Jungle Spotting: Can you spot these owls, the masters of camouflaging?

Aren't owls the masters of optical illusions!

In our series, Jungle Spotting, we will take you inside the jungles of India and across the world, highlighting the best wildlife and adventure travel experiences and facts. In this story, we introduce to the masters of optical illusions in our jungles - owls!

While most owl species are not endangered, spotting one of them definitely is. In their natural habitat, owls are mostly perched on trees, sliding between branches and hiding in the nooks. They often go unnoticed, barely moving, very stealthily at that unless you're lucky enough to spot one in-flight.

Read more: Inside India's jungles and national parks

India is home to around 36 species of owls, all protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. Owls are solitary in nature and are nocturnal, usually hunting at night. Sadly, the bird is commonly linked to a number of taboos and rituals in the country and is trapped in large numbers.

In India, the common species of owls are -barn owl, Asian barred owlet, dusky eagle owl, spotted owlet, tawny fish owl, eastern grass owl and more.

While you may or may not be able to spot them and need binoculars to make them out from such optical illusions, a number of sites in India are their natural habitat. The birds usually prefer to live in vast, open spaces, near a water source and are known to repurpose spaces to their liking.

Kanha National Park, Panchmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Himalayas, Kashmir & Himachal (tawny owls can only be spotted here), the Sundarbans (fish owls), Northeast, and the terai regions too.

Jim Corbett, the India-born British hunter, who turned into a naturalist and worked for wildlife conservation in India has an interesting fact to his name. While it is difficult to differentiate between the different owl species, experts known them from their calls (or shrieks in some cases!).

Jim Corbett famously identified the spot-bellied eagle owl with its call, naming it as the call of a banshee. The species has an eerie shriek to its credit, and can bring the forest to a standstill for some micro-seconds! Of course, the species has made it to popular folklore and legends with its call.