- Taenioptynx brodiei
Glaucidium brodiei
Identification
15–17 cm (6-6¾ in) - Smallest Asian owl
- Large round head
- Rufous brown or grey body
- Dark brown bars on back, wings, tail, sides of upper breast
- White lower breast and belly
- Dark brown spots on sides
- Creamy-buff spots on head
- White throat with a brown bar
- Buff collar
- Two orange and black eye spots on back of head
Distribution
Asia: found in Afghanistan, China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Taiwan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malay Peninsula.
Composite of images of the same individual, showing occipital or false eyes.
Sattal, altitude 5500 feet, Nainital, Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 26 October 2023
Taxonomy
Formerly included in genus Glaucidium. Sunda Owlet was formerly included in Collared Owlet.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[1].
- G. b. brodiei:
- Pakistan to southern China, south-eastern Tibet, northern Indochina and Malay Peninsula
- G. b. pardalotum:
Habitat
Evergreen montane forests.
Behaviour
Most active at dusk and night.
Diet
The diet includes small birds, rodents, large insects and lizards.
Breeding
It nests in a tree cavity. 4 white eggs are laid and both parents feed the young.
Vocalisation
A four note series of short whistles of the same pitch. This species is known to vocalize all day.
Recording by Alok Tewari
Recorded early morning
Sat Tal Forest, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 19 October 2018.
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Lepage D. (2021) [Avibase - https://avibase.ca/8BB833BB]. Retrieved 23 January 2021
- Holt, D. W., R. Berkley, C. Deppe, P. L. Enríquez, J. L. Petersen, J. L. Rangel Salazar, K. P. Segars, K. L. Wood, J. S. Marks, and P. C. Rasmussen (2021). Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (P. C. Rasmussen, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.colowl1.01.1
- Wikipedia
- Birding in Taiwan
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Collared Owlet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Collared_Owlet
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
