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spotted owlet Pair in Tamilnadu Athene brama

Code: Owl Life
Skills: Owls in India

Project Description

The Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) is a charming little owl that graces the tropical regions of Asia, from mainland India to Southeast Asia. Let’s explore this delightful bird:

Description:
- The Spotted Owlet is a common resident of open habitats, including farmland and human settlements. It has even adapted to city life.
- These owlets roost in small groups, often choosing the hollows of trees or cavities in rocks and buildings.
- Their nesting sites are typically holes in trees or buildings, where they lay 3–5 eggs.
- The Spotted Owlet exhibits great variation, including clinal differences in size. It forms a superspecies with the very similar Little Owl.
- In terms of appearance, it is a small and stocky bird, measuring barely 21 cm (8.3 inches). Its upperparts are grey-brown, heavily spotted with white, while the underparts are white, streaked with brown. The facial disc is pale, and the iris is yellow. A white neckband and supercilium add to its distinctive features.
- Both sexes look similar, and their flight is deeply undulating. The nominate form is darker than the paler forms found in drier regions.
Taxonomy:
- Early researchers sometimes considered members of this species group as subspecies of the Athene noctua (Little Owl).
- However, the Spotted Owlet and Little Owl are now recognized as separate species that form a superspecies complex.
- Several subspecies of the Spotted Owlet have been described, with about four or five widely accepted. These include:
  - Albida: Found in western Asia (Iran and Pakistan).
  - Indica: Northern India.
  - Brama: Southern India (darker than indica).
  - Ultra: Northeastern India (with white spots on the mantle and higher-pitched calls).
  - Pulchra: Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam).
- The northern and southern Indian populations intergrade, and there is no clear dividing boundary. Interestingly, the species is absent in Sri Lanka, although birds on the Indian mainland are found even at the tip of Rameshwaram.