Cross-eyed owl finds happiness

She may only have limited vision but Lucy the owl's disability hasn't stopped her from finding the perfect perch in life.

The five-year-old Western Screech Owl can only see a short distance following an attack when she was just a fledgling.

The tiny bird, who stands just six inches high and weighs just over eight ounces, was discovered under her nest site in Santa Barbara, California.



Both her eyes had been punctured by a predator, possibly a small hawk or a corvid.

Unable to survive in the wild, Lucy is now an invaluable 'staff' member at the Ojai Raptor Center in California where she helps to raise other orphaned youngsters.

Kim Stroud, director of the Ojai Raptor Center, said: "She's a wonderful mother. She lays eggs every year, infertile of course, but whenever screech owl eggs are brought in from the wild we have switched them. The same with foundling baby screeches. Lucy has raised 15 of them so far".