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This large owl with the distinctive face, large forward-facing eyes, horns and deep resonant call is associated with a number of superstitions. Like many other large owls, these are considered birds of ill omen. Their deep haunting calls if delivered from atop a house are considered to forebode the death of an occupant. A number of rituals involving the capture and killing of these birds have been recorded. Salim Ali notes a wide range of superstitions related to them but notes two as being particularly widespread. One is that if the bird is starved for a few days and beaten, it would speak like a human, predicting the future of the tormentor or bringing them wealth while the other involves the killing of the bird to find a lucky bone that moved against the current like a snake when dropped into a stream.Belief in these superstitions has led to the persecution of the species in many areas by tribal hunters. The capture of these birds is illegal under Indian law but an underground market continues to drive poaching.

Short-eared Owl portrait. Quiet owl looking at the infinite.

Wild tawny owl (Strix aluco) chick sitting on a branch.

Juvenile Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula).

Eurasian Eagle Owl close up with nature background.

A closeup shot of an owl with brown eyes. Fauna concept

Blakiston's Fish Owl (Bubo blakistoni) in Hokkaido, Japan

Male Eurasian pygmy owl (Glaucidium passerinum) perching on a deciduous tree.

Wild Eurasian Eagle Owls outside their nest. Mother and white chick, they eat a piece of meat.

Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) sitting high up in a tree in a forest during winter. The bird of prey is resting and looking around in the woodland in Overijssel, Netherlands.

Screech Owl for sale is being sold in the traditional market in Jakarta

Siberian Eagle Owl close up with nature background.

bubo lacteus isolated on white background

$L 59-73cm, WS 138-170cm.\nResident in mountains an forests, preferring areas with rocks, steep cliffs and mature trees (preferably conifers); often in rocky archipelagos. Scattered distribution, generally rare and local.\nNocturnal and partly crepuscular. Day roost in dense mature spruces or firs, or in cave or crevice.\nFood mammals (voles, rats, hedgehogs, hares) and birds (corvids, gulls, wildfowl).\nNests on inaccessible cliff-edge or less often on the ground by rock, uprooted tree or among boulders, exceptionally in abandoned raptor’s nest or n barn, abandoned factory, etc.\nIn spite of its size and its impressive claws is by and large a non-violent and retiring owl near its nest, and aggressive behaviour toward humans is rare.\n\nThis is a scarce owl in the eastern and Southern part of the Netherlands and is mostly breeding in abandoned Quarries.\n\nThis Picture is made at a Birds of Prey Farm near Lunteren (Gelderland, the Netherlands).$

The Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo), close-up of a young bird in the zoo, Ukraine

A Tawny Owl perching on a tree trunk in woodland scenic

Surprised juvenile snowy owl with open mouth. Polar or white owl chick (Bubo scandiacus) with yellow eyes wearing dark grey mesoptile plumage.

A detailed portrait of an Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) with distinctive orange eyes, feathers, and a blurred natural backdrop capturing its essence in the wilderness.

Portrait of yellow eye owl isolated on white background. Watercolor style.

Single eagle resting on a branch near the woodland edge and open wetlands.

Outline of an owl against a black background. European eagle owl.

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