{ WILDBUZZ } FROM NATURE'S DOMAIN OF WONDERS Cute phantom of the night

The abundance of trees in the northern sectors of Chandigarh lend to the sprawling bungalows a forest rest house vista. The spacious parks redolent with flowering bushes and trees offer a habitat to birds, especially the owls / owlets which are left undisturbed at night, save the titillating indulgences of "lovebirds" on the benches below.

- Vikram Jit Singh

A remarkable record of a rare species for Chandigarh, the brown hawk-owl also known quaintly as the brown boobook, surfaced on Thursday. It was spotted during the early night for a fleeting minute in the residential area of Sector 18-B behind the Tagore Theatre and in proximity to the New Public School.

It is commonly known as a hawk owl because it lacks the typical facial disc of owls, has a barred tail, a hawk-like profile with slim body and long tail to a narrow head. It doesn't display the "ear tufts", characteristic of owl species. The flight is typically one of rapid wing beats wherein it glides and then sweeps upwards swiftly to alight on a branch in hawk-like fashion.