plumicorn
plumicorn (PLOO-mi-korn) - n., tuft or crest of feathers on a bird's head, esp. either of the paired ear tufts of many owls.
Which are, in fact, not the owl's ears, and aren't even close to them -- the ears are lower down on the sides of the skull, the better to locate their prey. Coined by an ornithologist in the late 19th century from Latin roots plūma, feather/plume + cornu, horn.
---L.
Which are, in fact, not the owl's ears, and aren't even close to them -- the ears are lower down on the sides of the skull, the better to locate their prey. Coined by an ornithologist in the late 19th century from Latin roots plūma, feather/plume + cornu, horn.
---L.