The animal kingdom has many incredible creatures in it from all over the world.
The minor evolutionary changes set the course for wild divergencies in the body builds and adaptations that set the course for the millions upon millions of terrestrial animals – and that only counts for what’s above the ocean.
Paring it down even further, we can see the many changes that go through more specific groupings, from mammals to insects and everything in between. And when we find a fascinating specimen, we have to give it a name.
Some of those names are more nefarious-sounding than others. A few rare examples of creatures are named after something grim, horrific, or downright abysmal.
The imagery of old myths is kept alive in the names and classifications of these creatures, such as the Stygian Owl, aka the Devil’s Owl. Why would someone name an animal to bring it into allegiance with the devil?
What did that animal do to the person who chose that as the primary name for such an otherwise peaceful, solitary hunting creature?
It could all be in the looks, or perhaps some myths were inspired more directly by its fierce appearance.
10 /10 On Haunted Wings
Asio stygius is a type of owl. Its name reflects its appearance, named after the River Styx, the Greek river of the underworld where dead souls cross over into the afterlife.
Like many owls, it has big yellow-red eyes and dusky feathers with dark brown accents to help it blend in with the tree branches where it roosts and waits for prey.
It also has two feathery “horns” on its head, giving it its more demonic nickname.
9 /10 Deepwood Hunter
The Devil’s Owl is native primarily to Central and South America’s deciduous forests.
It’s not a jungle owl, per se, mostly occupying a wide array of southern Brazil’s sub-tropical forests and the left coast of the south of Central American peninsula and the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
It has been seen as far north as Texas, but only extremely rarely.