Spotted owlet

The spotted owlet is a small and stocky bird, barely {{convert|21|cm|in|abbr=on}} in size. The upperparts are grey-brown, heavily spotted with white. The underparts are white, streaked with brown. The facial disc is pale and the iris is yellow. There is a white neckband and supercilium. Sexes are similar. The flight is deeply undulating. The nominate form is darker than the paler forms such as indica of drier regions.{{cite book|author1=Rasmussen PC |author2=JC Anderton |name-list-style=amp |year=2005|title=Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide.|publisher=Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions|volume=2|pages=246–247}}

Early workers sometimes treated members of this species group as subspecies of Athene noctua. The two have been separated but they are considered to form a superspecies complex. Several subspecies have been described and about four or five are widely accepted (the race poikila{{cite journal|author1=Lan, Yang |author2=Li Gui-yuan |year=1989|title= A New Subspecies of The Athene brama (Spotted Little Owl)—A. b. poikila (Belly-mottled Little Owl)|journal= Zoological Research |volume=10|issue=4|pages=303–308}} is invalid and refers to Aegolius funereus;{{cite journal|author1=Sun, Yue-Hua |author2=Bi Zhong-Lin |author3=Wolfgang Scherzinger |year=2003|title= Belly-mottled little owl Athene brama poikila should be boreal owl (Aegolius funereus beickianus)|journal= Current Zoology |volume=49|issue=3|pages=389–392|url=http://www.actazool.org/paperdetail.asp?id=424}} A. b. fryi of southern India described by Stuart Baker and A. b. mayri described by Deignan from northern Thailand{{cite journal|title=New birds from the Indo-Chinese sub-region|author=Deignan HG|year=1941| journal=The Auk| volume=58|issue=3|pages=396–398|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v058n03/p0396-p0398.pdf|doi=10.2307/4078958|jstor=4078958}} are not usually recognized.){{cite journal|journal= J. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam|url=https://archive.org/stream/journalofnatural4192022natu#page/27/mode/1up|pages=25–43|year=1920|volume=4|issue=1|title=Notes on a collection of bird-skins formed by Mr. E.G.Herbert, C.M.Z.S, M.B.O.U|author=Baker, ECS}} The five widely recognized subspecies are albida Koelz, 1950 of western Asia in Iran and Pakistan; indica (Franklin, 1831) of northern India; brama (Temminck, 1821) of southern India which is darker than indica; ultra Ripley, 1948 (not always recognized) of northeastern India is said to have white spots on the mantle and "higher pitched calls"; and pulchra Hume, 1873 of Southeast Asia from Myanmar and Thailand extending into Cambodia and Vietnam. The northern and southern Indian populations intergrade and there is no dividing boundary. The northern indica populations have the upperparts brownish. Size decreases from north to south. The species is not found in Sri Lanka, although birds on the Indian mainland are found even at the tip of Rameshwaram.{{cite book|author1=Ali, S |author2=S D Ripley |name-list-style=amp | title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan|edition=2nd|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume= 3|year= 1981 |pages =299–302|isbn=0-19-562063-1 }}{{cite journal|author=Baker, E. C. S.|year=1919|title= Descriptions of subspecies of Carine brama|journal=Bulletin B.O.C.|volume=40|pages=60–61}}

File:Spotted Owlet in Patiala 03.jpg

This species is nocturnal but is often seen during the day. When disturbed from their daytime site, they bob their head and stare at intruders.{{cite book|author=Ali, Salim|year=1996|title=The Book of Indian Birds.|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=12th|isbn=0-19-561634-0}} Their presence can often be located by the small birds that mob the owlets while they are perching in a tree during daytime.The call is a harsh and loud churring and chuckling {{not a typo|chirurr-chirurr-chirurr}} ending with a {{not a typo|chirwak-chirwak}} and they call mainly during early dawn or just after sunset.{{cite journal|author1=Brahmachary, R. L. |author2=Basu, T. K. |author3=Sengupta, A. J. |year=1972|title= On the daily screeching time of a colony of spotted owls Athene brama (Temminck)|journal= J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume=69|issue=3|pages=649–651|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48289640}}

The brain has a pineal gland, formerly thought to be absent in the owls.{{cite journal|author1=Haldar, Chandana |author2=Prasenjit Guchhait |year=2000|title=Pineal gland of a nocturnal bird, Indian spotted owlet,Athene brama: Morphological and endocrine observations|journal= Journal of Experimental Zoology|volume= 287|issue=2|pages=145–150|doi=10.1002/1097-010X(20000701)287:2<145::AID-JEZ4>3.0.CO;2-K|pmid=10900433|bibcode=2000JEZ...287..145H }} Birds show variation in the melatonin concentration between day and night. A high melatonin level is associated with sleep and low levels are associated with high alertness and foraging activity. Spotted owlets, however, show only a slightly lower melatonin concentration at night with a slight increase in the early afternoon. Other owls such as the barn owl show little day-night variation.{{cite journal|vauthors=Guchhait P, Haldar C |year=1999 |title= Circadian rhythms of melatonin and sex steroids in a nocturnal bird, Indian spotted owlet Athene brama during reproductively active and inactive phases|journal=Biol Rhythm Res|volume=30|pages=508–516|doi=10.1076/brhm.30.5.508.1400|issue=5|bibcode=1999BioRR..30..508G }}{{cite journal|author1=Martin Wikelski|author2=Elisa M. Tarlow|author3=Corine M. Eising|author4=Ton G.G. Groothuis|author5=Ebo Gwinner|year=2005|title=Do night-active birds lack daily melatonin rhythms? A case study comparing a diurnal and a nocturnal-foraging gull species|journal=J. Ornithol.|volume=147|issue=1|pages=107–111|doi=10.1007/s10336-005-0018-4|s2cid=32786182|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~wikelski/Publications/2005%20Wikelski%20et%20al%20Gulls%20J%20Ornithol.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416212307/http://www.princeton.edu/~wikelski/Publications/2005%20Wikelski%20et%20al%20Gulls%20J%20Ornithol.pdf|archive-date=2007-04-16}} Seasonal changes in glandular activity have been associated with environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.{{cite journal|author1=Chandana Haldar |author2=C.C. Sudha Kumari |author3=Prasenjit Guchhait |year=2002|title= Seasonal Adreno-Cortical Cycle of a Nocturnal Bird, Indian Spotted Owlet Athene brama: Biochemical and Morphological Observations |journal=Biological Rhythm Research |volume=33|issue=1|pages=53–63|doi=10.1076/brhm.33.1.53.1323|bibcode=2002BioRR..33...53H |s2cid=85091322 }}

They hunt a variety of insects and small vertebrates. In Pakistan they have been found to take mostly insect prey.{{cite journal|author1=Shah, Z.A. |author2=M.A. Beg |name-list-style=amp |year= 2001|title= Food of the Spotted Little Owl (Athene brama) at a place where a cropland and a sandy wasteland met|journal= Pakistan J. Zool.|volume= 33|pages= 53–56}}{{cite journal|author1=Shah, Z.A. |author2=M.A. Beg |name-list-style=amp |year=2001|title= Food of the Spotted Little Owl (Athene brama) at a place where a cropland and a Sandy wasteland met |journal=Pakistan J. Zool.|volume= 33|pages=53–56}}{{cite journal|author=Beg, M.A.|author2=M. Maqbool|author3=M. Mushtaq–ul–Hassan|name-list-style=amp|year=1990|title=Food habits of spotted owlet, Athene brama|journal=Pakistan J. Agri. Sci.|volume=27|pages=127–131}} In the arid region of Jodhpur, they have been found to take more rodents (especially in the genus Mus and tend to avoid other rodents such as Tatera) prior to the breeding season.{{cite journal|author1=Jain AP |author2=R Advani |year=1983|title= Winter food of spotted owlet, Athene brama indica|journal= Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume= 80|issue=2|pages=415–416|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48744025}} Bats, toads, small snakes such as Ramphotyphlops braminus have been noted.{{cite journal| title= Food habits and prey spectrum of Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) in Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, southern India|author1=Santhanakrishnan R |author2=Ali AHMS |author3=Anbarasan U | journal= Chinese Birds | year=2011| volume=2| issue=4| pages=193–199| doi=10.5122/cbirds.2011.0027| doi-access=free}} They may also take scorpions and molluscs.{{cite journal|author=Pande, S.|author2=A. Pawashe|author3=D.B. Bastawade|author4=P.P. Kulkarni|name-list-style=amp |year=2004|title=Scorpions and molluscs: some new dietary records for Spotted Owlet Athene brama in India |journal=Newsletter for Ornithologists|volume= 1|issue=5|pages=68–70}} Nests near human habitations may show higher breeding success due to the increased availability of rodents for feeding young.{{cite journal|author1=Pande, Satish |author2=Amit Pawashe |author3=Murlidhar N. Mahajan |author4=Charu Joglekar |author5=Anil Mahabal |name-list-style=amp |year=2007|title= Effect of Food and Habitat on Breeding Success in Spotted Owlets (Athene brama) Nesting in Villages and Rural Landscapes in India|journal= Journal of Raptor Research |volume=41|issue=1|pages=26–34|doi=10.3356/0892-1016(2007)41[26:EOFAHO]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=85854496 |doi-access=free}}

The breeding season is November to April. Courtship behaviour includes bill grasping, allopreening and ritual feeding. The female may call with the male, bob head and deflect its tail in invitation.{{cite journal|author=Hassan, Mehmood-ul|year=2008|title=Some observations on behaviour of Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) during its breeding season|journal=The Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences|volume=18|issue=1|pages=47–49|url=http://hisoft.us/sites/japs/docs/18_1_2008/07-732-Mahmood-Final.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817221409/http://hisoft.us/sites/japs/docs/18_1_2008/07-732-Mahmood-Final.pdf|archive-date=2011-08-17}} The social organization of family groups is not clear and multiple males may copulate with a female and females may attempt pseudocopulation,{{cite journal|author1=Pravin Charde |author2=Raju Kasambe |name-list-style=amp |year=2007|title=Study of the mounting behaviour of Spotted Owlets Athene brama in Maharashtra, India|journal= Abstracts of World Owl Conference|url=http://worldowlconference.com/downloads/Abstracts%20for%20Oral%20Presentations.pdf}} possibly a kind of displacement behaviour.{{cite journal|author=Watson, Adam|year=1957|title=The behaviour, breeding, and food-ecology of the snowy owl Nyctea scandiaca|journal=Ibis|volume=99|issue=3|pages=419–462|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1957.tb01959.x}}{{cite journal|author=Kasambe, Raju|year=2004|title= Unusual mounting behaviour of a female Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)|journal=Newsletter for Birdwatchers |volume=44|issue=4|pages=63–64}} They nest in cavities often competing with other hole-nesters such as mynas, rollers and parakeets. They may also nest in holes in vertical embankments.{{cite journal|author=Satish Pande|author2=Amit Pawashe|author3=M.N. Mahajan|author4=Anil Mahabal|name-list-style=amp|year=2006|title=Changing nest site preference for holes in earth cuttings in Spotted Owlet Athene brama|journal=Indian Birds|volume=2|issue=1|pages=7–8|url=http://www.indianbirds.in/pdfs/Changing%20nest%20site%20preference.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720174314/http://www.indianbirds.in/pdfs/Changing%20nest%20site%20preference.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-20}} The nest may be lined with leaves and feathers or may use the existing lining from a prior occupant. The typical clutch is made up of three or four spherical white eggs (30.9mm long and 26.3 mm wide, 11.6g) and incubation begins with the first laid eggs leading to a wide variation in the size of the chicks. The young are fed initially on insects such as cockroaches and later fed small vertebrate prey such as mice (a toad Bufo stomaticus has been noted in Gujarat). The chicks gain weight during the early stages but lose weight before fledging.{{cite journal| journal=ZooKeys|year=2011| pages=75–88| doi=10.3897/zookeys.132.1346|vauthors=Pande S, Pawashe A, Mahajan MB, Mahabal A, Yosef R, Dahanukar N | title=Biometry based ageing of nestling Indian Spotted Owlets ( Athene brama brama)| pmid=22140335| issue=132| pmc=3208435 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2011ZooK..132...75P }} Only one or two chicks may fledge and they leave the nest in about a month.{{cite journal|author=Anika Jadhav, Parasharya, B. M.|year=2003|title= Some observations on the nesting behaviour and food of the spotted owlet Athene brama|journal= Zoos' Print Journal|volume=18|issue=8|pages=1163–1165|doi=10.11609/jott.zpj.18.8.1163-5|doi-access=free}}

A coccidian parasite, Eimeria atheni, has been described from this species.{{cite journal|author1=Chauhan M.P.S. |author2=Jain S.P. |year=1979|title= A new coccidium, Eimeria atheni from a spotted owlet, Athene brama (Temminck)|journal= Rivista di Parassitologia |volume=40|pages=167–169}} An ectoparasitic mite, Neocheletiella athene, has been described from a specimen from the Antwerp zoo.{{cite journal|author1=Fain, Alex |author2=Andre V Bochkov |name-list-style=amp |year=2001|title= On some new or little known species of parasitic Cheyletidae (Acari:Prostigmata)|journal= Acarologia|volume=52|issue=2|pages=145–160|url=http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/ACARI/staff/bochkov/Bochkov-paper/Bochkov-2002/FainBochkov(4)2002.pdf }} Bird lice of the species Colpocephalum pectinatum are known to be ectoparasites.{{cite journal|author1=Price, Roger D. |author2=James R. Beer |name-list-style=amp |year=1963|title= The Species of Colpocephalum (Mallophaga: Menoponidae) Known to Occur on the Strigiformes|journal= Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society|volume= 36|issue=1|pages=58–64|url=http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/PubsHTML/LicePubPages/LicePDF%27s/1963/Price&Beer1963speciesColpocephalum.pdf|jstor=25083305}} The Acanthocephalan parasite Apororhynchus chauhani was discovered in the intestine of the spotted owlet.{{cite book |last1=Sen |first1=J. K. |date=1975 |chapter=On a new species of Apororhynchus Shipley, 1899 (Apororhynchoidea: Apororhynchidae) from India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XVI_AAAAYAAJ |title=Dr. B. S. Chauhan Commemorative Volume |location=Orissa, India |publisher=Zoological Society of India |pages=211–213 |editor1-first=K. K. |editor1-last=Tiwara |editor2-first=C. B. |editor2-last=Srivastava}}

File:Spotted owlet by Saptarshi Gayen.jpg

These birds, being very familiar to humans especially with their loud calling, have been associated with bad omens.{{cite journal|author=H. A. Rose |year=1910 |title=Panjab Folklore Notes|journal= Folklore|volume= 21|issue=2|pages=216–217|doi=10.1080/0015587X.1910.9719930}} The species name brama is from the French name Chouette brame and indirectly refers to this owl's Indian habitat by way of homage to Brahma, the Hindu supreme spirit.{{cite journal |journal=Buceros |volume=9 |issue=2 |year=2004 |pages=1–31 |url=http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/Vol%209%20(2)dictionary.pdf |title=A dictionary of scientific bird names originating from the Indian region |author=Pittie, Aasheesh |access-date=13 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401022658/http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/Vol%209%20%282%29dictionary.pdf |archive-date=2010-04-01 }}

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{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite journal|author1=Kumar, TS |author2=Rao, JVR |year=1984|title= Diurnal changes in the body temperature of nestling Spotted Owlet, Athene brama brama (T) |journal=Geobios, Jodhpur |volume=11|issue=5|pages=216–218}}
• {{cite journal|author1=Lamba, BS |author2=Tyagi, AK |year=1976|title= Incubation period in Northern Spotted Owlet, Athene brama indica (Franklin) |journal=Newsl. Zool. Surv. India|volume= 2|issue=4|pages=128–129}}
• {{cite book|author=Suresh, Kumar T. |year=1980|title= The life-history of the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama brama Temminck) in Andhra Pradesh.|publisher= Raptor Research Centre, Hyderabad. Pub. No. 4.}}
• {{cite journal|author1=Mahmood-ul-Hassan, Muhammad |author2=Beg, Mirza Azhar |author3=Mushtaq-ul-Hassan, Muhammad |author4=Rana, Shahnaz Ahmed |year=2007|title= Nesting and Breeding Habits of the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) in Punjab, Pakistan|journal= Journal of Raptor Research|volume= 41|issue=1|pages=50–52|doi=10.3356/0892-1016(2007)41[50:NABHOT]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=85630448 |doi-access=free}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category|Athene brama}}

{{Wikispecies|Athene brama}}

• {{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=2288&m=0 |title=Spotted Owlet – BirdLife Species Factsheet |author=Compilers: Stuart Butchart, Jonathan Ekstrom |work=Evaluators: Jeremy Bird, Stuart Butchart |publisher=BirdLife International. |year=2008 |access-date=June 1, 2009 }}*
• [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/spotted-owlet-athene-brama Spotted Owlet videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection
• [http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Athene&species=brama Owl pages]

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spotted owlet

Category:Birds of South Asia

Category:Birds of Southeast Asia

spotted owlet

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