Buffy Fish Owl
A species of Fish-owls Scientific name : Ketupa ketupu Genus : Fish-owls
Buffy Fish Owl, A species of Fish-owls
Botanical name: Ketupa ketupu
Genus: Fish-owls
Content
Description General Info
Description
The buffy fish owl is buff brown with darker tawny brown feathers on the back. Its face is paler and it has light brown eyebrows. With an adult size of 40 to 48 cm (16 to 19 in) and a weight of 1,028 to 2,100 g (2.3 to 4.6 lb), it is the smallest fish owl species. Like all fish owls, the buffy fish owl has prominent ear tufts on the sides of the head. Its wing feathers and tail are broadly barred yellowish and dark brown. The wings are distinctly rounded in shape. The underparts are a yellowish brown, rich buff or fulvous with broad blackish shaft stripes. Its long legs are not feathered. The fish owls have large, powerful, and curved talons and a longitudinal sharp keel underneath the middle claw with all having sharp cutting edges that are very much like those of eagle owls. Unlike fish-eating diurnal raptors, they do not submerge any part of their body while hunting, preferring only to put their feet into the water, although fish owls wade into the shallows. The feathers of fish owls are not soft to the touch and lack the comb and hair-like fringes to the primaries, which allow other owls to fly silently in order to ambush their prey. Due to the lack of these feather-specializations, fish owl wing beats make sounds. The lack of a deep facial disc in fish owls is another indication of the unimportance of sound relative to vision in these owls, as facial disc depth (as well as inner ear size) are directly related to how important sound is to an owl's hunting behavior. Also different from most any other kind of owl, the bill is placed on the face between the eyes rather than below it, which is said to impart this fish owl with a "remarkably morose and sinister expression". Similar adaptations, such as unwillingness to submerge beyond their legs and lack of sound-muffling feathers are also seen in the African fishing owls, which do not seem to be directly related. Due to their neat replacement of each other in range, at one time the tawny and buffy fish owls were considered the same species but there are a number of physical, anatomical, habitat, and behavioral distinctions between them. 
Size
44 cm
Colors
Brown
Black
Yellow
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
30 years
Feeding Habits
Buffy Fish Owl's diet consists of fish, crabs, frogs, small reptiles, birds, and occasionally carrion. It employs unique hunting techniques by swooping down on prey from riverbanks like an eagle yet never wets its feathers, and wades in shallow waters for food. Dietary remains aren't ejected as pellets but as scattered pieces under roosting sites.
Habitat
The buffy Fish Owl typically resides in tropical forests and freshwater wetland regions, situated near streams, rivers, lakes, and aquaculture facilities. Proximity to water bodies is a characteristic feature of their habitat preference. This species also adapts to modified landscapes, including plantations, and rural to urban gardens adjacent to wetlands. They are known to settle in mangroves and are frequently found near human settlements. Their habitat range includes lowland plains and extends upslope to elevations around 1,600 meters, with many observations within primary rainforests at varied elevations.
Dite type
Carnivorous
General Info
Behavior
A range of vocalizations has been attributed to the buffy fish owl. Among those recorded are included hissing sounds and a rattling kutook, repeated rapidly about seven times. Also recorded has been a ringing, loud pof-pof-pof and a high, hawk-like hie-e-e-e-e-keek series of notes. The buffy fish owl is rather noisy before breeding, and pairs may engage in bouts of duetting for several minutes at a time. During the daytime, it shelters often singly in densely foliaged trees.
Distribution Area
The buffy fish owl is distributed from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Sunda Islands. On Cocos (Keeling) Island, it is non-breeding. It inhabits tropical forests and freshwater wetlands near rivers, lakes and aquaculture sites up to an elevation of 1,600 m (5,200 ft). It also lives in plantations, and rural and urban gardens.
Species Status
In Malaysia, owl species are protected by the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972 and listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on Appendix II. Violation of this act is a punishable offense and is penalized with a fine of 3,000 Malaysian ringgit or two years in jail or both.
