‘O’ is for October
Odd Orange-Eyed Owl 🦉
A sonnet about the rediscovered Rajah scops owl
An oddish looking owl with orange eyes The no-frills un-official descriptor for what ornithology classifies an Otus brookii species of raptor First sighted over a cent’ry ago then never seen again ’til recently on Mount Kinabula, Borneo A most exciting rediscovery Almost nothing is known of this rare bird No feathers found to extract DNA No young to be seen, no call to be heard A mysterious bird in every way The Rajah scops owl with bright orange eyes is proof that Nature will always surprise.
© Carolyn Hastings 2022
The story of the rediscovery of the Rajah scops owl (Otus brookii brookii) at Mount Kinabula, the UNESCO heritage-listed mountain in the Malaysian-zoned region of northern Borneo, makes a fascinating read.
If it hadn’t been for Indubala Kachhawa’s ‘O’ is for October prompt, I would most likely never have heard of this ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ feathered creature. I read the prompt details and the words, orange owl, popped into my head. And stayed there.
Orange owl, orange owl, orange owl
Images of cute orange owls with big heads and unblinking eyes came next.
I took it to be a sign that I needed to heed. I dropped what I was doing (I promise it wasn’t one of my grandbabies!) and ran off to consult Google.
Sure enough, cute orange owls with big heads and unblinking eyes stared at me from the screen. Interspersed among the clipart were photos of real owls with orange toned plumage, and others like the Eurasian Eagle Owl with big bright orange eyes.
What caught my attention though was the ‘odd-one-out’ — the one there on the right in the screenshot that is seemingly devoid of anything orange despite the caption suggesting otherwise, Rare owl with bright orange eyes seen… I also noted the image came from a trustworthy source, Smithsonian magazine.
Curiosity got the better of me…. 🦉
As my family will tell you, I have a thing for owls. One of my very first twittle stories was inspired by the garden art owl that stares at me through our kitchen window –
Thank you, Indubala, for leading us in this month’s Paper Poetry prompt. 🙏 ✨
I would like to take this opportunity to invite Erika Burkhalter to consider joining the prompt, along with everyone who can think of a word or two starting with ‘o’. You’ll find the prompt details here –
Thank you one and all for being here. 🙏 💕
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