
Photo: Mike Gordon — wildlifeofeverywhere.com
Phodilus badius
Diet
Vertebrates and carrion
Habitat
Tropical wet evergreen forest, up to about 1,050m
Range
Southeast Asia and parts of India
Size
22.5–29cm
Weight
255–308g
The Oriental bay owl is a small, completely nocturnal owl, 22.5–29 cm long and 255–308 g, with a heart-shaped face with earlike extensions, a highly angular head and large, striking black eyes. The top and back half of the body are deep chestnut and the underparts and stomach cream and tan. It can be found in tropical wet evergreen forest, at heights up to about 1,050 m. It has several subspecies (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is found throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India, east to south China and south through the Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sundas. It hoots, screams and gives high-pitched whistle songs of four to seven melancholic whistles, and it tends to stay to itself. Eggs are laid between March and July (Wikipedia, general species account).