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OWLS IN INDIA

  1. Spot-bellied Eagle Owl Bubo nepalensis
  2. Dusky Eagle Owl Bubo coromandus
  3. Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo
  4. Indian Eagle Owl Bubo bengalensis
  5. Tawny Fish Owl Ketupa flavipes
  6. Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis
  7. Buffy Fish Owl Ketupa ketupu
  8. Mottled Wood Owl Strix ocellata
  9. Brown Wood Owl Strix leptogrammica
  10. Tawny Owl Strix aluco
  11. Himalayan Owl Strix nivicolum
  12. Brown Hawk Owl Ninox scutulata
  13. Hume's Hawk Owl Ninox scutulata – restricted to Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal
  14. Andaman Hawk Owl Ninox affinis – restricted to Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal
  15. Andaman Barn Owl Tyto deroepstorffi – restricted to Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal
  16. Common Barn Owl Tyto alba
    17. Call of a Barn Owl circling over its roosting spot was recorded at night by Ramit Singal
  17. Common Barn Owl Tyto alba
  18. Andaman Barn Owl Tyto deroepstorffi – restricted to Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal
    Recorded by Pankaj Koparde in 2013
  19. Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longmembris
  20. Oriental Bay Owl Phodilus badius
  21. Sri Lankan Bay Owl Phodilus assimilis
  22. Northern Long-eared Owl Asio otus
  23. Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

    24. Smaller Owls

  24. Andaman Scops Owl Otus balli – restricted to Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal
  25. Mountain Scops Owl Otus spilocephalus
  26. Indian Scops Owl Otus bakkamoena
  27. Collared Scops Owl Otus lettia
  28. Pallid Scops Owl Otus brucei
  29. Eurasian Scops Owl Otus scops
  30. Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia

    Walden's Scop-owl Otus sunia modestus
  31. Nicobar Scops Owl Otus alius – restricted Nicobar Islands, Bay of Bengal
  32. Collared Owlet Taenioptynx brodiei
  33. Asian Barred Owlet Glaucidium cuculoides
  34. Jungle Owlet Glaucidium radiatum

    Credit by Pankaj Lad

    Recorded by Dr. Samira Agnihotri in 2005

  35. Little Owl Athene noctua
  36. Spotted Owlet Athene brama
  37. Forest Owlet Ahene blewitti
    Call of the Forest Owlet sitting on a Terminalia tree species recorded by Ramit Singal

  38. Boreal Owl Aegolius funereus – vagrant
Illegal Owl Trade may be decimating owl populations in several parts of India

In India owls are both revered and feared. A paradox, as on one hand the owl is depicted as a "vahan" (vehicle) of Goddess Laxmi, and on the other hand, an owl sitting on the roof of a home is considered an ill omen. There is also a more sinister twist to this. There is a big, illegal trade of owl species which increases manifold during the Indian festivals of Dusshera and Diwali. In the bird markets of Uttar Pradesh there is a seasonal and brutal trade in owls. There are many beliefs and superstitions, one of them is that sacrificing an owl in a home during Lakshmi puja will mean that the goddess of wealth will remain with the family. There are a number of trading points and apparently, quite a lot of the trade is routed through Agra as per reports received. Petty traders and small businessmen believe that sacrificing an owl by a "tantrik" or a black magic mystic will increase their business.

According to a report from our friends in Nepal, border districts of Kanchanpur, Banke, Kapilbastu, Rupandehi, Saptari, Sunsari and Darchula are suspected for owl trade with India. A huge number of owls are traded and it was estimated that some 2000 owls are reportedly hunted and traded every year across borders of India, Nepal, China and other neighbouring countries.

WWF-India and TRAFFIC India prepared an excellent preview titled "Imperilled custodians of the night", the first about the problems threatening owls in India.

Owls are traded at high prices, going up to Rs 30,000 per bird. Almost every part of the owls is used for black magic rituals: Talons, skulls, bones, feathers and meat, of course.

Apart from habitat degradation owls are also falling prey to rodenticides as described by Dr Prachi Mehta in her owl studies.

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