to thank the hawks and ravens for building their fantastic nesting platforms for us. They come in so dashed handy, they really do. And I would like to thank the Homo sapiens for steering clear of our nesting sites and for cutting down on unnecessary logging operations. (Hint, hint!) So thank you all for this wonderful Golden Owl Pellet. I will cherish it always. Thank you so much.
Emcee: For those keeping score at home, the Snowy Owl and the Great Horned Owl came in a close second, each with a maximum wing span of 57.1 inches.
Northern Saw-Whet Owl
Emcee: And now for the coveted Cutest Owl in North America Award. The nominees are The Elf Owl, The Northern Saw-Whet Owl, and the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. May I have the envelope, please?
And the award for Cutest Owl in North America goes to...
The Northern Saw-Whet Owl, Aegolius acadicus!
To be honest, though, I couldn't have done this without some good press. I'd like to thank the Cornell Lab in particular for bigging me up on their website at allaboutbirds.org. They're the ones who told the world that I was "bursting with attitude." I think that citation clinched it for me, quite frankly. Of course, they also claimed that I had an "oversized head," but we'll let bygones be bygones. Maybe I think that your human heads are excessively small, but I don't go around sharing that viewpoint with the world, do I? Oversized head, indeed.
No, but, seriously, folks, thanks a million! This is really swell, no kidding!
Emcee: Everyone together on the count of three, folks: Awwwwww! Is that owl cute or what?!
Eeriest Vocalization in a North American Owl
Barn Owl
Emcee: Moving on now to the next category, it's the award for Eeriest Vocalization by a North American Owl. And the nominees are, the Eastern Screech Owl and the Barn Owl. May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for Eeriest Vocalization in a North American Owl...
The Barn Owl, Tyto furcata, for its screeching vocalization.
Emcee: Now that's ironic, the Barn Owl beating the Eastern Screech Owl in the eerie screeching department. But then Eastern Screech Owls are misnamed in that they really don't screech, except under duress, of course. Their trademark vocalization sounds more like a tremulous descending whinny, or what the Audubon Society is pleased to call "a horse on helium."
Snowy Owl
Emcee: Our next Golden Owl Pellet goes to the Heaviest Owl in North America. The nominees are: the Snowy Owl, the Great Horned Owl, and the Great Gray Owl. May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for Heaviest Owl in North America is... The Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus, weighing in at 104.1 ounces. That's 2,950 grams or just over 6.5 pounds!
Dad! Fledglings! I love you! This one's for you!
Emcee: This one wasn't even close, folks. The Snowy Owl is 15 ounces heavier than the Great Horned Owl in terms of maximum weight. And the Great Gray Owl was hardly in the running. It's just a ball of fluff, really, checking in at a max weight of just 60 ounces.
Most Endangered Owl in North America
Spotted Owl
Emcee: And now we present the award for Most Endangered Owl in North America. And the nominees are: The Spotted Owl, the Burrowing Owl and the Whiskered Screech Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the award for the Most Endangered Owl in North America goes to...
The Spotted Owl, Strix varia.
But don't worry, folks, I'm not going to mention any names tonight. (Barred Owl!)
Thank you so much, everybody! I'll treasure this forever -- or until I go extinct, whichever comes first!
Emcee: There's a little drama for you tonight, with Strix varia going political on us, calling out the Barred Owl for, quote, "horning in" on its territory. Now we know what the gossip magazines will be talking about tomorrow.
The Burrowing Owl has its problems too, by the way, especially when it comes to habitat loss due to development, but it is listed as a species of "least concern" on the IUC Red List and so no Golden Owl Pellet for Athene cunicularia tonight, at least not in this category. The Whiskered Screech Owl is also listed as of "least concern" and its overall numbers are actually on the rise, this despite the fact that its stateside population consists of a mere 500 individuals.
Most Invasive Owl in North America
Barred Owl
Emcee: Speaking of controversy, our next Golden Owl Pellet goes to the Most Invasive Owl Species in North America. Not surprisingly, there is only one nominee for this category, namely, the controversial Barred Owl. But you'd better hand me the envelope just to make sure of the winner. And the Most Invasive Owl in North America is...
surprise, surprise...
The Barred Owl, Strix oxidentalis.
But I guess I'd better shut my beak. Sorry, folks, I didn't mean to get political on you tonight, but the Spotted Owl started it.
Emcee: What a shame. If two owls of the same genus can't get along, what hope is there for owls in general to unite?
I should point out, by the way, that there is more controversy here than meets the eye. The group Friends of Animals has recently claimed that the Barred Owl is NOT an invasive species, that it has lived in the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years. That's a minority opinion so far, but it does have at least superficial plausibility, given that Barred Owl individuals typically stay close to home, and so it's hard to see why the Barred Owl in particular would heed the advice of the Horace Greeleys of the raptor world to "Go West, Young Owl!"
Perkiest-Looking Owl in North America
Burrowing Owl
Emcee: Moving on to a hopefully less controversial award category: we now present the Golden Owl Pellet Award for the Perkiest-Looking Owl in North America. The nominees are... the Short-Eared Owl, the Burrowing Owl, and the Northern Saw-Whet Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for the Perkiest-Looking Owl in North America is... the Burrowing Owl, Aegolius acadicus!
But I suppose we are quite a sight to behold from a human point of view. They say that Burrowing Owls resemble meerkats as we stand bolt upright in small groups beside our nesting holes, glancing now left, now right, scanning the horizon for predators with our big lemon-yellow peepers, bobbing our heads up and down, the better to take in the entire scene.
Yes, I think we DO deserve this award, at that! Oh, I am so proud of myself!
Emcee: Well, there's some refreshing honesty, at least, as the Burrowing Owl hops off-stage grasping its Golden Owl Pellet Award in its pale-yellow beak!
Most Hawk-like Owl in North America
Northern Hawk Owl
Emcee: Now for a new category this year, we present the award for the Most Hawk-like Owl among North American raptors. And the nominees are the Boreal Owl and the Northern Hawk Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the Golden Owl Pellet for the Most Hawk-like Owl in North America goes to...
the Northern Hawk Owl, Surnia ulula!
Thank you all!
Emcee: Oh, and there's a close-up of the Northern Hawk Owl's wife in the gallery. This is his third mate, by the way. The species is considered monogamous, but only on a seasonal basis, if that makes any sense. Of course, if I myself was monogamous only on a seasonal basis, I'd be considered a lot of things, but "monogamous" would not be one of them.
Most Distinctive Vocalization in a North American Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Emcee: Up next, we award a Golden Owl Pellet to the North American Owl with the Most Distinctive Vocalization.
And the nominees for the Most Distinctive Vocalization in a North American Owl are... the Eastern Screech Owl, the Short-Eared Owl, and the Barred Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for Most Distinctive Vocalization in a North American Owl is...
the Eastern Screech Owl, Megascops asio, with its eerie whinny call.
Emcee: A somewhat flustered Eastern Screech Owl there, confessing to a little frustration at having been overlooked in the category of Most Eerie Owl Vocalization. However, she seems to have been appeased by winning this related award for Most Distinctive Vocalization. Speaking of flustered, the Barred Owl cannot be happy about this one. Strix varia, as you know, is famous for its "Who Cooks for You" call, and so conventional wisdom before the show held that the Barred Owl was sure to win in the category of Most Distinctive Owl Vocalization.
Elf Owl
Emcee: A lot of surprises here tonight, as we move on now to the next award category: The Tiniest Owl in North America. And the nominees are: the Whiskered Screech Owl, the Elf Owl, and the Northern Pygmy Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for Tiniest Owl in North America is... the Elf Owl, Micrathene whitneyi, with a maximum height of just 5.5 inches!
Don't worry, folks, I will keep this short... appropriately enough. Ahem.
But I did want to say thank you to the Gila Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers of the desert southwest. They both carve out the most delightful nesting cavities in Saguaro cacti for us Elf Owls. (Is it "us Elf Owls" or "we Elf Owls"?) Shout out as well to the Acorn Woodpeckers, who build great cavities for those of my species who choose to live in deciduous trees instead.
Oh, and are there any scorpions in the house tonight? Any scorpions? You guys taste delicious! No, don't sell yourself short, guys, you really do!
But seriously, folks, thank you all! Oh, thank you so much!
Emcee: The Elf Owl there, Micrathene whitneyi, alluding to his species' penchant for scorpions. The Elf Owl, of course, dines on a wide variety of other arthropods as well, including crickets, spiders, katydids and moths.
By the way, the Whiskered Screech Owl was scarcely in the running for this one, with its maximum height of 7.5 inches, and even the Northern Pygmy Owl was a long-shot, topping out at 7.1 inches. But who knew that the Elf Owl's maximum height was only 5.5 inches? Can you imagine? Why, that's the size of a sparrow, for goodness' sake.
North American Owl Most Threatened by the Border Wall
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
Emcee: And now another controversial category, folks, the award for the North American Owl Most Threatened by the Border Wall.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the nominees are, the Elf Owl, the Western Screech Owl, the Whiskered Screech Owl, and the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl.
And the winner for North American Owl Most Threatened by the Border Wall is...
The Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Glaucidium brasilianum!
To paraphrase one of your nation's favorite poets, "Something there is that doesn't like a wall." Or, to be more specific, "Something there is that hates a wall and can't fly over it and wants Congress to find a better way to deal with immigration issues than by punishing human beings and wildlife as opposed to finding a win-win solution for everybody that doesn't leave a bad taste of racism in everybody's mouth and/or beak. Something there is that hates all that crap and wants you to stop it NOW! Something there is that--"
Emcee: Yes, yes, okay, you'd better wrap it up, Pygmy Pete.
Thank you so much for the recognition, though! Much obliged, folks! Much obliged!
Emcee: And I thought the Spotted Owl's speech was controversial. The Ferruginous Pygmy Owl just took controversy to a whole new level here at the North American Owl Awards 2025, calling for the U.S. government itself to "straighten up and fly right" when it comes to the rights, not only of Ferruginous Pygmy Owls, but of immigrants as well. And then taking those swipes at the Border Wall? Let me tell you, there are some ruffled feathers here at Zimman Field tonight. I knew that the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl was fierce, but I never thought it was THIS fierce.
I think the next award category should prove less controversial.
Most Flamboyant Owl in North America
Flammulated Owl
Emcee: I think so, too. This next Golden Owl Pellet goes to the Most Flamboyant Owl in North America.
And the nominees are, the Great Horned Owl, the Flammulated Owl, and the Saw-Whet Owl. May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for the Most Flamboyant Owl in North America is...
the Flammulated Owl, Psiloscops flammeolus!
Emcee: Well, when you're hot, you're hot, right? But I think what really clinched the award for the Flammulated Owl were the patches of rusty red that pop up unpredictably on its feathers. The Flammulated Owl looks like a gray-colored owl that has been left out in the rain too long and has started to rust. These rusty splotches render the Flammulated Owl flamboyant in more senses than one. They are both eye-catching and flame-colored. Whereas the other nominees are flamboyant, if at all, in only one sense of that word.
Most Widespread Owl in North America
Great Horned Owl
Emcee: Moving on, we have the award for the Most Widespread Owl in North America, geographically speaking, of course.
And the nominees are, the Barred Owl, the Great Horned Owl, and the Short-Eared Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for the Most Widespread Owl in North America is...
The Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus!
Anywhooo.....
I live in every U.S. state with the exception of Hawaii, and in most of Canada, too. But I could never have become so widespread without help.
I'd like to thank the Red-tailed Hawk in particular for its lovely nests that it builds for us on the tops of trees. How thoughtful of them, right? We may not always say thank you when we commandeer those stick-covered platforms -- in fact, to my knowledge, we NEVER do -- but believe me, we are grateful deep down inside... VERY deep down inside.
Fortunately, the Red-tailed Hawk is just about as widespread as yours truly, so we seldom have to innovate when it comes to accommodations. That said, you can't be fussy if you want to win an award like this one. When there's no Red-tailed Hawks in my neighborhood, you can find yours truly living in a cactus, on a cliff edge, or even in a big flower pot on an apartment balcony.
In fact, my current home is in just such a location: I live in a flower pot on an apartment balcony in West Bend, Wisconsin, to be exact. Speaking of which, I can't wait to get home and show off my Golden Owl Pellet to the tenants! They'll be like, "Whoa, dude, we've got a celebrity in our midst!"
Emcee: The Great Horned Owl there, graciously thanking the Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, for its nest-building services. But don't let the diplomatic language fool you, folks: Great Horned Owls and Red-tailed Hawks are sworn enemies in real life. They will kill each other's chicks in a heartbeat -- and they're forever fighting over nest ownership.
What can I tell you? It's true.
I know what you're thinking, folks: "Next thing you know, this spoilsport emcee is going to tell us that there's no Santa Claus!"
North American Owl with the Purest Hoot
Long-Eared Owl
Emcee: Next up, the Academy recognizes the North American Owl with the Purest Hoot.
And the nominees are, the Long-Eared Owl, the Great Horned Owl, and the Barred Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for North American Owl with the Purest Hoot...
the Long-Eared Owl, Asio otus!
Don't get me wrong, though: I can be inventive, too. You should hear my nest call. It sounds like someone blowing a kazoo. And my so-called barking call is so weird, I can't even describe it for you. It's kind of like someone trying to blow a bubble when their lips are half-submerged underwater or something. You'll just have to listen for yourself to see what I mean.
I'd like to share this Golden Owl Pellet with my fellow Long-Eared Owls back at the roost. We Long-Eared Owls are roosters, you know.
Let me rephrase that: We Long-Eared Owls are not domestic fowl, but we do roost in groups, unlike most other owls. Fair enough?
But my time is up. Mom, this Golden Owl Pellet is for you! Thank you so much!
Emcee: The Long-Eared Owl is a rooster, all right. Who knew? Incidentally, is it just me, or does the Long-Eared Owl look devilish when it raises its ear tufts bolt upright? Speaking of which, let me remind our viewers that those ear tufts that you see on owls are not actual ears. Oh, dear no. Owl ears are actually located near their eyes beneath the feathers of their facial discs.
Best Circumpolar Owl with Chocolate-Brown Feathers
Boreal Owl
Emcee: Our next Golden Owl Pellet goes to the Best Circumpolar Owl with Chocolate-Brown Feathers.
It seems that we only have one nominee for this one, and that is the Boreal Owl.
May I have the envelope, please, for form's sake, you understand?
And the winner for the Best Circumpolar Owl with Chocolate-Brown Feathers is...
What a surprise, folks...
it's the Boreal Owl, Aegolius funereus!
Shout out to all the circumpolar rodents that kept me alive over the years with their selfless sacrifices, especially the red-backed voles. I wouldn't be here tonight without you guys. I'd also like to thank the Arctic Ground Squirrel and the Eurasian Ermine. And small birds too numerous to mention, including Chickadees, Warblers, and Thrushes.
It's a lonely life for us Boreal Owls. We're so used to being hermits, hunting by night in the boreal forest far to the north. We don't ever talk about this, of course, but... well, sometimes we despair of ever getting the recognition that we deserve, and... and now to finally be recognized in this bold and flashy way... it's just...
Oh, I'm sorry! Thank you so much!
Emcee: Oh, I hate to see a grown owl cry. The Boreal owl there, overcome by emotion as it hops offstage with its Golden Owl Pellet for Best Circumpolar Owl with Chocolate-Brown Feathers. It is, of course, actually the ONLY Circumpolar Owl with Chocolate-Brown Feathers, but whatever you do, don't tell HIM that.
Most Ferocious Owl in North America
Northern Pygmy Owl
Emcee: Next up, the award for Most Ferocious Owl in North America. And the nominees are The Great Horned Owl, the Snowy Owl, and the Northern Pygmy Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for Most Ferocious Owl in North America...
The Northern Pygmy Owl, Glaucidium gnoma!
I'd like to thank nature writer Arthur C. Bent for describing my species as "bloodthirsty and rapacious" back in 1938. I'm sure that sound clip helped us beat out the competition in this category. Bent went on to say that: "They'll attack prey much larger than themselves. I've seen one standing on a big woodpecker, trying to kill it." Yep, that has the ring of truth to it. I myself have killed a California Valley Quail several inches taller than yours truly. Mind you, I only ate the brains, but--
What? The brains are the best part!
Blood and guts, baby! Northern Pygmy in the house!
Emcee: The Northern Pygmy owl, leaving the stage with a somewhat defiant gesture, perhaps directed at the songbirds in the audience who have a long history of mobbing this species. Glaucidium gnoma, of course, notorious for its partiality for songbirds. To be fair, however, its favorite prey is the vole. You may have already guessed that, however, from the fact that all the voles in the audience had their backs turned toward the stage by way of protest during Pygmy Pete's acceptance speech. Yes, indeed, there is no love lost between Northern Pygmy Owls and those mouse-like rodents.
Best Courtship Display in a North American Owl
Short-Eared Owl
Emcee: Next up, we have the award for the Best Courtship Display in a North American Owl.
The nominees are the Great Horned Owl for the way that they puff up their feathers and spread their wings, the Short-Eared Owl for its Sky Dance, and the Burrowing Owl for its head bobbing.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for Best Courtship Display in a North American Owl is...
the Short-Eared Owl, Asio otus, for its Sky Dance!
Ta-da! Impressive, huh? That's the Short-Eared Owl Sky Dance, folks. Accept no substitutes.
Emcee: Yes, indeed. Accept no substitutes. That's an apparent reference to the fact that some other North American Owls may fly about during a courtship display as well, most notably the Snowy Owl. However, the owl that is most recognized for doing an actual Sky Dance is the Short-Eared Owl.
Best Stocky Owl with a Square-ish Head
Western Screech Owl
Emcee: And now the eternally coveted award for Best Stocky Owl with a Square-ish Head. And the nominees are the Boreal Owl and the Western Screech Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner is...
The Western Screech Owl, Megascops kennicottii!
I accept this har Golden Owl Pellet on behalf of my fellow Western Screech Owls throughout our far-flung territory, from the Mexican border to southeastern Alaska! We Western Screech Owls have always prided ourselves on our stocky bodies and our square-shaped heads, and so it's nice to finally be recognized for those traits by the Academy, whatever that is.
Of course, I wouldn't be here tonight if it weren't for my wonderful prey species! I wish I had time to name them all, but the list is just too dang long. Let's just put it this way, pardnas: I would like to thank virtually every consarned critter that is small and edible out here in the wild wild west. Chances are I've eaten at least one of each and every one of you at some point in my life. I am what you padres call an opportunistic hunter, after all. Lizards, mice, voles, pocket gophers... even fish. It's all good, pardnas!
But it's time for me to vamoose! Next time you're out west, look me up -- or rather LISTEN me up. I'm the owl what's got that funny call that sounds like a bouncing ball.
Emcee: The Western Screech Owl, folks, calling attention to its trademark call. Quite an adaptable owl, too, by the way. The Western Screech Owl will just as soon live in a cactus in Arizona as live in a tree cavity in Southeastern Alaska. In the words of Wild Bill Hickowl, "It's all good, pardnas!"
And now, moving right along.
Most Underappreciated Owl in North America
Whiskered Screech Owl
Emcee: The next Golden Owl Pellet Award is for the Most Underappreciated Owl in North America. And the nominees are, the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, the Flammulated Owl, and the Whiskered Screech Owl.
May I have the envelope, please?
And the winner for Most Underappreciated Owl in North America is...
The Whiskered Screech Owl, Megascops trichopsis!
I am thrilled that the Academy finally recognized how unrecognized I am. Do you know, the Wikipedia entry on the Whiskered Screech Owl contains just 262 words? 262! And guess how many words are in the entry for the Long-Eared Owl. Go ahead, guess. (You'll never get this!)
The Wikipedia entry for the Long-Eared Owl contains... wait for it, folks... 18,111 words! Really! I've counted! 18,111, while I only got 262!
So let's hope that this award raises awareness about the lack of awareness of yours truly, the Western Screech Owl, aka Megascops trichopsis.
Thank you again so much!
Emcee: There you have it, the Whiskered Screech Owl taking home the Golden Owl Pellet for Most Underappreciated Owl Species in North America.
For the record, the other two nominees are sparsely covered in Wikipedia as well. The entry for the Flammulated Owl contains just 645 words and the one for the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl features just 735.
Our awards ceremony is almost at an end. It looks like every single species of North American Owl has received a Golden Owl Pellet tonight. But we are not quite finished.
Best North American Owl in a Major Motion Picture
Burrowing Owl
Emcee: Tonight's tiebreaker is the coveted award for Best North American Owl in a Major Motion Picture.
And the nominees are: the Burrowing Owl from "Hoot," the Snowy Owl from "Harry Potter" and the Barn Owl from "The Gaurdians of Ga'Hoole."
May I have the envelope, please? Oh, this is so exciting!
And the Best North American Owl in a Major Motion Picture is...
The Burrowing Owl from "Hoot"!
I don't know if this is allowed, but I'd like to ask my fledglings and my mate to join me up here on stage. Oh, this is so wonderful! Bobby, Ali, Kitanya, hop on up here and join me on stage, my dears. You too, Luna, my love!
"Hoot" was a great movie, wasn't it? It had a great message, too, didn't it? Hopefully it taught a lot of budding contractors and developers that we Burrowing Owls have friends and we cannot just be given the bum's rush in the name of progress.
Yes, by all means, go ahead and applaud if you like. Thank you so much!
I really think the movie is changing minds, too. It came out in 2006, and just six years later, the legislature on the island of Aruba voted to make the Burrowing Owl their national bird! Coincidence? I don't think so.
So I accept this Golden Owl Pellet on behalf of all the perky Burrowing Owls in the world. Whether you guys live on a golf course, on the prairie, on the savannah, in a cemetery, on a vacant lot, or even on an airport median, remember: you've got to stand up for your rights -- or at least find some local kids who will do that for you.
Speaking of good causes, I'd like to end my spiel by urging you human beings to save the prairie dog! That's right: save the prairie dog! They dig wonderful holes for yours truly, but those industrious rodents are disappearing on account of overdevelopment.
In fact, do you know what? I'm feeling generous tonight. I would like to share this Golden Owl Pellet with the endangered prairie dogs of North America! Can I do that?
Thank you again, folks. Kitanya, stop pecking at the microphone, honey. It's time to leave the stage now.
Oh, thank you again!
Emcee: What an exciting and unpredictable night! Who would have thought that the Burrowing Owl would win for Best Motion Picture?
The scuttlebutt before the show was that the Snowy Owl had that category locked down. I mean, Hedwig? Harry Potter? Come on, right?
But it was not to be. It looks like the Burrowing Owl's plight in the face of overdevelopment tugged at the Academy's heart strings.
Well, let's face it, "Hoot" was a charming movie, right? I'm not naming names, but it even made some of us cry! Oh, not me personally, of course! Humph!
And with that bombshell we come to the end of this year's North American Owl Awards. I would like to thank all 19 North American Owl species for joining us here tonight on Zimman Field in Massachusetts, especially those non-migratory owls for whom travel is something of a novelty. Happily, they all are going home with at least one Golden Owl Pellet Award with which to impress their friends and upset their enemies.
So congratulations to all, and especially to the Burrowing Owl, who leaves here tonight with not one, but two Golden Owl Pellets, one for Perkiest-Looking Owl and the other for Best Owl in a Major Motion Picture.
From all of us owl lovers here at Tufts University, thank you for joining us!
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