Palau owl
| Palau owl | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||
| Pyrroglaux | ||||||||||
| Yamashina , 1938 | ||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||
| Pyrroglaux podarginus | ||||||||||
| ( Hartlaub & Finsch , 1872) |
The Palau owl ( Pyrroglaux podarginus ) is a species of owl that is endemic to the Palau Islands . It is the only representative of the genus Pyrroglaux .
Appearance
The Palau owl reaches a size of 22 cm. In the male, the facial veil is light rust-brown leather-colored with narrow, darker, rust-brown concentric rings. The forehead and the stripe above the eyes are whitish with a rust-brown leather-colored tint and a narrow, black-brown banding. The skull and top are rusty brown. The shoulder feathers have white spots with black tips. The wings are rust-brown-sand-colored with light rust-brown leather-colored bands. The tail is russet with indistinct dark brown bands. The throat is more whitish-russet. The breast is light russet with white and black banding. The belly is lighter rust-brown. Legs and toes are featherless. The female is similar to the male. however, the top is darker brown with fine, black wavy lines. The underside is light or dark rust-brown with light or strong, white and brown banding and marbling. The down plumage of the young birds is light russet; lighter on the stomach and darker on the chest and back. The iris is brown or orange-yellow. The beak, legs and toes are dirty white.
Vocalizations
The call of the male consists of a series of clear individual tones that sound like kwuk kwuk… and are uttered at intervals of just under a second. The female's call is similar but more shrill. During the courtship, males and females can be heard in a duet.
distribution and habitat
The Palau owl is found on Koror , Babelthuap , Peleliu , the Urukthapel Islands, and Angaur in the Palau Archipelago. It inhabits mangroves, rainforests and the vicinity of villages in the lowlands.
Way of life
The Palau owl is nocturnal. In daylight she looks for shelter in the mangrove thicket. It covers considerable distances in its nocturnal foraging, especially around villages. The diet consists of insects and other arthropods, as well as earthworms. The breeding season is from February to March. The nests are built in tree hollows. The clutch consists of three to four eggs measuring 34.3 × 31.7 mm. The couples stay together all year round. The districts are relatively small.
status
BirdLife International classifies the Palau owl in the “ Least Concern” category . There is no information about their existence. In surveys carried out on Koror and Peleliu in 1945, 33 pairs were discovered on Koror (which makes up about half of the population on this island) and four pairs on Peleliu. During another expedition in 1945, this species was not found on the southern part of the Palau Islands. The American ornithologist Harold Douglas Pratt discovered during his field work in the 1970s that the Palau owl is more widespread than previously assumed.
literature
- Claus König, Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2 .
- J. Del Hoyo, A. Elliot, J. Sargatal (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 5: Barn-Owls to Hummingbirds. Lynx Edicions, 1999, ISBN 84-87334-25-3 .
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Pyrroglaux podarginus in the Internet Bird Collection