Rare barn owl spotted being harassed by crows in Bishan, Internet speculates bird may be too sick to fight back

Woman spot crows harassing barn owl in Bishan

A Bishan resident recently spotted a barn owl outside her kitchen window on Tuesday (28 May).

The owl was seen perched in the corner of a HDB block in Bishan Street 13, with a murder of crows seemingly disturbing the bird while it was trying to rest.

Netizens on Facebook pointed out that the owl may have been too sick to shoo off the crows.

Barn owl spotted in Bishan

On Wednesday (29 May), 59-year-old homemaker Sai Wey Chyn posted about her rare sighting on the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook page.

“Finally got to see a barn owl but in a least expected way,” the caption read.

After hearing a commotion from crows outside her kitchen, Ms Sai decided to close her window to prevent the birds from flying into her home.

In doing so, she startled the murder of crows, which caused them to fly towards a HDB block on the opposite side.

Ms Sai then spotted a barn owl also following suit — it went on to nestle itself into a corner of the block.

Crows harassed resting owl

After quickly grabbing her camera, Ms Sai raced to snap a picture of the rare barn owl.

However, she saw that the bird was being harassed by the murder of crows as it rested on the ledge of the HDB building.

Speaking to MS News, Ms Sai also said the owl looked tired from the crows’ constant disturbances, which occurred for a number of hours.

“It had positioned itself at a corner in a way that gave him some shade as well as some protection from the crows, which couldn’t attack it from behind,” she said. 

According to Ms Sai, the disturbances were between the hours of 11am and 7pm; however, the crows eased the intensity of their harassment after a few hours.

“Perhaps the crows realised the owl was not much of a threat as the owl had stayed put at that corner all along,” she shared. 

The crows also seemed wary of the owl and didn’t dare to go too closely; they would also lose their balance and slip down the ledge, she added.

Netizens say owl may have been injured

Members of the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook page have speculated that the rare bird may have been injured as healthy barn owls have “zero tolerance” for attacks.

However, Ms Sai told MS News that the bird did not look injured physically as it was able to fly seemingly easily to the neighbouring block.

As avid bird watchers, Ms Sai and her husband were elated when they saw the barn owl for the first time.

“The excitement of seeing it for the first time made me call three of my neighbours, all staying on different floors, to take a look as well,” she said.

When Ms Sai and her husband went to check on the owl after dinner, it was nowhere to be found.

“Hope that this barn owl will catch some good meals tonight,” she said in her Facebook post.

Also read: Flock of oriental pied hornbills spotted flying across Changi Creek

Flock of oriental pied hornbills spotted flying across Changi Creek

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Featured image adapted from Sai Wey Chyn on Facebook.