From Opus

Strix ocellata

Photo by obasanmi
Photographed: Bandhavgarh, India.

[edit] Identification

40 - 48cm. A large, earless owl with a white facial disk with concentric black barring and splashes of rufous. Mottled crown and white throat-patch. Upperparts grey, mottled and vermiculated with reddish-brown, black, white and buff. Northern subspecies grisecens larger.
Told from Brown Wood-Owl Strix leptogrammica by facial disk and mottled crown.

[edit] Distribution

South Asia. Mainly in India from Jammu to the Ganges plains, Gujarat and in most of the Peninsula. Formerly also in Pakistan but no recent records. May occur also in Burma, further investigation needed. Locally common.

[edit] Taxonomy

Three subspecies regognized, grandis in Gujarat, grisecens in the northern part of the distribution area (Pakistan, Rajasthan to Bihar) and ocellata in the south.

[edit] Habitat

Gardens and thin deciduous forests. Likes mango trees, tamarind and banyans.

[edit] Behaviour

Nocturnal, roosting in pairs or small groups by day.
Feeds on small birds and mammals.
Breeding time is from February to April. The nest is usually in tree holes. Lays 2 eggs.

[edit] External Links