Maned owl
| Maned owl | ||||||||||
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Maned Owl ( Jubula lettii ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Jubula lettii | ||||||||||
| ( Büttikofer , 1889) |
The maned owl ( Jubula lettii ) is an African species of owl from the family of real owls .
Appearance
With a length of 34 to 40 centimeters and a weight of about 183 grams (males), it is a medium-sized owl. The mane owl got its name from the long, bushy feather ears, which together with elongated feathers on the head and neck look like a mane. This makes it similar to the American great crested owl ( Lophostrix cristata ), to which it is not closely related.
The top is reddish brown to maroon brown with dark and light markings. The light-brownish shoulder feathers have whitish, dark-lined outer flags, the deep red-brown elytra have dark scribbles, and the wings have about four dark bands. The tail is banded red-brown and dark. The species has a light red-brown, fine dark brown face. The black-brown collar contrasts with the white eyebrows and forehead. The eyes are deep yellow to orange-yellow, the beak ivory to yellow.
On the underside, the maned owl is whitish at the throat, otherwise initially reddish brown, towards the belly more beige and lighter. On the upper breast there are fine whitish scribbles, further down there are striking dark shaft lines and vertically elongated white spots. The legs have a dull yellow fletching, the claws are brownish horn-colored with a dark tip.
voice
The call is supposedly a gentle, howling "hu", followed after a few seconds by a slightly higher "hu". However, this reputation could also belong to the red-backed fish owl , which also lives in West Africa.
Distribution area and habitat
The maned owl inhabits lowland and gallery forests in Lower Guinea from southern Cameroon to the Congo River , in the Congo Basin to the middle of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, spatially separated from it, in Upper Guinea ( Liberia , Ivory Coast , Ghana ). She often stays near rivers and lakes.
Way of life
It mainly eats large insects and small vertebrates. Otherwise little is known about the behavior of the species.
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 2013, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co.KG, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-440-13275-3