Villagers rescue Barn owl in Maharajpur

Kanpur: Villagers rescued a Barn owl in Uchti village in Maharajpur area of the district. On Monday morning around ten O’ clock, Sarandeep Singh, a resident of Uchti village, was sitting outside his house, when he spotted a rare bird sitting on platform of his house.Within a short time, he saw that a flock of crows surrounded the bird and started attacking it with their beaks. Singh later rescued the bird. When he gave a closer look, he found that it was a white owl. Soon, he alerted the forest department. He said the owl found outside his house weighs more than a kilo and its colour was also completely white. The news of a rare owl spread in the area and curious villagers thronged Singh’s house to have a look at it.Based on video footage that went viral on social media, wildlife activists said that it is a Barn Owl. Barn owl is a medium-sized raptor, a nocturnal bird like other owls, informed Rajiv Chauhan, general secretary, Society for Conservation of Nature, Etawah. “It has a white heart-shaped face and white chest with small brown spots. The back is of light brownish orange colour, marked with black and white spots. Barn owls have a long wingspan and are silent in flight,” he said. tnn