Red-breasted pygmy owl
| Red-breasted pygmy owl | ||||||||||
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Red-breasted pygmy owl (right) and Guatemala pygmy owl (left) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Glaucidium tephronotum | ||||||||||
| Sharpe , 1875 |
The red-breasted pygmy owl ( Glaucidium tephronotum ) is a small species of pygmy owl . It occurs exclusively in sub-Saharan Africa.
Appearance and voice
The red-breasted pygmy owl reaches a body size of 17 to 18 centimeters. The head is rounded and feather ears are missing.
The top of the body is dark brown or grayish. There are no spots on the forehead or part of the head. There is an indistinct occipital face in the neck . The underside of the body is whitish. The sides of the chest and the flanks are washed out from rust-brown to orange. It is darkly spotted from the sides of the neck to the belly. The eyes are yellow, the legs are feathered.
Distribution area and habitat
The red-breasted pygmy owl occurs in West Africa from Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, South Cameroon and the Congo Basin to Uganda and west of Kenya. It is a resident bird that prefers to colonize primary forests and shrubland up to altitudes of 2150 meters above sea level.
Way of life
The red-breasted pygmy owl is crepuscular and nocturnal. It transmits in tree holes, but also hunts during the day on cloudy days. The food spectrum consists mainly of insects. It eats beetles, praying mantises, moths and cockroaches, among other things. But it also beats small mammals up to the size of small rats and small birds. The reproductive habits are largely unexplored. It probably breeds in nest holes.
supporting documents
Single receipts
literature
- Claus König , Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World. Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2 .
Web links
- Glaucidium tephronotum inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2013.