How Owls and The Tear Drop Design Are Connected.

On the bbc the other night a nature program on how owls fly without their flapping making a noise and alerting their prey.
The presenter highlighted the special features of their wing and compared them to a pigeon and a hawk. In the case of the owl it showed how feather 'tufting' absorbed sound and emphasised the fact that unlike the others it was a slow flying bird.
I think the pigeon was ill - placed in that group as it is not a hunting bird but more a seed herbivore. It needs speed however to escape predation and so perhaps its inclusion was permissible.
The differences in body shape were noted but the elephant in the room was that they did not stress how important that was in addition to the wing features.
What was so fabulous to see was the owl in flight, slowish, steady, infrequent flapping and mostly in descent and levelling off. What stood out was the shape of the owl in flight. Every feather adorning its marvellous face and neck standing vertical to present the blunt and non-streamlined presence that its face is and then this tapering very quickly to its sharp tail to present a true tear-drop form.
I contend that it is this as much or more than the wing form that enables it to course through the air silently and without ruffling the air it is in. This is easy to comprehend just visually. The broad wing spread of the owl announces it is designed for slow flight.