Search

Excitement around a Collared Owlet

on 6th May 2008

11144.jpg

It was March 2008 and Nelson Khor was birding with a group of photographer buddies at Bukit Tinggit, Pahang, Malaysia when he encountered and photographed a Collared Owlet (Glaucidium brodiei) (above). Roger Moo a.k.a. Cactus400D similarly managed to shoot the seldom seen owlet and wrote an interesting account of their encounter.

11145.jpg

It was late evening and they were looking for a spiderhunter. An owl flew in and chased away the spiderhunter. Everyone rushed to the scene to record the owl but it flew away. Later it returned and was again gone. Then, according to Roger, “Out came the spiderhunter like F14 jet fighters zooming in onto the owlet… chasing it from one branch to another… the bulbuls called… out came the White-Rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus), not one but four or five…” These birds were obviously mobbing the owlet and scolding it (above).

11143.jpg

“…then came the ‘chipmunk’ squirrels… one took a brave stand and marched right in… onto the branch that the owlet was perching… (above). The squirrel wanted to ‘peck’ the owlet on the face… the owlet flew across the road to another branch opposite… and guess who was ‘disturbed’ by all these but the Orange-breasted Trogon (Harpactes oreskios)… perching and watching… the whole ‘ruckus’ in front..”

Owls are easy to recognise. Their shape and plumage are rather uniform and these give them away. But size varies greatly. Unfortunately, very little is known about their behaviour, especially tropical species. And the smaller owlets, especially of the genus Glaucidium, the situation is especially acute.

The Collared Owlet is a small bird, about 16-16.5 cm high. It has a rounded head, somewhat large for the size of the body. It is reported to have a staring ‘dorsal face’ on the nape, although this has not been captured in the images.

This owlet is nocturnal and crepuscular, meaning that it is active at night as well as during twilight and just before dawn. However, it often forages during the day.

Images courtesy of Nelson Khor.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

2 Responses

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
672
9131
Visitors Today
51621086
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)