Now THAT'S the largest owl species in the world: Blakiston's Fish Owl (Bubo blakistoni)

This is only a simple postcard, but I'd like to create a maximum card, with a Japanese stamp and the help of a Japanese philatelic partner/friend to get a postmark :)

http://www.birdtheme.org/species/imagespage.php?spec=776&fl=B

Appearances are deceiving - that's their purpose.

Do you think the above owl is a fatso?

You think so?

http://www.zazzle.com/i_dont_think_so_postage-172747464236221795?rf=238693463283865848

Just like a sumo wrestler only appears to be a fatso, when in fact he is a strong athlete who overeats on purpose, due to the sumo tradition. So he gets a layer of fat over his well-trained muscles.

Well, our owl in the postcard above only shakes its feathers, I guess.

Or, maybe it has just swallowed...a whole hedgehog (you think I'm kidding? Read more about owls...:)...)

Or, maybe it has just swallowed a long-spine porcupinefish, also known as the spiny balloonfish.

http://biomechanics.bio.uci.edu/_html/nh_biomech/pufferfish/puffer.htm

Just kidding. :)

"Blakiston's Fish Owl is possibly the largest species of owl at 60-75cm (24-30 in). A recent field study of the species showed males weighing from 3 to 3.75 kg (6.6-8.3 lbs), with the female, at up to 4.5 kg (10 lbs), about 25% larger.^[1] Superficially, this owl looks like the Eurasian eagle owl, but is paler, and has broad, ragged ear tufts. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blakiston's_Fish-owl

Read this, and see some great images, too:

http://www.fishowls.com/

[Prehistoric] "The Devastating Smilodon" Postage from Zazzle.com

[Prehistoric] "The Devastating Smilodon" Postage from Zazzle.com

This is the largest of all prehistoric saber-toothed cats - 1.6 meters tall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilodon_populator

"Cartes maximum" from USA: The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pandion_haliaetus_-fish_-Texas-8-4c.jpg

Very skillful fish-catcher.

"The Osprey differs in several respects from other diurnal birds of prey. Its toes are of equal length, its tarsi are reticulate, and its talons are rounded, rather than grooved. The Osprey and Owls are the only raptors whose outer toe is reversible, allowing them to grasp their prey with two toes in front and two behind. This is particularly helpful when they grab slippery fish."

"The Osprey is unusual in that it is a single species that occurs nearly worldwide. Even the few subspecies are not unequivocally separable. There are four generally recognised subspecies, although differences are small, and ITIS only lists the first two.^[3]

• P. h. haliaetus (Linnaeus, 1758), Eurasia.^[6]
• P. h. carolinensis (Gmelin, 1788), North America. This form is larger, darker bodied and has a paler breast than nominate haliaetus.^[6]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey