Great horned owl Oct. 29, 2024

The Halloween season is upon us, so let"s meet one of the holiday"s icons: the great horned owl. With its keen vision, eerie vocalisations and silent flight, this owl has historically been revered and feared. In folklore and mythology, owls were considered symbols of wisdom and omens of death. On Samhain, the Celtic precursor to Halloween, the owl was believed to be the kin of roaming spirits.

© Mark Newman/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

One of the oldest parks in Quebec
Oct. 29, 2023Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, USA
Oct. 29, 2025Ancient til trees in Fanal Forest, Madeira, Portugal

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb. 3, 2025Ribblehead Viaduct, North Yorkshire, England
Where are these spectacular peaks?
May 5, 2024Kalaloch Tree of Life, Olympic National Park, Washington, US
Apr. 19, 2024Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland
Jun. 24, 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah, United States
Feb. 27, 2024International Polar Bear Day
Sharks, just living their lives
Remembering D-Day
Mar. 19, 2024Spring equinox
Aug. 10, 2024Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA
A road not for the faint of heart
Stairway to where?
Say hello to these halophytes!
A kiss and a sigh
Why are blackbirds tied to winter?
Our forgotten forests
Aug. 18, 2025Avalanche Lake Trail at Adirondack High Peaks, New York, United States
Dec. 9, 2024Guanacos in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Aug. 1, 2024Floating fruit market, Kaptai Lake, Rangamati, Bangladesh
Mar. 18, 2024Elephant Rock, Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia
Oct. 12, 2024World Migratory Bird Day
Jan. 13, 2025Happy Welsh New Year!
Best views tower
Jun. 30, 2024Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
The sun sets on the Valley of the Moon
Apr. 29, 2025Garden at Château de Villandry, Loire Valley, France
Feb. 26, 2025Castle Stalker, Argyll, Scotland
Feb. 24, 2025Giant cuttlefish, Whyalla, South Australia, Australia
A window to the Pacific
There’s more to Pisa than leaning towers