Oriental Bay-Owl
Phodilus badius
Small owl with a distinctive, highly angular head. Dark chestnut above and pale creamy gray below with light spotting on the sides. Dark eyes are emphasized by the general paleness of the face and the vertical dark ridges above them which form into small rounded tufts. Typically stands quite upright, giving it a heavy-headed appearance. Small and often difficult to find but can be common in a wide range of habitats, including evergreen forests and mangroves. Vocalizations are variable, and include rasps, screams, inflected gulping hoots, and a high-pitched mellow whistled song with the first few notes downslurred and the last few notes upslurred, which can be likened to “hii-huu-huu-huwee-huwee-huwee”.
Identification
Individuals are small, with distinguishing features such as highly angular heads. The top and back half of their bodies are a deep chestnut color while the bottom of their bodies as well as their stomachs are a cream and tanish color. Oriental bay owls have large, striking black eyes which are highlighted due to the color contrast of their faces. Being that they are small and typically stand upright, they are very difficult to spot as they find comfort in their vast range of habitats. Their ability to resonate is remarkable, for they not only hoot, but also scream and create high pitched whistle songs. Their songs typically consist of four to seven melancholic whistles, lasting anywhere between two and eight seconds, and the pitch slightly increases towards the end. They sometimes alternate with a shorter whistle, that goes kleet-kleet-kleet or kleek-kleek-kleek, when moving between places.<p>Total body length is 22.5–29 cm, wing length 172-237 mm, and tail length 168-239 mm. The weight range is 255-308 g.<p>Females are often larger than the males of this species.
Taxonomy
Four subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Phodilus badius
- Authority
- (Horsfield, 1821)
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Phodilidae
- Genus
- Phodilus
Range and habitat
The Oriental bay owl is typically found and distributed throughout Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Burma and Thailand, east to south China, and south through the Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sundas. They are most comfortable living in woodland, plantations and mangrove swamps at altitudes of up to 7,220 feet (2,200 meters), leading to them being scattered around India, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia. The Oriental bay owl is very scarcely known, even in its area of origin. It is prevalent in the tropical moist forests as well as in southeast Asia. The species can be seen in the tropical wet evergreen forest as high altitudes reaching heights of 1,040-1,050m above sea level. These sightings of the owl are rare and occurred between February and June 1998 in Sengaltheri, Tamil Nadu, India.Also located in the evergreen forest of India. There are not many in the population, and so they are not very well known. Their habitat is in two separate locations in India: northern in the Himalayan foothills and that general location, and in the southern areas, including the southern Western Ghats of Kerala/Tamil Nadu, as well as some areas of Sri Lanka (specifically the wetlands). This owl tends to be nocturnal and stays to itself.This owl tends to reside at high elevations ranging from 200m to a peak of 2300m according to area in which it lives. At the foothills it tends to stay at areas between 200–1,000m elevation, but due to destruction of many of the foothills/ forests in the area (caused by mankind), some of the owls reside at higher altitudes reaching the peak of 2,300m in montane forests.<p>This species is caring towards their offspring; both the male and female care for their young. Incubation lasts for approximately 36–42 days and there is usually a 100 percent survival rate for the zygote. The babies are quick to develop and are protected by both parents. They are more protective of the nestlings (young chicks) than of the older chicks. They feed their offspring an assortment of lizards, frogs, rodents and on occasion, insects.<p>Breeding time is usually from the months of March, April and May. The eggs tend to be laid between March and July. They tend to nest in hollowed out tree trunks as well as any other hole it can find. They can sometimes be found nesting in palms in Java. As mentioned above, both parents care for the offspring. At a time, around 3 to 5 eggs are laid; the appearance of the eggs are white and rather small. The measurements of the eggs on the oblong portion are around 38–40.6mm and on the smaller portion of the egg, the circumference is approximately 30–31 mm. Although both parents care for the offspring, only the mother incubated the egg starting at the 2 day mark. The father is the one who hunts and brings nourishment back for the offspring.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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