STAFF at a Suffolk bird centre are saying 'owl do you do,' to the newest arrival – a seven-week-old brown wood owl.And today we ask: "What would you call him?"The tiny bird, whose native habitat is the subtropical rainforests of south-east Asia arrived last week at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, near Stowmarket.

By James Fraser

STAFF at a Suffolk bird centre are saying 'owl do you do,' to the newest arrival – a seven-week-old brown wood owl.

And today we ask: "What would you call him?"

The tiny bird, whose native habitat is the subtropical rainforests of south-east Asia arrived last week at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, near Stowmarket.

The as-yet-unnamed male was brought in to be a mate to the sanctuary's only other wood owl, Meluka, who is about five years old.

Julie Finnis, head warden at the Stonham Barns centre, said that Meluka showed signs wanting to twit-ta-wooing earlier this year when she laid an unfertilised egg.

"She sat on it come what may so we thought it was time we found her a friend," she said.

Now the Evening Star has teamed up with the SOS to offer readers a chance to name the young owl.

The only condition is it must fit in with Meluka, who was named after a place in Malaysia.

Wood owls are found too in Borneo, parts of India and other parts of the south east Asia – so get your atlases out and start searching!

Suggestions on a postcard please addressed to Name That Owl competition, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN. Closing date: August 31.

Weblinks:

www.owlpages.com

www.owls.org

Fast facts:

N wood owls grow to be around 55cm tall

N They eat small mammals, birds and reptiles

N They can be found in southern India, Sri Lanka, southern Myanmar down to the Malay peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra

N Numbers of wood owls are not globally threatened but there is worry over the dangers of deforestation removing their natural habitat