Owls continue to be the symbol of mystery! Most of them are nocturnal species. The two neighbors in this category (available around Bangalore) are Bran Owl and Indian Eagle Owl (or Rock Eagle Owl or Bengal Eagle Owl) among others including spotted owl lets, Brown fish owl, Mottled wood owl, Indian scops owl, short eared owl so on and so forth!
The specialty features of their eyes, ears, and the sound less flight made them one of the most efficient hunters of the night. They relay on star light and the sharp ears to locate their prey and hunt in pitch dark. The eyes are believed to be at least 3 times sensitive to light than human! Bran owls can detect and locate their prey by just listening to the heart beat of its potential food!
Barn owl and Indian eagle owls hunts from perch. Their powerful talons, soundless flight and strong sensory organs makes the prey almost impossible to escape once target is locked. The front facial disc has been adopted to reflect any sound towards ears and make owls more sensitive to minute sounds made by their prey. They can rotate their head almost 360 deg and the eye movement is restricted and front faced. If homo sapiens had that big eye like eagle owl, then it would have been the size of oranges (as compared to ratio of eye size to head) ;)
The owls are treated as bad omens and often killed. Also they have been butchered due to some superstitious beliefs causing a major threat to their existence. Owls are protected under wildlife act in India.
The owls prey mostly on rodents and are naturally the farmer friends helping them to protect their crops from rodents. They contribute to ecological balance by keeping a check on rodent population which are pests !!!
The mystery continues......
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