Athene blewitti
| Forest owlet | |
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| Forest owlet at Melghat Tiger Reserve | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Athene |
| Species: | A. blewitti |
| Binomial name | |
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Athene blewitti (Hume, 1873) |
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| Current records in red and historic records in grey | |
| Synonyms | |
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Heteroglaux blewitti |
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Heteroglaux blewitti
The forest owlet (Athene blewitti) is an owl that is endemic to the forests of central India. This bird is on the verge of extinction. This species belongs to the typical owls family, Strigidae. After it was described in 1873 and it was not seen after 1884 and considered extinct until it was rediscovered 113 years later in 1997 by Pamela Rasmussen. Searches for the species in the locality given in the label of the last collected specimen failed and it was discovered that the specimen had been stolen from the British Museum by Richard Meinertzhagen and resubmitted with a label bearing false locality information. It is known from a small number of localities and the populations are very low within the fragmented and shrinking forests of central India, leaving the species critically endangered.
The forest owlet is small (23 cm) and stocky. It is a typical owlet with a rather unspotted crown and heavily banded wings and tail. They have a relatively large skull and beak. Unlike the spotted owlet, the forest owlet has the fewer and fainter spots on the crown and back. The upperparts are dark grey-brown. The upper breast is almost solid brown and the sides are barred with a white central wedge in the lower breast that is sometimes unmarked, especially in males. The primaries are darker and distinct. The wings and tail are banded with white trailing edges. A dark carpal patch on the underwing visible in flight. The facial disc is pale and the eyes are yellow.
The species was described by Allan Octavian Hume in 1873 based on a specimen that he obtained from F. R. Blewitt, who had collected it in December 1872 from Busnah-Phooljan near Basna on the Phuljar highway in eastern Madhya Pradesh. Francis Robert Blewitt (1815-1881) and his brother William Turnbull Blewitt (1816-1889) were sons of Francis Robert Blewitt (1787-1836) who served in the 8th Light Dragoons. Robert (as junior was referred to) was also in the army while William worked as a customs officer. Both were interested in birds and collected eggs and specimens. Valentine Ball mention that Robert collected extensively for him, but it is said that the specimens bear the labels of William and some credit the epithet to William Turnbull Blewitt. Some have suggested that William may have used his brother's name to avoid being questioned on his whereabouts as Hume was the head of the customs department.
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Wikipedia