A lovely, unwelcome visitor

Yesterday night, we were just walking around our apartment complex, when few of my friends had gathered at one place and looking at something with amusement. Poorvi and me went to see what it was. The annual visitor to our apartment was back. Last time around it had created a little havoc when it accidently had hit a visitor on the head. But whatever it is, this is a lovely bird called "Barn Owl", which unfortunately is on the verge of extinction.

Have a look at the picture taken during the day time, this owl has a nest in one of the cozy corners of our apartment. But this owl visits our apartment only once-a-year and stays here for couple of months.

Yesterday it was sitting on one of the balcony grills in one of my friend's apartment. Whole of yesterday it had been kind of "shoot at sight" for them, trying to capture the images of this special visitor from different angles. Hope this time around this visitor does not cause much problem like what it did last year.

Note from Wiki-Pedia:

The Barn Owl is a pale, long-winged, long-legged owl with a short squarish tail. Depending on subspecies, it measures c.25-45 cm in overall length, with a wingspan of about 75-100 cm. Tail shape is a way of distinguishing the Barn Owl from true owls when seen in flight, as are the wavering motions and the open dangling feathered legs. The light face with its peculiar shape and the black eyes give the flying bird an odd and startling appearance, like a flat mask with oversized oblique black eyeslits, the ridge of feathers above the bill somewhat resembling a nose.