IMG_1912; The Pearl Spotted Owlet / Glaucidium Perlatum Captured In Kruger National Park, South Africa On 1.09.19 Stock Photography

The image :IMG_1912 `The pearl-spotted owlet Glaucidium perlatum breeds in Sub-Saharan Africa. Also found in northern Kruger National Park, South Africa. Part of the larger grouping of known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owls. Small about 19 cm 7.5 in and stocky, with a longish tail. Upperparts are rich brown, heavily spotted with white and showing a white shoulder bar. Underparts white, streaked with brown. Facial disc is white and the eyes are yellow, with a `cross` expression. Two eyespots on the nape. Sexes similar, young birds paler with a shorter tail and may have more prominent eye spots on the nape. The flight is deeply undulating. Commonest call is a whistled tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu but like other owlets it has a varied repertoire, including an explosive, drawn out `whet` which may be an alarm call. nnCommon and easily seen in open woodland and savannah. Nests in a hole in a tree, such as a disused barbet nest, laying 2-4 eggs. Male sings from the entrance of the cavity before breeding then calls from within it, making a series of wailing notes. Often hunts by day, and can be readily located by the small birds that mob it while it is perched in a tree. Hunts a variety of small prey, including small vertebrates and arthropods such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, spiders, and millipedes. Most hunting is done from perches