jungle owlet

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An excellent piece, Pratim. Lovely luminous washes and detail.

Thanks Seok Yam Chew ....

PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN # 392 (Observe the Bird and recognize)...JUNGLE OWLET ...[From a Photograph of MR. SUBHARGHYA DAS] ... WATERCOLOUR ...A4...2014... The jungle owlet, or barred jungle owlet, (Glaucidium radiatum) is found in the Indian Subcontinent. The species is often found singly, in pairs or small groups and are usually detected by their calls at dawn and dusk. There are two subspecies with the form found in the Western Ghats sometimes considered a full species. This small owlet has a rounded head and is finely barred all over. There is no clear facial disk and the wings are brownish and the tail is narrowly barred in white. There are two subspecies, the nominate form is found in the plains of India and Sri Lanka while malabaricum of the Western Ghats is shorter tailed and shows more brown on the head. It has been suggested that this may warrant full species status. The plumage on the upper parts is dark black brown barred with white. The wing coverts have white and rufous patches. The primaries and secondaries are dark brown and barred with pale chestnut. The lower side is whitish or pale rufous barred with black. There is a whitish patch on the chin, upper breast and centre of the abdomen. The iris is yellow, the bill and tarsi are greenish with black claws. They are found in habitats ranging from scrub forest to deciduous and moist deciduous forests. They are found south of the Himalayas but found in some parts of the Himalayas to about 2000 m. Extends from Dalhousie in the west east to Bhutan. This owlet is mainly active at dawn and dusk, but is known to call and fly during the daytime as well. The call is distinctive and consists of a rapid series of prao..prao.prao-prao-prao that increases and then fades in volume before ending abruptly. At their daytime roosts, they may be mobbed by drongos, treepies and sunbirds. During the day, young nestlings produce tick calls not unlike that of a pale-billed flowerpecker. Their diet consists of insects,