Arabian scops owl
| Arabian scops owl | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Otus pamelae | ||||||||||
| ( Bates , 1937) |
The Arabia Zwergohreule ( Otus pamelae ) is an owl from the genus of scops owl . It is restricted to the Arabian Peninsula .
description
The very small owl becomes 18 centimeters long and has a weight of 62 to 71 grams. The upper side is light brownish gray with indistinct speckles and dark dotted lines. The shoulder feathers form an indistinct light band. The underside is sandy brown to light brownish gray with a few darker markings. The eyes are golden yellow, the feather ears are small, the beak is grayish with a dark tip. The legs are sand-colored up to the base of the gray-brown toes, the claws horn-colored with a dark tip.
The taxonomic position of the Arabian scops owl is uncertain, mostly it was classified as a subspecies of the striped scops owl ( Otus brucei ) or the African scops owl ( Otus senegalensis ). The striped scops owl is larger and has a darker face, while the geographically isolated African scops owl can be distinguished by a darker color, a clearer shoulder stripe and thicker dotted lines on the chest.
Way of life
It lives in semi-deserts with palm trees or groups of trees, also in rocky areas with little vegetation and near settlements. Presumably it feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates. The call is a repeated high, scratchy trill of long kriir sounds.
distribution
The species is distributed from the Asir Mountains in Saudi Arabia via Yemen to Oman .
literature
- 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, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co.KG, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-440-13275-3 , p. 128.