Eastern grass owl
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Eastern grass owl ( Tyto longimembris ) |
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| Tyto longimembris | ||||||||||||
| ( Jerdon , 1839) |
The eastern grass owl ( Tyto longimembris ), sometimes simply called grass owl , is a species from the genus of barn owls ( Tyto ). The species is distributed in various subspecies across parts of Asia and Australia.
features
The Eastern Grass Owl is 32 to 40 centimeters long and weighs 250 to 582 grams. The legs of all grass owls are significantly longer than those of other barn owl species, which gave the Indo-Australian grass owl the scientific name "longimembris" = "long limbed". The African grass owls have a reddish-brown dorsal plumage, in which there is no yellow in comparison to the Indo-Australian, the middle tail feathers are also monochrome brown. In flight, the eastern grass owl, in contrast to its African relatives, has the banding on the underside of the wings and tail, with the legs of both species protruding far beyond the tail. Otherwise the different subspecies differ in size and color.
Way of life
The species is named after its way of life in the grass and steppe areas of its range. Grass owls live on the ground and also breed here. During the day the animals hide in tufts of grass. They mainly live on small mammals such as various mice and rats, as well as shrews .
voice
The little call-happy type occasionally emits a thin, high-pitched shriek.
Subspecies
The Asian forms can be found on the so-called "grassland road" from India via parts of China , Taiwan , Cambodia , Vietnam , Burma , Laos , Flores , New Caledonia , Australia , New Guinea and Fijis . The subspecies T. l lives here . papuensis in the mountainous grasslands of southeast New Guinea at altitudes of 5,000 to 6,000 meters. It differs from the nominate form in that it has a simpler face and lighter plumage.
T. l can be found in southeast China . chinensis with a cream-colored underside and a conspicuously pink veil and on Taiwan T. l. pithecops . Other Asian forms are T. l. melli on the Asian mainland, the particularly large T. l. amauronata from the island of Luzon ( Philippines ) and T. l. baliem of west irian ( new guinea ). The nominate form T. l. longimembris is found over a large area from southern India to eastern Australia and the Fiji Islands. The birds of New Caledonia and the Fiji Islands are sometimes referred to as the T. l subspecies . called oustaleti .
literature
- John A. Burton (ed.): Owls of the world - development - physique - way of life . Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen 1986, ISBN 3-7888-0495-5 .
- Heimo Mikkola: Handbook owls of the world. All 249 species in 750 color photos . Original title: Owls of the World. A Photographic Guide , 2012. German-language edition 2013, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co.KG, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-440-13275-3
Web links
- Tyto longimembris inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- Eastern grass-owl (Tyto longimembris). In: www.hbw.com. Retrieved September 8, 2016 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heimo Mikkola: Handbuch Eulen der Welt , p. 102