The return of the forest owlet Updated: Updated: March 05, 2021 12:44 IST Unlike most other owls, this species hunts during the day, when it is visible and exposed to assaults by others Share Article AAA The forest owlet has an uncanny resemblance to the more common spotted owlet. Photo: Prachi Mehta
Unlike most other owls, this species hunts during the day, when it is visible and exposed to assaults by others Prachi Mehta was always fascinated by owls. When she was a student of wildlife biology in 1997, birders spotted a forest owlet perched on a bare teak tree in northwestern Maharashtra. The news sent the birding world into a tizzy. Although the species doesn’t lurk in the dark nor frequent remote mountain valleys, it had dodged ornithologists for more than a hundred years.