Daily Mail

A lesser spotted owl ... well, can you see it?

- Mail Foreign Service

DON’T feel like too much of a to-wit if you can’t see the owl hidden in this tree.

The perfectly camouflage­d bird of prey’s feathers blend seamlessly with the bark.

And the African scops owl, a small species found only in sub-Saharan Africa, is almost impossible to spot as it sits perfectly still on a branch. The images were captured by safari guide Roan du Plessis, 26, at Beyond’s Ngala Safari Lodge, a private game reserve in South Africa where he lives and works. Roan took the photos to show visitors how skilled the lodge’s trackers were.

He said: ‘I take guests on luxury safaris for a living. The opportunit­ies for capturing amazing photos are endless. I wanted to demonstrat­e how incredible the trackers are at spotting animals.

‘I like the compositio­n and colours and how it demonstrat­es the potential camouflage of these vulnerable predators. It’s not unlikely that I would be able to take more photos like this as this is typical behaviour for the scops owl. That is, of course, if we can find them.’

 ??  ?? Hidden: Even with the help of our enlargemen­t, left, the African scops owl is fiendishly difficult to spot in this South African forest
Hidden: Even with the help of our enlargemen­t, left, the African scops owl is fiendishly difficult to spot in this South African forest

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