Owl swallow
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Owl swallow ( Podargus strigoides ) |
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| Podargus strigoides | ||||||||||
| ( Latham , 1801) |
The owl swallow ( Podargus strigoides ), also known as the frog's mouth due to its broad beak, is a very large member of the owl dong family (Podargidae) with a body length of 33 to 53 centimeters . The weight of the animals is between 175 and 675 grams.
description
The birds have gray, piebald dorsal plumage with red or brown spots. The abdomen and chest are a little lighter in color. They have a small tuft of individual thin feathers at the base of their beak. The head is relatively large and the ossified beak is very broad and flat. The wings are short and rounded. Seven subspecies are known, which can be distinguished from one another by their body size and plumage color. On the other hand, males and females of a subspecies can hardly be separated based on their plumage.
Subspecies
So far, three subspecies are known:
- Podargus strigoides brachyterus Gould , 1841 occurs in western and central Australia.
- Podargus strigoides phalaenoides Gould , 1840 is widespread in northern Australia.
- Podargus strigoides strigoides ( Latham , 1801) occurs in eastern Australia and Tasmania .
distribution and habitat
The owl swallow is found all over Australia including the island of Tasmania . This species inhabits the forests and grasslands there. It can also be found in parks and gardens of human settlements.
Way of life
The local animals are nocturnal. During the day the birds rest in pairs or in small groups completely motionless on the branches of tall trees. Their plumage color is a good camouflage. They usually spot their prey from a hide in the treetops. They beat their prey, insects, snails, frogs and small mammals, silently as they fly past on the ground or branches of trees. The call of the animals is very loud, it serves them to establish contact with other species. When in danger, the owl swallow go into a numbness in which they put their feathers tightly and stretch their beak upwards in order to merge with their surroundings so that they are not easily spotted by enemies.
Reproduction
The small nest, a flat, almost bare plate made of smaller sticks, is laid in forks of trees, and sometimes the owl swallow occupies abandoned nests of other bird species. The female lays 1-4 white, shiny eggs, which it then incubates for up to 30 days. The boy's down plumage is initially white and later turns gray. Both adult birds take care of the young birds. After about 30 days the young will fledge.
Danger
Due to its widespread distribution, this species is not known to be endangered. The IUCN therefore classifies this species as Least Concern .
Web links
- Podargus strigoides inthe IUCN 2016 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
literature
- The great world empire of the animals. Planet Media AG, Zug 1992, ISBN 3-8247-8614-1 , pp. 272, 273.
- Wilhelm owner (ed.), Erna Mohr: Encyclopedia of the animals. Volume 2, Weltbild, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 978-3-89350-361-2 , p. 338.
- Goetz Rheinwald (ed.), Cyril Walker: Atlas of the bird world. Unipart, Remseck near Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 978-3-8122-3399-6 , p. 188.
- Christopher M. Perrins : The Great Encyclopedia of Birds. From the English, Orbis-Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-572-00810-7 , pp. 186, 188.
- David Burnie: Fascination with the Wildlife. (German translation from English) Neuer Honos Verlag, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3829904789 , p. 202.
- Joseph Michael Forshaw (ed.), David Kirshner: Encyclopedia of the Wildlife: Birds. Translated from the English by Derek Vinyard. Orbis, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 978-3-572-01378-4 , pp. 130-133.
- David Burnie (Ed.), Mariele Radmacher-Martens: Animals: The large picture encyclopedia with over 2,000 species. Translated from the English by Gabriele Lehari. Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-8310-2232-8 , p. 327.
- Christopher M. Perrins (Ed.): The FSVO encyclopedia birds of the world. Translated from the English by Einhard Bezzel. BLV, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 2004, ISBN 978-3-405-16682-3 , p. 342 (title of the original English edition: The New Encyclopedia Of Birds. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003).