On a cold misty morning in December, I casually lift my head towards the big mango tree opposite Bal Bhavan, Panjim to see two bright yellow eyes staring down at me. It was the first time that I was seeing a Spotted Owlet, one of the most common species of owls found in India.
The Spotted Owlet is a small and stocky looking bird, with an average size of just 21 centimeters. The upper parts are grey-brown and heavily spotted with white. The underparts are white and streaked with brown. The face has a disc-like build and is pale. They have large beady eyes with yellow colored iris. Sexes in this species are similar. The range of this species extends from Iran till Vietnam.
Ornithologists have till date described many subspecies of the Spotted Owlet based on many differences in their body colour patterns, size and calls but out of the many only five are recognized which are: the “abida” subspecies found in Iran and Pakistan; “indica” subspecies found in northern India; “brama” subspecies of southern India which is darker than “indica”; “ultra” subspecies described from northeastern India; and “pulchra” subspecies found in Southeast Asia from Myanmar and Thailand extending into Cambodia and Vietnam.
One very interesting observation about this species is that it is absent from Sri Lanka, although they are found right across the Palk Straits, just 30 kilometres away at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu!
Spotted Owlets are typically nocturnal but sometimes can be seen in the day especially when disturbed from their daytime resting site. When they are disturbed during the daytime, they get very agitated and become very alert, bobbing their head and staring at intruders, hoping to scare them away.
Sometimes they are located easily by other birds in their daytime resting sites and they then mob them. Spotted Owlets are active hunters who use keen vision and hearing to aid them in this. Their diet includes a variety of insects and small vertebrates.
The call of this species is a harsh and loud churring and chuckling “chirurr-chirurr-chirurr” often ending with a double noted “chirwak-chirwak”. They usually call during early dawn or just after sunset, but during breeding season can also be heard throughout the night. Their harsh calls are considered a bad omen in some parts of the country.
Breeding season stretches from November till March. They usually nest in cavities often competing with other cavity nesters such as Mynas. They may also nest in holes in walls and vertical embankments. Nest may be lined with leaves and feathers or may use the existing lining from a previous nest. The female typically lays three or four spherical white eggs. The chicks are fed initially with insects and later fed with small vertebrates such as mice. In general survival rate is low and at a maximum only two chicks fledge into adults.
International Union for Conservation of Nature lists this species as least concerned in terms of conservation prioritization because of its large range and population.
Image Credit: Dr. Vijay Desai
