Severe look - a photo on Flickriver

Severe look

            Brown wood owl (in German:  "Malaienkauz"), seen at the rococo festival in the gardens of Ansbach Palace, Ansbach, Franconia (Bavaria)

Some background information:

The brown wood owl (Strix leptogrammica) is an owl which is a resident breeder in south Asia from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to western Indonesia and south China. This species is a part of the family of owls known as typical owls (Strigidae), which contains most owls. It belongs to the earless owl genus Strix.

The brown wood owl is medium large (34 to 57 cm), with upperparts uniformly dark brown and faint white spottings on the shoulders. The underparts are buff with brown streaking. The facial disc is brown or rufous-brown, with cream-coloured eyebrows and a narrow but distinct black rim around the dark brown eyes.  The throat has a narrow, white horizontal zone, contrasting with the brown neck. The upper breast has a rufous- or chestnut-brown pectoral band, barred blackish or dark brown. The rest of the underparts are creamy-buff, densely barred brown.  Tarsi are feathered to the base of the toes, which are pale leaden with dull grey claws. Female and male brown wood owls look quite similar.

The call is a "hoo hoo hoo", a deep "goke-goke-ga-looo" or a loud scream. The alarm call is a bark, "wow-wow". Some subspecies are known to produce distinct vocalizations. They are also different in appearance and parapatric, and might be distinct species: The northern Strix leptogrammica newarensis group (Himalayan wood-owl) which occur from the Himalayan foothills of Kashmir east to Taiwan have a soft low "to-hooh" not unlike a rock dove cooing. Strix leptogrammica bartelsi (Bartels's wood-owl), a wood-owl from Java, the southeasternmost taxon, has a loud, forceful, single "hooh" with long pauses between the calls.

The brown wood owl is an uncommon resident bird of dense forests. This species is very nocturnal but it can often be located by the small birds that mob it while it is roosting in a tree. If disturbed at roost, this owl will compress itself into a shape resembling a stub of wood, while watching through half-closed eyes. If this fails, it will fly off silently. They are particularly vocal on moonlit nights. The brown wood owl feeds mainly on birds, reptiles and small mammals, such as rats, mice and shrews, and nests in tree holes or on forked trunks, always laying two eggs.

The owl on my picture belongs to the birds of prey park at Schillingsfürst Castle, which amongst others also keeps different owl species not far away from Ansbach, where it was shown.

Taken in: Deutschland / Bayern / Ansbach (show map)

Taken on: July 3, 2016

Tags:

Europe

Deutschland

Bayern

Bavaria

Franken

Franconia

Middle Franconia

Mittelfranken

German

deutsch

Ansbach

Schillingsfürst

Anbacher ResidenzSchloss Schillingsfürst

owl

Eule

Kauz

brown wood owl

Asian brown wood owl

Malaienkauz

Strix leptogrammica

bird

Vogel

raptor

bird of prey

ravener

predator bird

Raubvogel

animal portrait

Tierportrait

facial disk

face

Gesicht

eyes

Augen

beak

Schnabel

animal

Tier

owl centre

Eulengarten

Falkenhof

Raubvogelgehege

Rokoko Festspiele

Festspiele

Fest

orangery

Orangerie

park

garden

gardens

Garten

castle grounds

chateau park

Schlosspark

residence

Residenz

palace

Palast

Schloss

castle

mansion

hall

manor

manor house

stately home

chateau

summer

Sommer

July

Juli

2016 « less

Sets appears in: • Franconia, Germany 2005 - 2025 • Summer

Groups appears in: • Germany • European Vacation more » • Bayern • Germany, Deutschland • Franken / Franconia • bavaria • *Nature* (comment 2) • NaturePhotographs • Nature's Pot-of-Gold • NATURE GREEN STAR ☆ P1&A3 • Nature's Creations-P1/C3-No people or buildings • The concept is Europe • !Addicted to Nature!(Post 2-Award 3)Sweeper Active • Best shots nature - | Flora | Fauna | Landscapes | CONTEST | « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, f/5.0, 1/50 sec, 52.8mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Lens:	5.0-100.0 mm
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Focal Length:	52.8mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)
Show full info

Stats: 3,773 views / 11 comments