harshithjv
Brown Fish Owl
© Harshith JV
This was shot in outskirts of Bengaluru, within a protected forest reserve. An unusual and uncommon species on the fringes of this ever-growing metro city.
We were on a bird survey with forest guards walking on small swamp under a canopy and spotted this at almost end of our beat/transect. Suddenly a guard leading our group stopped us indicating he saw some bird. Within few seconds, a large raptor flushed from the right-side of our path. Trying to figure out what it was, I saw the raptor flying to tree top and then dive down into the canopy again, showing its tail which was fan like. Its tail and whole of chest was brownish. I guessed it was black eagle.
We took 2 or 3 steps and then another large bird flushed out. It settled on a nearby tree. And then to our amazement it was this Brown fish owl. So started to take photograph and put down my lens to check the camera settings. Almost immediately all in the group started shouting 'eagle! eagle!' I got confused about what it was about and then I see Black Eagle mobbing this owl. Damn it! I missed the golden opportunity to capture the amazing natural history of the rivalry between these two predators.
Eagle is diurnal while the Owl is nocturnal. And the owl attacks chicks of large eagles and sometimes even the adult eagles themselves. Owls also hunts most other birds. So owls have lot of enemies. They have perfect plumage to let them blend with variety of habitats according to what the owl specializes and are tough see them in open during day time. If they are spotted during day time, other birds such as raptors, crows, drongos, etc. mob them till they escape to cover themselves.
Common names: Brown Fish Owl, Ceylon Fish Owl
Scientific name: Phoenicopterus roseus
Place: Bengaluru Outskirts, Karnataka, India
Date: March 10, 2018
File name: IMG_7267.cropped_enhanced.upload.JPG
Brown Fish Owl
© Harshith JV
This was shot in outskirts of Bengaluru, within a protected forest reserve. An unusual and uncommon species on the fringes of this ever-growing metro city.
We were on a bird survey with forest guards walking on small swamp under a canopy and spotted this at almost end of our beat/transect. Suddenly a guard leading our group stopped us indicating he saw some bird. Within few seconds, a large raptor flushed from the right-side of our path. Trying to figure out what it was, I saw the raptor flying to tree top and then dive down into the canopy again, showing its tail which was fan like. Its tail and whole of chest was brownish. I guessed it was black eagle.
We took 2 or 3 steps and then another large bird flushed out. It settled on a nearby tree. And then to our amazement it was this Brown fish owl. So started to take photograph and put down my lens to check the camera settings. Almost immediately all in the group started shouting 'eagle! eagle!' I got confused about what it was about and then I see Black Eagle mobbing this owl. Damn it! I missed the golden opportunity to capture the amazing natural history of the rivalry between these two predators.
Eagle is diurnal while the Owl is nocturnal. And the owl attacks chicks of large eagles and sometimes even the adult eagles themselves. Owls also hunts most other birds. So owls have lot of enemies. They have perfect plumage to let them blend with variety of habitats according to what the owl specializes and are tough see them in open during day time. If they are spotted during day time, other birds such as raptors, crows, drongos, etc. mob them till they escape to cover themselves.
Common names: Brown Fish Owl, Ceylon Fish Owl
Scientific name: Phoenicopterus roseus
Place: Bengaluru Outskirts, Karnataka, India
Date: March 10, 2018
File name: IMG_7267.cropped_enhanced.upload.JPG