Pel's Fishing-Owl (Scotopelia peli)

One of these iconic fishing owls was on the grounds of the lodge, but the local guide was unable to locate it for us. So he took us on a rather long boat ride to another stake-out which was successful. This is a large, round-headed, ginger colored owl saturated with dusky markings. They are reported to be quite shy, but this one seemed unperturbed by our presence, sleeping through most of our visit. They hunt only at night.