Rare species of brown Boobook bird rescued

Barishal Correspondent :

Members of the Kalapara branch of Animal Lovers of Patuakhali have rescued a rare species of brown Boobook bird in Kalapara upazila under Patuakhali district.

The eyes of the brown boobook, a nocturnal owl species, are very large and yellow.

The brown boobook (Ninox scutulata), also known as the brown hawk-owl, is an owl which is a resident breeder in south Asia from India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal east to western Indonesia and south China.

This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. Many animals are afraid of the bird due to its large eyes.

The bird was rescued injured from a house in the area adjacent to Sabujbagh in Kalaparamunicipal town on Monday afternoon.

Earlier, on Sunday, a woman named Bilkis Jahan from the area rescued the bird from the roof of her house and informed the members of the animal welfare organization.

The bird was given primary treatment from the Upazila Animal Resources Office as it had a wound on its right wing.

Members of the organization have said that it will be released with the help of the Forest Department once it fully recovers.

Bilkis Jahan’s daughter Sumi said, “My mother saw the bird sick on the roof of our house on Sunday. Later, when she brought the bird home, I fed it various foods and tried to heal it.

Then on Monday morning we informed the members of the Kalapara branch of Animal Lovers Patuakhali.
Later on Monday afternoon, they took the bird to the livestock office, provided treatment and took it to them. I myself was also present at the livestock office at that time.

Kawsar Hossain, a member of the Kalapara branch of Animal Lovers of Patuakhali, said these brown boobook birds were seen in the coastal area earlier.

But now these rare birds are not seen. We rescued the bird in an injured state and took it to the livestock office and gave it treatment.

Currently, the bird is in our shed. When it is completely healthy, we will release it in the forest with the help of the forest department.

Kalapara Upazila Animal Resources Officer Maruf Billah Khan said, the bird has some wounds on its right wing. Due to which the bird is unable to fly.
The bird has been given treatment and medicine. Hopefully the bird will be able to fly in the sky in a few days, Upazila Animal Resources Officer added.