Little owls
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Little Owl ( Athene noctua ) |
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| Boie , 1822 |
The little owls ( Athene ) are a genus of the real owls (Strigidae). The genus contains three species. They are mostly small crepuscular and nocturnal owls. The food spectrum of the little owl is very broad. Insects can make up a very large part of their diet. However, it is usually small mammals that make up the largest part of the diet in terms of energy.
In Central Europe only the eponymous little owl ( Athene noctua ) lives , the entire range of which extends over Eurasia and North Africa. In Central Europe it only inhabits secondary habitats. Its primary habitats are steppes, semi-deserts and deserts, but pasture landscapes created by large herbivores could also have belonged in Central Europe, in the sense of the mega-herbivore hypothesis . The only species found in the New World is the owl rabbit . In terms of morphology and behavior, the owl is the species most specialized in life on the ground. This is shown, among other things, by its long runs.
At times the Blewitt-Kauz also belonged to this genus, but today it is again in the monotypical genus Heteroglaux .
species
- Brahma Owl ( Athene brama )
- Rabbit Owl ( Athene cunicularia )
- Little Owl ( Athene noctua )
There are changes in the species delimitation especially in the little owl. According to classical taxonomy , up to 13 subspecies are distinguished for the little owl due to differences in body structure and plumage. Due to phylogenetic studies, this classification is currently in transition. The Central and Southern European forms based on the cytochrome b comparison differ significantly from forms in Asia Minor and Israel. According to the results available so far, it is possible that the subspecies noctua , vidalii , indigena , lilith and plumipes are species that belong to a superspecies . In their owl monograph, published in 2008, Claus König and Friedhelm Weick name only eight subspecies and treat lilith and spilogastra as separate species. These are then listed as:
- Lilith-Kauz ( Athene lilith ), previously Athene noctua lilith
- Ethiopian owl ( Athene spilogastra ), previously Athene noctua spilogastra
origin of the name
The generic name Athene goes back to the Greek goddess of wisdom, strategy and combat, Pallas Athene , whose symbol is the owl.
supporting documents
literature
- John A. Burton (ed.): Owls of the world - development - physique - way of life. Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen 1986. ISBN 3-7888-0495-5 .
- Claus König , Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2 .
- Jürgen Nicolai : Birds of prey and owls. Identify, get to know and protect birds of prey, owls and owls . Revised Aufl. Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-7742-1858-7 , (compass nature guide).
- Theodor Mebs , Wolfgang Scherzinger : The owls of Europe. Biology, characteristics, stocks . Kosmos, Stuttgart 2008 (updated and revised edition), ISBN 978-3-440-11642-5 .
- Dries van Nieuwenhuyse, Jean-Claude Génot, David H. Johnson: The Little Owl - Conservation, Ecology and Behavior of Athene noctua. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 978-0-521-88678-9 .
