Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Corbett NP, Garhwal County, Uttarakhand, India, 19 February 2016
- Ketupa nipalensis
Bubo nipalensis
Alternative name: Forest Eagle-Owl
Identification
63 cm (25")
Adult
- Very large and pale
- Dark eyes and whitish facial disk.
- Broad white brow extending to long barred ear-tufts
- Black chevrons on whitish belly.
Immature
Like adult but with broad pale patch on greater wing coverts.
Juvenile
Whitish and narrowly barred overall.
Distribution
Southern and south-eastern Asia.
Taxonomy
This is a polytypic species[1 consisting of 2 subspecies.
Subspecies
- B. n. nipalensis: - Larger, more marbled and less evenly barred than blighi.
- B. n. blighi: - Smaller, darker and more densely barred than nominate.
Habitat
Evergreen, gallery and moist deciduous forests. Occasionally scrub edges and clearings.
Behaviour
It is nocturnal and spends the day hidden among foliage of a large forest tree.
Breeding
Lays Feb–Mar in Himalayas and Nepal; Dec–Jan in S India; Apr–May in Sri Lanka. Nest in large tree cavity or abandoned raptor nest. Also bare soil in cave or fissure in rock wall. Usually one egg.
Diet
At dusk it becomes active and hunts small mammals, reptiles, and birds.
Vocalizations
An eerie, high whining howl that drops steeply near end. Also shorter, mellow, descending plaintive calls.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Holt, D.W., Berkley, R., Deppe, C., Enríquez Rocha, P., Petersen, J.L., Rangel Salazar, J.L., Segars, K.P. & Wood, K.L. (2016). Spot-bellied Eagle-owl (Bubo nipalensis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/55016 on 1 September 2016).
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Spot-bellied_Eagle-Owl
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
