A nest of owls was noticed in the neem tree selected for carving a new idol of lord Jagannath in Kharipadia village of Jagatsinghpur district. Besides two owls, three clicks were found there. They were spotted owlets, whose local name is Chitra Pecha or laxmi Pecha. Throughout their body, the owlets are spotted with white marks. This is a very decent bird. As per ornithologist late Salim Ali, this spotted owl is a white spotted grayish brown little bird with typical large head and forwardly staring yellow eyes. Both the sexes look alike. The female ones are always noticed around villages and groves of ancient trees. The distribution of the species is found throughout the Indian union, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Burma. But this species is not noticed in Sri lanka.
There are three races of this species in varying sizes and depths of colour found in the Indian sub continent. This is commonest and most familiar owl not only of this region but also of Indian sub-continent. This is found in all types of wood lands and topography except dense forest. It is abundant around human habitat. The pairs spend day time in same hollow ancient tree trunk or in a secluded branch of a tree. They fly out when any specious thing is observed by the bird pairs. The call of the bird is harsh, chattering with discordant notes. The nesting season of the bird principally is from November to April. Generally a mother bird lays 3 to 4 eggs which look white round–oval. The eggs are always laid on an untidy pad of fibress twigs and kept in hollows of trees and abandoned buildings and crevices. Both father and mother share all the domestic duties till the chicks are independent.
The neem tree is an evergreen plant with very big foliages and biomass with dense crown which never becomes leafless during any part of year.
The safety of the birds in the tree is very much ensured. Every part of this tree is used as medicine by man including its flowers and fruits. The wind of this tree is also medicinal. It is chiefly available within Deccan lands and peninsular areas with promising shapes and sizes. The wood is of average hardness and suitable for moulding any shape and size, which can stand for decades without being damaged by any kind of biological activities and weathering action.
Because the wood is moderately hard and heavy and takes good polishing, the idols of the deities are made in it. Further, it is easily available in the peninsular areas where the commanding shrine of lord Jagannath is situated. The people of the area also favour to plant the evergreen plant in their home yards for various reasons. The wood is not used for any other purposes by the people of peninsular region. The owls know if they remain in neem tree, they can be protected from any predatory birds and animals. The human surrounding is the most safety region for this bird.
The neem trees which were selected for the idols of the trinity are very old, say for a century or so. The neem trees are the best avenue trees, which assimilate a great amount of carbon dioxide from atmosphere and releases oxygen for the well-being of the living organisms of the universe. The neem trees are such plants which clear the atmospheric pollutions and can come up in varieties of soil and topography. Right from foot hills of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, this plant can rise well. Even in Rajasthan, this plant can come up well with low supply of water.
The owl is known to be carrier of Goddess lakshmi, wife of lord Jagannath, known as the creator of the universe. So the Hindus find it to be good sign to have owl in neem tree. The three owl chicks now recovered from Kharipadia tree have been released in the Nandankanan. They will be there till they can fly and arrange food for them like adults.
There are seven types of owls in the Indian subcontinent. All these seven types of owls are found in Odisha and in Eastern Ghat regions. These are screech owl (2) brown fish owl (3) Indian great horned owl (4) common Indian nightjar (5) collared owl (6) spotted owlet and (7) barred jungle owlet. These owls prey on small mammal birds, reptiles, large insects, fish and crabs. It is a beneficial species as it kills field rats and mice in agricultural field.
Due to fast expansion of urban areas, the busty forests are destroyed, including agricultural fields. The habitats of these birds are squeezed which threatens the very existence of these carriers of Goddess lakshmi. The population of many tiny creatures is completely extinct from the tropical and sub- tropical region for various reasons. The ecological process of nature is thoroughly mal-handled by man.
It is a common phenomenon that the night jars are frequently killed in road accidents as they come under moving vehicles. The night jar is a member of owl family. Generally this species inhabits in bushy and stony areas, dry ever green nallahs, compounds and groves. It spends the day squatting within the bushy scrubs but it becomes active after sunset and remains busy all through night. It is thoroughly an insect eater. It keeps control over insects but due to depletion of scrubby land, their members are drastically reduced. Its chief food is beetles, moths and other insects. Not only night jar or spotted owlet, the population of all the seven types of owls and owlets is depleted due to loss of habitats.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)
