Dusky Eagle-owl

The dusky eagle-owl is a large, greyish-brown owl with prominent ear tufts and greyish-white underparts streaked dark brown, with wings of 380 to 435mm and tails of 187 to 224mm. John Latham described it in 1790 as Strix coromanda, after the Coromandel Coast where the type specimen was collected (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found across South and South-east Asia including Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and China, in forest, wooded wetlands, farmland with scattered trees and roadside avenues. It is mostly nocturnal, leaving its roost shortly before sunset, though it has been seen hunting by day in cloudy weather. It nests from November to April, peaking in December and January, often in the stick nests of other large birds such as the woolly-necked stork (Wikipedia, general species account).