Pemba scops owl
| Pemba scops owl | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Otus pembaensis | ||||||||||
| Pakenham , 1937 |
The Pemba Zwergohreule ( Otus pembaensis ) is an owl from the genus of scops owl .
description
The very small owl reaches a length of 17 to 18 centimeters. The light morph has a plain reddish brown upper side with a lighter shoulder band. The underside is reddish brown with fine reddish brown, gray and white scribbles and a few narrow lines. The red-brown morph is even more evenly reddish-brown with indicated flank bands. The eyes are yellow, the feather ears are short, the beak is dark greenish black. The legs are lavishly feathered up to the base of the gray toes, the claws are gray-brown and have blackish tips.
It was once considered a subspecies of the Madagascar scops owl ( Otus rutilus ). It differs from this one in its smaller size and monotonous plumage.
Way of life
She lives in semi-open areas with densely leafy trees, even with clove plantations. Its food is mainly made up of insects, which it catches in flight or from a hide. Her voice consists of an irregularly repeated, long series of hollow-sounding hu sounds lasting from half a second to a second.
distribution
The Pemba scops owl is endemic to the island of Pemba off the coast of Tanzania . It is not rare, but endangered because of its small habitat.
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. 135.