When Getafix kept appreciating the nose of Cleopatra, you'll assume that there is a direct relationship between beauty (and perhaps authority) and large nose. Think again when you see owls. It is possible to be beautiful and authoritative with a short nose. And sure they are. Even though they are around, they are not a very common sight as they are most active during the night. Most of their daytime are spent lazing around in some suitable hide. Generally away from sunlight, in some dense tree branch or a hole somewhere. Too many Rod cells is probably an annoyance in broad daylight. Unless they go into active hiding, it is possible for bird-watchers to have a good look at them when they roost during the day. Sometimes they are noticed by the gangs of Crows or Mynas and the mobbing is a good giveaway of their location. And they generally use a few fixed perches so once you spot their roosting location, it is possible for you come back over and over again at the same spot to meet them. They come in different sizes. On the left side it is a Mottled Wood Owl, which is pretty large in size. The barred marking all over the front is unmistakable. The white chin adds to the look. Both male and female looking alike (at least in human eye, external feature-wise), I don't know if they find it difficult to spot a potential mating partner but I am sure Mottled Wood Owls have figured it out through last millions of years and it might be a trivial problem to address via their calling protocol. When two are within earshot, their calls go in duet. The male calls once or twice chuhua-aa in a sharp and loud tone, and it answered by the female by a little mellowed down version. When not in business, you can be greeted with a low hoot or a screeching sound from them.
There is a celebrated pair in Lalbagh botanical garden. Not that I see them in every walk I take, but consistent reports from fellow birders assures of their presence, and recent report shows they are now three from two. Hope the new generation finds a suitable hunting ground nearby, and more importantly finds a love to extend the bloodline.
And then we have tiny sized variants too.
Spotted Owlets grows to 21cm, and that's why they are ''owlets''. I knew they are commonplace from the field guides, but didn't realize it till my mornings started by a sighting of a nesting pair a few tens of feet outside my bedroom window. Since then I retired my alarm and solely depend on their sharp chirrur-chirrur-chirrur call to announce the morning. The white thick eyebrows, neckband, bright yellow iris and heavily spotted body makes easy identification. They generally look eye to eye with you, as if trying to hypnotize. Once someone breaches the comfort zone, they generally take a short flight and choose another tree branch nearby. And this time stare harder to keep the intruder off. Again, just like their large sized cousins, the sexes look the same. So looking at this pair, I can't say who is he and who is she.
But that's for them to figure out. So Bengali proverb predicts the mood of the day by the first face you see after you wake up, and for me it is this pair of owlets. Every morning, I move the curtains of my french window, and I see them sitting still in their usual place. Seeing them became a part of my morning ritual, and if they are absent sometime, I have to keep checking till they show up somewhere, maybe in a stalk near the swimming pool, or maybe on some branch far away. Generally their mornings are lazy, when the mynas, prinias, munias and wagtails are very active procuring their breakfast, they just sit still, occasionally turning their heads to impossible angles. We walk past them every morning as we see off our son to school.
The monsoon was very romantic. Instead of shying away, they come out to get wet. Open up their wings to soak the shower. And when both of them do so together, it is no less than the iconic scene of Titanic. I have never seen anyone celebrating rain like this.
November, the breeding season is approaching. I am hoping they'll get cozy enough, and we'll soon welcome a few owlet-lets early next year.
May their tribe increase!