Needle in a Haystack

From Souvik Kundu

Eurasian Scops Owl (Otus scops)

A true needle-in-a-haystack migrant, the Eurasian Scops Owl is one of the rarest owls you can hope to see in India, with only a handful of confirmed records from the subcontinent so far.

Breeding in southern Europe and western-central Asia, it normally winters in Africa, and only a few stragglers reach western India during autumn migration. Published records come mainly from coastal Gujarat and, very recently, Kolkata's outskirts, underlining how exceptional any Indian sighting is.

Very few accepted records are known from Maharashtra, so this sighting represents a landmark.

Panje, Uran January 2026