Galápagos Barn Owl
| Galápagos Barn Owl | ||||||||||||
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Galápagos Barn Owl ( Tyto alba punctatissima ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tyto alba punctatissima | ||||||||||||
| ( GR Gray & Gould , 1839) |
The Galápagos barn owl ( Tyto alba punctatissima ) is a subspecies of the barn owl . In addition to the Galápagos Short-eared Owl ( Asio flammeus galapagoensis ), it is one of two owls native to the Galapagos Archipelago.
description
The Galápagos barn owl is lighter and darker in color than the barn owl. It reaches a length of 34 centimeters, a wing length of 23 centimeters and a weight of 264 grams. The head and the face veil are shiny rusty brown. The back of the head and throat are dull brown with numerous small white flecks. The back and the wing covers are dark matt brown and have larger pure white spots.
distribution
The Galápagos Barn Owl is found on the islands of San Cristóbal , Santa Cruz , San Salvador , Isabela, and Fernandina .
Way of life
95% of their diet consists of rodents, which in the past included the endemic rice rats (Oryzomys), which have been displaced from many islands by introduced house rats and mice. They also eat snakes, lizards, birds and bats. The Galápagos Barn Owl breeds in lava tunnels.
status
On the island of Floreana , the Galápagos barn owl was exterminated by introduced mammals in the 19th century. On San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, San Salvador and Isabela it has become quite rare due to the stalking of feral cats. Occasionally she is also shot by farmers.
Systematics
George Robert Gray described the Galápagos Barn Owl in 1839 as a separate species Strix punctatissima . In 1929 it was classified as a subspecies by Ernst Hartert . Several authors, including König & Weick (2008), Steadman (1988), Sibley & Monroe (1990) have so far made the suggestion to classify the Galapagos Barn Owl again as an independent species, because of the size difference and its evolutionary development in isolation of the Galapagos Islands a species status would be justified. A reclassification by the American Ornithologists' Union and the South American Classification Committee is still pending.
Individual evidence
literature
- David W. Steadman and Steven Zousmer: Galapagos: Discovery on Darwin's Islands. Smithsonian Institution Press., 1988, ISBN 0874748828
- Claus König & Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World. 2nd Edition. Christopher Helm, London 2008. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
- Ernst Hartert: On various forms on the genus Tyto . In: Novitates Zoologicae . Volume 35 (1929-1930). P. 102
- Robert Ridgway: Birds of the Galapagos Archipelago pp. 583-584, 1896 Description online
- Gray's first description (PDF file; 291 kB)