Himalayan and Kashnniri Birds 



Owls 



Owls are nocturnal birds of prey. Their 

 structure is well-adapted to their nocturnal, 

 predacious habits : they have soft, silky plum- 

 age, large forwardly-directed eyes, big ears 

 (often surrounded by aigrettes or tufts of 

 feathers), and feathered legs. The colouring 

 of all is very similar — mottled brown. They 

 have distinctive calls, which, however, are 

 not easy to assign to the birds that emit them 

 because these are so nocturnal in their habits. 

 Owing to the uniform colouring that runs 

 through the family, it is difficult so to describe 

 owls as to make it easy for the casual observer 

 to identify each species he sees. 



142. Syrnium nivicola : The Himalayan 

 Wood-Owl. F. 1 158, J. 66, -IV. E. W. 



No aigrettes or ear tufts. Tail rather long 

 for an owl. Plumage brown with creamy spots 

 and thin wavy lines. Lower plumage cream- 

 coloured with dark longitudinal streaks and 

 crossbars. 



I have not identified its call. Mr. A. E. 



Jones writes, " This owl has a variety of notes 



besides the usual ' Who-hoo.' One is a peculiar 



squawk which can easily be imitated by placing 



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