White-fronted Scops-Owl

I spent the last weekend birding at the famous Kaeng Krachan National Park in Petchaburi Province. It was a short but very fruitful visit as I bagged 3 lifers by the end of the trip. They were Ratchet-tailed Treepie, my long awaited bogey bird Black-backed Kingfisher (Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher) and the extremely rare White-fronted Scops-Owl (Otus sagittatus). The owl was the main target of this trip. A pair was found sleeping in the same area since few months ago and we were lucky to see both of them.

A quick sketch of the White-fronted Scops-Owl

I wouldn't be able to find these birds if other birders who were already in the area didn't point them out for me. Both of them were resting in a very dark tree by the second stream from Ban Krang Camp and there were just few angles where their faces could be seen. They chose a really good place to hide. Later that afternoon, I also heard their deep thrilling calls. We then planned to come back again on the next morning in case they might come out to a more open perch, but turned out we couldn't even find them.