The Asian Barn Owl (Tyto javanica)
A Friend of the farmer, very efficient rodent controller.
Medium-sized owl with a heart-shaped facial disc and deep dark eyes. With varied white-and-black speckling on the upperparts, beautiful gray-and-tawny wings, and large round head with ghostly white facial disc.
Hunts in open areas mostly in the night but sometimes also hunts durng the day.Forages with a slow and buoyant flight. Roosts in old buildings, tree hollows, caves, and nest boxes by day. Gives a bone-chilling, rising shriek, as well as shorter rasping calls.
Shot in Coorg, Karnataka, Aug 2025.
© Dr.Bishan Monnappa.
