Enigmatic beings of the night

in danger

A  wise old owl sat on an oak, the more he saw, the less he spoke; the less he spoke, the more he heard. Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?” This proverbial rhyme, though meant for children, offers us a sneak peek into the wonderful lives of owls.

Specialised carnivorous birds who feed on live prey just like eagles and kites, owls are the creatures of night. While most owls are nocturnal, a few are known to be diurnal too.
These small-sized creatures and their unique habits have captured the attention of many. For instance, they can rotate their heads up to 210 degrees, which means they can see what’s going on behind their back. The flight feathers of owls are arranged in such a way that they can fly silently in the night and swoop down on the prey stealthily. Owls are often heard than seen. Unlike other birds’ calls, owl calls are far from melodious. They call tree cavities and hollows, ravines, cliffs and even abandoned quarries their home and feed on rats, shrews, lizards, snakes, fish, frogs, smaller birds, scorpions and insects.

There are 230 species of owls in the world, of which 33 species are found in India. However, in the country, owls still have a long way to go before they make it to the official priority list of species that need protection efforts. Owls provide an immensely useful ecological service by feeding on rodents. One owl can feed on 1,000 mice in a year, which would otherwise damage one-third of the grain in a crop field. In some regions of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, farmers install a pole in their field for the owls to perch on and hunt the rodents. In some areas, farmers believe that worshipping owls will bring wealth in their lives.

But in most other places, owls are not so lucky. The magnificence of owls is misinterpreted in many cultures across the world, including India. Thanks to their unconventional appearance and their nocturnal feature, owls are considered inauspicious by many. They are termed to be a prize catch in sorcery, wherein they are caged and their powerful wings, talons are severed thus, restricting their flight. Moreover, their eyes are also injected with coloured dye to make them appear formidable. Owls are also killed for their eyes, talons, beaks, tails, and feathers for use in  traditional medicine.

The discovery

Of the many species of owls found in India, the forest owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti) is a curious bird, both by name and nature. This species is endemic to India and has been placed among the top 10 birds in the world that are in endangered category. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has declared it as a critically endangered species, owing to its small and declining population.

The genus of the forest owlet has been a bone of contention ever since it was discovered. At the time of its discovery in 1872, A O Hume, a well-known British taxonomist and civil service officer serving in India, established the genus Heteroglaux blewitti for the forest owlet based on its distinct morphology. Although the forest owlet possesses superficial similarities to the much commonly seen spotted owlet (Athene brama), it has several distinctive features of its own. For instance, it has an unspotted crown, a full-throat collar, thickly feathered legs, a habit of lateral tail flicking and an undulating flight. But scientists are still undecided about the correct genus of the forest owlet.

Between 1872 and 1884, six forest owlet specimens were collected from the country; the first one in 1872 by an Irish officer, Francis Robert Blewitt. After 1884, there were many reports of forest owlet sightings all over the country, but all of them were actually spotted owlets. Finally, in 1972, researchers considered the possibility that the forest owlet may have gone extinct.

Given this background, one can imagine the surprise and excitement that was generated when the news of its rediscovery came forth in 1997. Pamela Rasmussen, an American ornithologist was studying the preserved skins of forest owlet, when she realised that the bird looked very different than shown in the illustrations in Indian bird books. She realised that the Indian scientists were looking for it based on a wrong picture.

Her museum research also found that the record of forest owlet from Gujarat was a false one. It was then that Pamela decided to carry out a survey and began her search in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, where the erstwhile forests had disappeared giving way to crop fields. But there were no forest owlets to be seen.

In November 1997, researchers started a survey near Nandurbar district of Maharashtra and much to everyone’s surprise, two forest owlets were discovered. These owlets had made their reappearance after a staggering 113 years! In reality, the bird hadn’t gone extinct, but was, in fact, overlooked by many.

Localised distribution

After its rediscovery, several organisations carried out surveys to determine the distribution of this particular species. Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) initiated the surveys in 1999 and reported the presence of forest owlets from North-western Maharashtra and Melghat Tiger Reserve. The Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS), Pune also carried out a survey of these owlets in five central Indian states — their original locations. WRCS surveyed the states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and were successful in locating the forest owlets from Khandwa and Betul district in Madhya Pradesh and a few more locations in Northern Maharashtra. At present, this owlet species can be found in three states of India: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

From 2012 onwards, WRCS has been carrying out an ecological assessment of the forest owlet in Madhya Pradesh with the support of the Department of Science and Technology and the Raptor Research and Conservation Foundation, Mumbai. They are trying to understand the possible reasons for localised distribution of the forest owlet in Central India, its small population, and why it has not been able to colonise as successfully as its sympatric species such as the spotted owlet.

The forest owlet appears to have low breeding success as every year, there are only one or two juveniles emerging out of six to seven nests, while the spotted owlet, which shares the same habitat, has a higher survival rate. But the study has provided valuable insights into strategies owls have adapted for survival and how thoughtlessly we destroy them out of personal insecurities and irrational beliefs. But there is still a lot more to learn about these special creatures.