Spotted Owlet

Photo by radz
Bharatpur, India

Athene brama

Identification

21cm

• Grey-brown upperparts, heavily spotted with white
• Underparts are white, barred brown
• Pale facial disc
• Yellow eyes
• White neckband
• Relatively short tail

Sexes are similar

Similar species

Forest Owlet with more white in tail, and Little Owl with longitudinal streaks on both underside and crown; both are larger than Spotted Owlet.

Distribution

Juvenile
Photo by Seyed Babak Mus
Minab town, Iran, Spring 2004

Asia from India to Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]:

• A. b. albida:

• Southern Iran and southern Pakistan

• A. b. indica:

• Northern and central peninsula India

• A. b. brama:

• Southern India

• A. b. pulchra:

• Myanmar, extreme south-western China, southern Laos, Cambodia and southern Vietnam

Habitat

Around human habitation and in light forests. Ruins, mango topes and ancient trees. Lowland Rainforest

Behaviour

This small owl is often heard during the day and can sometimes be seen hunting early in the morning and later in the afternoon.

Breeding

It nests in a hole in a tree or building, laying 3-5 eggs.

Diet

The diet includes insects and small vertebrates, small mammals and birds.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>spotted_owlet_sound.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Alok Tewari
Delhi, India, Nov.-2016
Call given by a pair at 12.40 am, mid-night hour.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Nationmaster
3. BF Member observations
4. König, C. and F. Weick 2008. Owls of the World, second edition. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Spotted Owlet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Spotted_Owlet

External Links

Search for photos of Spotted Owlet in the gallery

Search for videos of Spotted Owlet on BirdForum TV