Birds and Blooms

Photo Feature

Brown Fish-Owl
Brown Fish-Owl: Not so silent. Owls are indicative of the health of their ecosystems. However, the presence of Brown Fish-Owls Ketupa zeylonensis is especially significant because of their dependence on waterbodies stocked with an abundant supply of fish and crustaceans. Photographed in the Nallamala forest of Andhra Pradesh, this owl shares its habitat with a fruit bat, fortuitously captured in the same frame. Interestingly, this owl hunts on foot, wading into shallows, preferring not to submerge and thus wet most of its body. Unlike most owls, their feathers lack the soft comb and hair-like fringes that enable silent flight and, consequently, their wing beats are clearly audible! Apart from threats posed by black magic practitioners, fish owls face grave danger from habitat loss. Damming rivers and waterways has led to their local extinction in countries such as Israel. A beautiful raptor, the fish-owl is an indicator of the health of pristine waterbodies found in the forests that are its home.

birds and blooms