A serendipitous discovery

Saturday, 12 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s birdlife aka ‘avi fauna’ have been studied and observed for many years. It was thought that every species was recognised and identified by that time. But there was yet an undiscovered species of owl lurking in the shadows of our rainforests.

It was first observed by its call in 1995 by reputed Sri Lankan Ornithologist Deepal Warakagoda, who finally had a visual sighting of this new owl in 2001 using a flashlight in Sinharaja. This sighting launched a project with the unison of several individuals and organisations who spend days in the field which involved treks from dusk till dawn braving leech infected terrain. By 2004 enough detail had been gathered and the research (Warakagoda & Ramussen 2004) declared this owl as a new species. The species was given the scientific name Otus Thilohoffmanni after Thilo W. Hoffmann, Sri Lanka’s leading worker for nature conservation, particularly for his role in saving Sinharaja, where it was discovered. ‘Serendib’ was chosen as being an ancient name for Sri Lanka and to signify the serendipity of the discovery. “The new species is a small scops owl about 17 cm in length, with a short tail, and almost uniformly rufescent upperparts but for the presence of small black spots all over the body. The face is a little darker, and underparts paler than upperparts, with the belly becoming whitish. It has no distinct ‘true’ ear-tufts, but see below. The irides are orange-yellow in the male and yellow in the female and juvenile. The beak, legs and claws are whitish. The legs are feathered on the tibia and upper tarsi. The vocalisation comprises a single note, pu’u’u, repeated at long intervals. Male and female call in the same pattern but in different keys” (Warakagoda D 2006). I have been wanting to see this rare and endemic owl for many years, and during this year alone I travelled very frequently to Sinharaja in search of it to no avail. Finally I got a call one Saturday of a sighting of two chicks. This was phenomenal news, to my knowledge very few or no records have been observed of two chicks of this species. Reaching the location the next day, my trusty guide has done the work for me and located the young owls, who were huddled together, perched on a nearby branch. Being at eye level this was perfect for photographers like me. Not wanting to disturb the birds, I ensured to keep a good distance and keep the noise level to minimum. They were the cutest owls I have ever seen, and were unfazed by my presence. Spending a good two hours I went to town clicking away, but the low light didn’t help and it was very difficult to get the birds in focus. One of the best shots which I got out of the thousands I took was of one of the owls cuddling and resting on its sibling. The cute moment was captured beautifully in the photograph. Occasionally waking up from their slumber the birds observed me with mild indifference, yawning and stretching from time to time. Some of the villagers passing by were amazed themselves and many told me that despite living their entire lives in the forest they never observed these owls before. This sighting was all thanks to my trusty guide Thilake who went to great lengths braving leeches and other perils in the rainforest to find these elusive birds. The survival of these endemic owls as well as all other denizens of our rainforests depends on the preservation of their habitats which are shrinking on a daily basis to make way for human settlements and development. Unless a sustainable approach is utilised this ecosystem will be severely affected and which in turn would affect all of us in the long run. (Read more from Rajiv at www.wildlifediaries.blogspot.com. You can view his photography portfolio at www.flickr.com/photos/rajivw and contact him via email on [email protected].)