These pictures capture the hilarious moment an owl hoping for some affection from a fellow bird gets given the cold shoulder.

The fledgling owls, caught on camera in Israel’s Judean desert, appear to enjoy a play-fight as one perches itself on top of the other whilst pecking at his friend’s head. But it seems making up afterwards wasn’t so simple.

After the brief fracas one of the birds tried to cuddle up to its pal – but the other just didn’t seem to give a hoot. The owls were caught on camera by Amit Haas, 39, an an architect from Tel Aviv, Israel, who had to hide and photograph the birds from a distance using the long lens.

He said: ‘They look like two curious children playing and exploring their surroundings while improving their skills on the way to independence.’

One of the owls gives his pal a friendly nudge with his head – though his partner looks far from amused and gives him the cold shoulder After giving him a push, the second owl responded with a frustrated flap of his wings, while owl number one looked on in surprise