Reddish scops owl
| Reddish scops owl | ||||||||||
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Reddish scops owl ( Otus rufescens ), bird hide |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Otus rufescens | ||||||||||
| ( Horsfield , 1821) |
The reddish Zwergohreule ( Otus rufescens ) is an owl from the genus of scops owl . It occurs on the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago .
description
The very small owl is 15 to 18 centimeters long and 70 to 83 grams in weight. The light morph has a reddish brown upper side with light reddish yellow spots. The underside is yellowish brown to pale yellow with a few spots. The dark morph is much darker brown above and below with a similar pattern. The eyes are chestnut to amber brown, the beak is yellowish white, the conspicuous feather ears are spotted. The rather long legs are feathered almost to the base of the yellowish toes.
Way of life
The owl inhabits lowland rainforests and evergreen forests up to 1,350 meters. It also lives in cleared primary and secondary forests . Insects, especially grasshoppers, but also crabs make their food. It emits high-pitched calls that fall slightly in pitch and are repeated every ten seconds.
distribution
The nominate form O. r. rufescens lives on Sumatra , Bangka , Java and Borneo . The subspecies O. r. malayensis from southern Thailand to the Malay Peninsula is more reddish brown at the top and more reddish ocher at the bottom. The birds of the Sulu archipelago were classified as subspecies O. r. burbidgei , but its status is questionable.
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. 174.