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Blakiston's Owl

Bubo blakistoni

Status: Endangered. They are found throughout Russia and part of Asia, but population has been declining due to habitat loss and climate change.

These great owls can be found on the island of Hokkaido. Hunting the streams in in the boreal forests, they are an incredible sight, as the largest owls in the world and with a wingspan of six feet.

The Ainu call gods and demigods "kamuy". Everything in nature has a divine spirit; this includes the animals, the plants, and the inanimate and the elemental. Cikap-Kamuy is the god of owls and land. He is often depicted as a great owl, who watches over the country and villages, and his tears are gold and silver.

Owls are also sometimes viewed as birds of ill omen, along with the night-hawk, cuckoo, and other large birds. It is especially bad-fortune to see one such fly across the face of the moon. Should that occur, the only way to stave off that unluckiness is to change one's name.

 

References:
Batchelor, J. (1894). Items of Ainu Folk-Lore. The Journal of American Folklore, 7(24), 15-44. https://doi.org/10.2307/532957

Batchelor, J. (1894). Items of Ainu Folk-Lore. The Journal of American Folklore, 7(24), 15-44. https://doi.org/10.2307/532957

Ashkenazy, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003.

Chiri, Yukie; Selden, Kyoko. "The Song the Owl God Himself Sang, "Silver Droplets Fall Fall All Around," An Ainu Tale". The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, Volum 14, Issue 15, No 5, Article ID 4931, August 2016. https://apjjf.org/2016/15/Chiri.html