mottled wood owl

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Great owl Pratim.

Thanks Carole Swingler ....

PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN # 424 (Observe the Bird and recognize)..MOTTLED WOOD OWL ...[From a Photograph of Mr. KEDAR POTNIS ] ... WATERCOLOUR ...A4...2014... The mottled wood owl (Strix ocellata) is a species of large owl found in India. They are found in gardens and thin deciduous forests adjacent to dry thorn forests or farmland. They are easily detected by their distinctive tremulous eerie calls at dawn and dusk. The characteristic call is a duet of the male and female while other notes include a low hoot and a screech. This large owl lacks ear tufts and is mottled and vermiculated in reddish brown and white. The face disc is marked with fine concentric black and white barring. The sexes are alike. The chin is white. The eyelid is orange and the iris is dark brown. The tail is barred narrowly in brown and black. The concentric barring on the face and mottled crown separate it from the brown wood owl in southern India. These owls roost in the day, usually in pairs. When disturbed they may fly in bright sunshine although they choose to shelter within a dense grove of trees. They produce an eerie chuhua-aa call with a quaver in the second note. This call is an antiphonal duet of the male and female. The male calls one or two times followed by the female's shorter and less tremulous version. The calling is more frequent in November when the begin to breed. Most Nests are found from February to April.They also produce a single note hoot and a screech not unlike that of the barn owl. The nest is a tree hollow in which two to three white eggs are laid. They feed on palm squirrels, mice and other small mammals.[INFO : WIKIPEDIA]