Why in News? 

• A Spot-Bellied Eagle Owl (Bubo Nipalensis) was spotted for the first time in the Seshachalam forest, and for the third time in Andhra Pradesh.

 Spot-Bellied Eagle Owl:

• Spot-Bellied Eagle Owl (Bubo Nipalensis) is known to be spotted in dense wet lowland and hilly forests. 
• The Spot-Bellied Eagle Owls are large and very powerful predatory bird species.
• These species are found to be distributed across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
• In India, the bird species is distributed in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
• Spot-Bellied Eagle Owls are predominantly nocturnal, but will on occasion hunt by day. Further, they are also known to hunt larger prey such as small deers, golden jackals, hares, civets and chevrotains. 
• The bird makes a strange scream similar to humans because of which it is referred to as the “ghost of the forest” in India and “devil bird” in Sri Lanka.
• IUCN red list status: Least Concern
• WPA, 1972: Schedule IV protection
• CITES: Appendix II protection