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Collared Owlet

Taenioptynx brodiei

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesForestCavity nestSmall · 63 g
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 1
Photo: (c) Morten Ross, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Morten Ross · cc-by
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 2
Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 3
Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 4
Photo: Cataloging Nature · CC BY 2.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 5
Photo: Allan Drewitt · CC BY 2.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 6
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 7
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 8
Photo: Shiv's fotografia · CC BY 4.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 9
Photo: Shiv's fotografia · CC BY 4.0
Collared Owlet (Taenioptynx brodiei), photo 10
Photo: Shiv's fotografia · CC BY 4.0

What the Collared Owlet sounds like

Sonogram of the Collared Owlet: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Ujjal Kishor De · Call · Ambedkar College, fatikroy, Unakoti, Tripura, India · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The collared owlet, being Asia's smallest owl species, measures between 15 and 17 cm. Females are generally larger than the males, weighing approximately 63 g, whereas males weigh in at 52 g. This bird has a grey-brown colour (depending on age-morph) and has a barred back and flanks, while the head is more spotted than barred. They have prominent white eyebrows, vibrant lemon-yellow-coloured eyes and a white throat patch. The chin, center of the breast and belly are mostly white. Voice: The collared owlet has very unusual but distinctive vocalizations. The male produces a 4-note phrase "wüp-wüwü-wüp" repeated at intervals of a few seconds, sometimes having incomplete phrases ending in "wüwü". Their call starts mellow and becomes shriller with excitement while turning their head in all directions, creating a ventriloquial effect and making it hard to locate the bird.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Collared Owlet

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 5 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Collared Owlet

Regular range

The map shades 14 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Taiwan India Thailand China Vietnam Malaysia Bhutan Nepal Cambodia Myanmar (Burma) Laos Hong Kong SAR China Pakistan Bangladesh

About the Collared Owlet

The collared owlet, also known as the collared pygmy owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Its natural habitat is submontane and montane forests with open spaces and is distributed throughout oriental Asia. It is the smallest owl in Asia, at 15 cm (5.9 in) and 60 g (2.1 oz).

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Sunda Owlet (Taenioptynx sylvaticus) Sunda OwletTaenioptynx sylvaticusThe Sunda owlet is a small owl from Borneo and Sumatra.

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