TIIE BIRDS OF SINGAPORE ISLAND 
island we have seen one, always one only at a time, sitting on a 
bough high up in a tree resting during the day. But these 
occasions are accidental and it is not till the dusk has fallen 
and it is really beginning to get dark that one usually sees 
this owl. Then he leaves his iiiding place j takes a short flight 
to a neighbouring tree to stretch his wings and sits there in a 
conspicuous position, looking very foolish and blinking his 
eyes for a minute or two before settling down to the really 
serious business of the night > The call note is well-known 
locally, and indeed one of the common night noises of Singa- 
pore, although perhaps not generally recognised as belonging 
to an owl. Recognition of this note is complicated by the fact 
that the call of at least one, and perhaps two, other small owls 
are heard in Singapore, and it is difficult to describe the 
differences. The present species has a note of two syllables 
very aptly written by Hume as ''tvoo-oo'^ but the two syllables 
are frequently not so distinct as this indicates and the voice 
of the owl seems to iis somewhat as follows — "woeho'' — 
repealed a varying number of times. The brown-hawk owl's 
call is more of a "cat-caU**, a more cheerful, lively note with 
less of a "whooping*' character about it. 
Other habits : — The collared owl is a resident bird and of 
course nocturnal. The food consists chiefiy of insects, but 
no doubt other small living things are eaten. 
The eggs are white and almost round and usually laid in 
a hollow tree, there being little attempt at nest making. Ridley 
records that this bird sometimes nests on a beam in the roof 
of a house. 
W. E. Maxwell writing to Kelham said: "Tht; punggok, 
a small owl, has a soft plaintive note, and is supposed to make 
love to the moon. *Seperti punggok merindu bulan' ('just as 
the punggok sighs for the moon') h a common expression in 
Perak, applied to a desponding lover/' 
Kelham who had a knack of creating atmosphere when 
writing of birds p very aptly said : Round Tanglin, Singapore, 
on a still evening, their mournful monotonous hoot was com- 
monly to be heard, and soft and low as it seemed to be it was 
wonderful at what a distance it could be heard, certainly at 
from a quarter to half a mile". 
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