You thought you saw a ghost in your headlight beams at night? It was probably a Lulu, or Barn Owl (Tyto alba), with its characteristic heart-shaped facial disc. The Lulu is not usually active during the day, prefering to remain silently perched in a cave or a thickly foliaged tree, hoping to escape the attention of small birds that persistently mob it. The Lulu has well developed talons and feeds on rats, small birds, bats and insects. It is common in Fiji, and it probably has the widest distribution of any land bird worldwide—it is found on every continent except Antarctica.
“Forests and Biodiversity – Too precious to lose!” is the theme of the upcoming International Day of Forests on March 21. Each day until then, we’ll be sharing information about a different bird highlighted in our special edition playing cards. We hope you enjoy learning more about the precious diversity you can find right here in our Fijian forests! #IntlForestDay #IDOF2020