Our photography safari was on the Serengeti in Tanzania in February 2016. Game drives consisted of our guide, Ally, slowing driving our vehicle down dirt roads. All eight of us were on the lookout for animals. Of course, it was Ally and our pro photographer, Karine, who spotted the most game.
It was either Ally or Karine who spotted two Verreaux's eagle-owls in a tree. The owls were not hidden, but you have to have sharp eyes to see and recognize them!
The owl on the left never turned around while we were there, but the owl on the right faced us for a while.
Sometimes, its eyes were open, and sometimes its eyes were closed.
These are Verreaux's eagle-owls. The Verreaux's eagle-owl is mainly grey in color and is at once distinguished from other large owls by its bright pink eyelids, a feature shared with no other owl species in the world.
Despite the common name of giant eagle-owl, the Verreaux's eagle-owl is not the largest owl in the world. It is, however, a very large and powerful owl species. It is the largest owl found in Africa.
Like other owls, these are nocturnal birds and roost by day in trees, preferring large, shaded horizontal branches of tall, old trees. And, we found these owls in the early afternoon, roosting in this old tree on the Serengeti!
Vivian Nagy, February 2016
Credits:
© Vivian Nagy