Rare owl crashes onto car in Pasay

EYES ONLY FOR YOU Pasay City government employee Maria Victoria Bagcat holds the boobook owl that crashed on her car while she was driving to work. The owl, rarely seen although it is native to the Philippines, is nowin the care of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PASAY INFORMATION OFFICE

MANILA, Philippines — A chocolate boobook, a native owl listed as a “vulnerable” and “near threatened” species, was found in Pasay after it fell on the roof of a car being driven by a city hall employee.

Maria Victoria Bagcat, an administrative assistant at the Pasay City government’s human resources management and development office, said she was driving to work on Tuesday morning on Bradco Avenue in Aseana complex when she heard a thud coming from her car roof.

When she pulled over to see what it was, she saw the medium-sized, brown hawk-like owl lying on the street.

Bagcat took the bird and turned it over to city hall personnel.

It did not appear to have suffered any visible wounds, according to the city information office.

Turned over to DENR

It was later turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) whose personnel identified it as a chocolate boobook (Ninox randi), one of the 17 owl species endemic to the Philippines.

The medium-sized bird can be found in areas like Basilan, Cebu, Luzon, Marinduque, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Siquijor.

Deriving its name from its dark feathers, it weighs an average of 191 grams. It has a wing span of up to 24 centimeters and a long tail of 13 cm, according to bird conservation group BirdLife International.

It is described as “near threatened” on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature for its “moderately rapid population declines owing to the conversion and fragmentation of its Philippine lowland forest habitat.”

Under DENR Administrative Order No. 2019-09, the chocolate boobook is among the “vulnerable” species in the updated list of threatened Philippine fauna.

It lives in lowland forests, but can also thrive in urban areas where there are many trees, such as parks.

The bird is considered a natural pest controller, with rats as part of its usual diet.

Two chocolate boobooks were rescued in May in Iloilo City, with one of them found to have broken its wings.