Spotted Owlet - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies A. b. indica , Pair
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, 1 March 2016

Athene brama

Identification

Nominate subspecies
Photo © by drkishore
Markapur, Andhra Pradesh, Southern India, February-2017

19–21 cm (7½-8¼ in)

• 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

Asia from Southern Iran, India to Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Subspecies A. b. albida, Juvenile
Photo © by Seyed Babak Mus
Minab town, Iran, Spring 2004

Five subspecies are recognized^[1].

• A. b. indica:

• Southern Iran, and from southern Pakistan east across northern and central India (except for the northeast) to Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

• A. b. ultra

• Northeastern India (Arunachal Pradesh and east Assam)

• A. b. brama:

• Southern India

• A. b. pulchra:

• Central and southern Myanmar

• A. b. mayri

• Northern and eastern Myanmar, Thailand (except far south), southern Laos, Cambodia and southern Vietnam (and possibly also extreme south-western China)

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.

Subspecies A.b. pulchra
Photo © by kctsang
Thailand, October 2018

Breeding

They nest in a tree hole or building. Their clutch contains 3-5 eggs.

Diet

Their main diet consists of small insects and vertebrates, also small mammals such as mice, geckos, shrews and roosting birds.

Vocalisation

Recording © by Alok Tewari
Delhi, India, Nov.-2016
Call given by a pair at 12.40 am, mid-night hour.
The recording below is of the day-time communication calls between a pair, one individual sitting near and other a little distance away.

Recording © by Alok Tewari
Outside Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, May-2017

Subspecies A. b. indica
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, 7 December 2010

Gallery

Click images to see larger version

• 

  Subspecies indica
  Photo © by radz
  Bharatpur, India, August 2005

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. BirdForum Member observations
3. König, C. and F. Weick 2008. Owls of the World, second edition. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2018)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Spotted Owlet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Spotted_Owlet

External Links

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