The Spotted Owlet
The Buru Sadam property where we stayed in Kakrajhore has three Mohul trees just outside its fence. After 5 pm on Sunday, our second day and the only full day of our stay there, I saw an owlet flying from one tree to the other. I went there armed with my camera but soon realised that it was too dark for any photography. I couldn't even properly see the bird.
It started calling in a harsh tone towards me. It was also looking straight at me with a quizzical look and bobbing its head up and down in a comical way. I should have immediately identified the bird because I have both heard and recorded this call before. It was a spotted owlet. But at that time I remained confused.
When I was convinced that photography was impossible, I quickly went back to my room and brought the recorder and mic. The bird had flown back to the farthest tree but it soon came back to the front one and allowed me to record its call.
I knew it was an owlet but was confused between jungle and spotted. Funny. I have both the recordings of these birds on Xeno-Canto. And even here in Kakrajhore I ended up recording both. While I could see the Spotted, I couldn't see the Jungle. It was calling from some distant perch in the forest.
Here are both the recordings.
