Wednesday 26 April 2017

Wild Bird Wednesday 248 - Spotted Owlet

We stay in India and with owls for this week's WBW.

These are pictures of Spotted Owlets from Sultanpur National Park, which is the same location as last weeks owls.

The Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) is a small owl that is widespread through out much of Asia.  This is a small owl, with a height of about 20cm.  Picking up on a comment from last week, this owl will look familiar to many people as it is in the same genus as the Little Owl and Burrowing Owl.

To ensure there is some continuity from last week's WBW there are also some more annoying sticks!








You can make all of the pictures bigger, but I would recommend doing so for the last image - if you do you can see how one of the eyes of this owl looks much mope 'open' than the other - presumably this is because owl's left eye is in shade.

As ever, you can join in with WBW by clicking on the link below:

37 comments:

  1. What cute little owls! Apparently, they'll adapt to a variety of locations. Beautiful photos!

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  2. Hello Stewart, great shots of these cute little owls. They do look like our Burowing Owls.
    Thanks for hosting, have a great day!

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  3. Well these are so cute Stewart. it is next week that I need linked in. Thanks for hosting.

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  4. They don't half look cut Stewart, all the little owls have the same effect on me, they put a smile on my face.
    All the best, Gordon.

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  5. Adorable ... you are a man after my heart. I love owls and these are so cute. We have a Spotted Owl in our North Western coastal area. They are endangered and are related to the Barred Owl which is on this side of the Rockies. They don't look like your Spotted Owl though, they are much bigger and have a rounder face. I am so envious ... it is really hard to spot an owl in the wild as they are generally nocturnal, but you seem to be having a string of owl luck :) Love these, Stewart. Were your kids with you to see these? We find that kids usually love the Owls and it is a great way to get them hooked on nature :)

    Andrea @ From the Sol

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  6. Yes Stewart. One could be forgiven for swearing those owls are Little Owl Athene noctua, but just a few subtle differences.

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  7. Love these shots and interesting seeing the difference of the eyes in the last shot, of in the sun and in the shade. Cheers Diane

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  8. That's a great shot! The brick wall. Perfect. The owls I've been watching are out of the nest. So now, they're harder to spot.

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  9. Love your photos of the three owls in a row!

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  10. Sticks! Love the one peeking out of the brickwall :)

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  11. Oh yeah, they really do look like "my" burrowing owls -- obviously close cousins. Only yours are up in the trees -- or in that wonderful brickwall home. I did enlarge that and very interesting eyes. Wow. I love these. Thank you for hosting as always.

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  12. Very nice images! They do resemble the Burrowing Owls, and I have noticed their pupils also react asynchronously to varying light levels.

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  13. Now that is just too damn cute! Very similar to Burrowing Owls but I see a shade of difference.....and also their choice of habitation:)

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  14. So cute and so beautiful... Lovely pictures...

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  15. You won't be surprised, Stewart, to hear that I find these images of the Spotted Owlets totally gorgeous!

    It's one of the facts that I point out and illustrate in my 'Little Owls of Leicestershire' talk that owls are one of the few creatures (unique?) that can differentially dilate their pupils to cater for differing light conditions on each eye. Congratulations on your own observation of this!

    As you are heading into your winter, we are supposed to be heading into our summer, which is probably why the temperatures have dropped by 10 degrees C, and we woke up to frost on the car windows and snow on the roofs yesterday! I have to admit that the sun is now shining and we are now enjoying an exotic 5 degrees.

    Best wishes - - - - Richard

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  16. They are adorable! Great photos. So interesting about that eye trick!

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  17. OMG..What wonderful shots..I just love owls !! Happy winter..I'd take that over a sure to be hot summer..

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  18. Super impressive! I have an owl behind my house, but I have never seen him. I hear him every night though!

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  19. Wonderful captures, Stewart - sticks and all! I love owls and missed your post last week, heading over there now!

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  20. Wonderful shots even with the "sticks" (darn things). - Those owls are so cute and the one in the bricks is super cool looking.

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  21. Gorgeous photos Stewart! When I enlarged them, they got even better!
    I love owls, and these are particularly cute...

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  22. Oh my goodness gracious am I ever happy to be catching up finally and getting to see these sweet Owls. I am going to have to try and get to last weeks as well and see what you captured then. I have been such a busy retired person in the past two months and I am taking an extra week now to just catch up. Happy weekend~

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  23. I love seeing owls! Those are great shots Stewart.
    It's not easy to find them around my neck of the woods...though once in a while...

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  24. Wonderful images of the owlets. I want to call them Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

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  25. There's just something about owls that is special. Loving your photos.

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  26. Une chouette série !!! ;-)
    Céline & Philippe

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  27. Oh my goodness!!! These owlets are sooooo adorable, Stewart. So many people are unaware that the attributes of an Owl totally accommodate their lifestyle...:)JP

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  28. Fantastic. Would love to see just one owl. I hear them in the bush up the back but rarely see them

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  29. Fantastic photos! These owls are so cute.

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  30. Very lovely pictures of the owle!

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  31. So darn cute!
    Really nice captures, Stewart.
    Owls are very mysterious to me.

    Have a Happy Weekend!!
    Peace :)

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  32. Hi Stewart, what cute owls the Spotted Owlets are. We have the Pearl Spotted Owlet which have false eyes at the back of their heads. I'd be interested to know if these owlets have similar features? Thanks for sharing. Jo

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