2 HN users recommended this explainer2 months2020–2026score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Linked in owl-feather and quiet-flight threads as a clear audio comparison.
A BBC Earth clip from Super Powered Owls in which the team uses sensitive sound equipment to compare owl flight with other birds. It shows why owls fly almost silently.
“To really appreciate how silent Owls are as compared to other birds, see this excellent video from BBC” (HN, 2020)
I also love the longer clip with the bed of feathers: [this video] It gives a good visual as to how much air is being moved/disturbed during the flight/glide of each.
I'm willing to bet the name "Great Horned Owl" was purposeful for a vehicle where quiet is a priority. Owls have feathers which make them essentially silent in flight. [this video]
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.
Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed
4 Hacker News comments
From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.
Citations, criticism and jokes