COLOMBO — As darkness settled over Colombo on Aug. 3, a small group of young men, led by a zoology professor, slipped quietly into Sri Lanka’s largest cemetery, Borella Kanatte, in Colombo. Moving like cautious tomb raiders among weathered gravestones, they ventured into dark, secluded corners where few dare to tread after nightfall. Torches in hand, their eyes scanned the shadows while their ears strained to catch the faintest of sounds. From the canopy of the cemetery’s ancient trees emerged soft, muffled hoots: the prize they were hoping to find. The group was not searching for buried treasures but for owls, right in the heart of the city. Every year, to mark International Owl Awareness Day, which falls on Aug. 4, the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka FOGSL), an affiliate of BirdLife International, conducts a nocturnal survey to assess Colombo’s owl population. As part of the exercise, teams spread out across pre-assigned city routes, counting every owl they see or hear. “Sri Lanka is home to 12 owl species, including residents and migrants,” says Nihal Dayawansa, FOGSL president and a zoology professor at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. “Some, like the Indian scops owl [Otus bakkamoena] and brown hawk-owl [Ninox scutulata], thrive in urban areas, finding refuge in gardens, old buildings and parks.” Participants of the annual urban owl survey quietly patrol Colombo’s silent streets at night, searching for signs of owls. Image courtesy of FOS Media, University of Colombo. Urban refuge “Colombo is also home to the barn…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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