A Jungle Owlet - Travel Tales from India and Abroad

Birds (and other animals) are master of camouflage. While walking on the roads of Rishikesh, early one morning I thought there was something irregular within the pattern of the tree. After zooming from a distance I could see the Jungle Owlet clearly. I also knew from that distance it would not make for a good photo.

There were three of us walking together and no one believed me when I told them there was a bird on the branches! But they were willing to walk closer with me to humor me. They could walk quietly as well.

After spotting a bird with my 75-300 there is only way to get a decent picture. You try to go as close to the bird clicking continuously, because you never know when the bird will fly away.

A Jungle Owlet

The result of going closer and ruthless cropping is this view of the jungle owlet. The bird did get annoyed with me pretty fast and flew further away making sure there was a steep fall right below where it perched. There was no way to get a better shot so I had to be happy with this one in the end! Bird also know when I do not have a camera in my hand. They then happily come close to me and tease me with their proximity.

On this day, sometime after taking this picture I realized with a start that my cell phone was missing. Now there is a problem with using expensive cell phones. You do not want to lose them and buy a replacement. So I almost ran all the way back to see if I had left it in my tent itself. Luckily for me that was the case! So in the end I got a bird, Jungle Owlet, in the bush within my camera and I found my cell phone too!