Curacao Barn Owl
| Curacao Barn Owl | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tyto bargei | ||||||||||||
| ( Hartert , 1892) |
The Curaçao barn owl ( Tyto bargei ) is a species from the genus of barn owls that only occurs on Curaçao . It has long been considered a subspecies of the barn owl, but is viewed as an independent species in more recent literature. It is very rare on Curaçao; as an endemic species, its population is particularly endangered by habitat destruction and the use of pesticides .
features
The Curaçao barn owl is similar to the barn owl, but is significantly smaller and has shorter wings and a shorter tail. The body length is 29 centimeters, the wingspan is between 24.6 and 25.9 centimeters of bandwidth, the tail is about 10.9 centimeters long. The underside of the body is whitish and darkly spotted on the sides of the chest. The claws are less pronounced than is the case with the American barn owl .
The Curacao Barn Owl is probably a resident bird on Curacao . It occurs in semi-open terrain, which is made up of thickets, small forests and old buildings or ruins. It is only active at night. One of its special features is that it also hunts bats in their caves or catches them when they leave their caves at dusk. Rats play a major role in their diet. The brown rat introduced on Curaçao has a large share, but it also catches mice, bats, small reptiles, birds up to the size of small pigeons, larger insects and spiders. Very little is known about their reproductive biology. But this is probably similar to that of other barn owls.
supporting documents
Single receipts
literature
- Claus König , Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2