Africa grass owl
| Africa grass owl | ||||||||||||
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African grass owl ( Tyto capensis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tyto capensis | ||||||||||||
| ( A. Smith , 1834) |
The African grass owl ( Tyto capensis ), also called Cape grass owl , simply grass owl or Cape barn owl, is a species from the barn owl family. Their range is limited to Africa. There are four subspecies for this species.
features
The African grass owl is a 38 to 42 centimeter species of owl. It weighs between 335 and 520 grams. It is a very long-legged owl. The top of the body is soot-brown with fine white spots. The wings are very long while the tail is relatively short. The underside of the body is creamy white with small dark spots.
Distribution area and habitat
The range of this barn owl species is limited. The northernmost occurrences are in the Ethiopian highlands, the southernmost in the Cape Province of the South African Republic; in a west-east direction their distribution extends from the south of the Congo to the north of Angola. An isolated population also occurs in Cameroon. It is probably resident birds.
The habitat of the African grass owl are moist grass steppes and open savannas up to heights of 3,200 meters above sea level. It prefers more humid habitats than the Cape eared owl , but is also found on drier grass steppes and is also found at higher altitudes than these. For example, it occurs in marshland on Mount Kenya in East Africa.
Way of life
The African grass owl is mostly nocturnal. Only when food is scarce can they occasionally be seen hunting in the early morning and late evening hours. It usually transmits on the bottom in tall grass, usually stepping down the grass a little. In this way she occasionally builds tunnels several meters long through the grass. Occasionally, several African grass owls transmit in closer proximity to one another. The food spectrum includes mainly small mammals weighing up to 100 grams, which are mostly caught on the ground. The food spectrum also includes bats, insects and small birds, which it beats both on the ground and in the air.
The breeding season falls in the months of December to August with a peak from February to April. The size of the territory depends on the food supply and the size of the population. The owl breeds on the ground and mainly uses the grass tunnels it has created as a nesting site. The clutch consists of two to four white eggs. It only breeds the female. The breeding season is between 32 and 42 days. For the first ten days, the nestlings are only fed by the female, with the male carrying prey and handing it over to the female. After that, the male also increasingly takes part directly in feeding the young birds. The young birds make their first attempts at flight when they are around seven weeks old. They stay with the family for about another three weeks until they are independent.
supporting documents
Single receipts
- ↑ Hans Hvass: Birds of the World , Gebrüder Weiß Verlag, Berlin-Schöneberg, p. 107/08
- ↑ Grzimek's animal life. Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom , Vol. 8, Kindler Verlag, Zurich 1969, p. 383
- ↑ a b König et al., P. 226
literature
- Claus König , Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
Web links
- Tyto capensis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2013.