Speckled Owl
| Speckled Owl | ||||||||||
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Spotted Owl ( Strix virgata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Strix virgata | ||||||||||
| ( Cassin , 1848) |
The mottled owl ( Strix virgata , too) South-mottled owl called, is a species of owl in the genus of Strix from the tropical forests of Central and South America from Mexico to northern Argentina .
features
The speckled owl reaches a body size of 30 to 35 centimeters. Its plumage is dark brown on top with light spots, the underside is white or yellow-brown with clear dark brown stripes. There are several regionally limited color variants in which the speckles on the upper side merge into stripes. The birds of the Amazon lowlands , on the other hand, are reddish-brown, somewhat larger and have orange-yellow stripes. The face veil is very well developed and delimited by white feathers.
Way of life
The mottled owl is very common in its range. It is nocturnal and mostly loner. The breeding season starts in April to May and the female lays two dirty brown eggs in a tree hole or an abandoned bird of prey nest .
The minky owl mainly hunts small mammals, small birds and reptiles as well as insects.
Systematics
The mottled owl was formerly jointly with the live also in the tropical regions of South America black-and-white owl ( Strix nigrolineata ), the black-banded owl ( Strix huhula ) and Rötelkauz ( Strix albitarsus ) and the African African tawny owl ( Strix woodfordii ) into a separate genus Ciccaba provided that however, it was disbanded and merged with the genus Strix .
literature
- John A. Burton (Ed.); Owls of the world - development - physique - way of life , Neumann-Neudamm Verlag Melsungen, 1986, ISBN 3-7888-0495-5
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Strix virgata in the Internet Bird Collection
- Ciccaba virgata inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2013.