Yellow-billed scops
| Yellow-billed scops | ||||||||||
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Yellow-billed scops owl ( Otus icterorhynchus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Otus icterorhynchus | ||||||||||
| ( Shelley , 1873) |
The Gelbschnabel-Zwergohreule ( Otus icterorhynchus ) is an owl from the genus of scops owl . It occurs in tropical Africa.
description
It reaches a length of 18 to 20 centimeters and has a weight of 61 to 80 grams. The white and black spotted feather ears are quite noticeable. The plumage color varies individually between a light and a dark morph . When the wings are put on, the whitish flags of the shoulder feathers form a light band. The underside has conspicuous white spots. The eyes are yellow, the bill and wax skin are yellowish beige. The light brown legs are feathered up to the base of the brownish pink toes, the claws are matt white with gray tips.
Way of life
The yellow-billed scops owl prefers tropical lowland rainforests up to 1,000 meters above sea level. It also inhabits habitats with a mixture of forest, bush and grassland. Her voice is described as a drawn out whistle that can be heard every few seconds. The food is not known, it probably consists mainly of insects, as with other scops owls.
distribution
The little-researched species occurs sparsely from Liberia via Gabon to the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . While the nominate form O. i. icterorhynchus Liberia, inhabits Ivory Coast and Ghana , the more red-brown specimens from Cameroon , Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo of the subspecies O. i. associated with holerythrus .
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. 133.