Forest Owlet

Forest Owlet, Athene blewitti is a species of Athene owl endemic to India. It was once classed in its own monotypic genus, Heteroglaux (Hume, 1873) but Heteroglaux is subsumed into Athene (Koparde et al, 2018).

Distribution/habitat
Since its rediscovery in 1997 this species has been found at a number of new locations, several of which appear to hold significant populations. The population estimate has therefore been revised upwards, leading to its reclassification from Critically Endangered to Endangered. Nevertheless, the total known population remains very small and fragmented and is inferred to be declining as a result of the loss and degradation of its deciduous forest habitat.