Greyish eagle-owl
| Greyish eagle-owl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Bubo |
| Species: | B. cinerascens |
| Binomial name | |
| Bubo cinerascens Guérin-Méneville, 1843 | |
The greyish eagle-owl or vermiculated eagle-owl (Bubo cinerascens) is a rather large owl of Africa.
It is closely related to the spotted eagle-owl, of which is it sometimes considered the northern subspecies, B. africanus cinerascens.[1][2]
It is found in the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa from Mauretania and Liberia east to Sudan and Somalia.[2] Its habitats include dry rocky deserts and open savannah, as well as lowland forests in Somalia.[3]
This species is about 43 centimetres (17 in) long and weighs about 500 grams (1.1 lb).[3] Like the spotted eagle-owl, the greyish eagle-owl has mottled dark brown, buff, and white upperparts and finely barred (vermiculated) underparts giving a greyish-brown appearance. It differs from the spotted eagle-owl in having dark brown (not yellow) eyes and a brownish facial disk marked with a heavy brown circle around each eye.[1] It also has morphological differences, such as being lighter though about the same length and having shorter tarsi. In the area of overlap, the spotted eagle-owl and the present species are not known to interbreed.[3]
References
- 1 2 Zimmerman, Dale A.; Turner, Donald A.; Pearson, David J. (1999), Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania, Princeton University Press, pp. 128–9, 374, ISBN 978-0-691-01022-9
- 1 2 Lepage, Denis (2003–2007), Avibase - the world bird database, retrieved Sep 22, 2007
- 1 2 3 Weick, Friedhelm (2006), Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist, Springer, pp. 111–113, ISBN 978-3-540-35234-1
External links
- Videos of the Greyish Eagle-Owl from the Internet Bird Collection