Styx owl
| Styx owl | ||||||||||
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Styx owl ( Asio stygius ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Asio stygius | ||||||||||
| ( Wagler , 1832) |
The styx owl ( Asio stygius ) is a species from the family of real owls. It occurs in four subspecies in North, Central and South America.
Appearance
With a height of 38 to 46 centimeters, it is a medium-sized to relatively large representative of its species. Like all eared owls, it has striking feather ears . It is soot-brown on the upper side of the body with individual pale spots and short whitish eyebrows. These contrast strongly with the rather grayish face. It is thickly speckled with dark brown on the front breast. The rest of the underside of the body has dark vertical stripes and some horizontal stripes. The wings are relatively long, the tail is short. The eyes are yellowish.
It can be confused with the Great Horned Owl , which is much larger, has more strongly developed claws and is noticeably striated across the underside of the body. The long-eared owl is smaller and has a rather reddish-brown facial veil, which is surrounded by a dark and noticeable border. The screech owl is smaller and has dark eyes.
distribution and habitat
The styx owl occurs from northwest Mexico across Central America and the Caribbean to South America. There it occurs in Colombia and Ecuador as well as in the north and northeast of Argentina and in the southeast of Brazil. However, their area of distribution is not contiguous.
The styx owl is a resident bird. However, young owls of this species show a clear dispersion movement. Their habitat are moist to semi-arid forests at altitudes between 600 and 3,000 meters above sea level.
Way of life
The styx owl is a crepuscular and nocturnal species of owl. It transmits in the dense foliage of trees, often hidden between epiphytes and lianas. Very often it sits near the trunk. Similar to the long-eared owl, it erects itself strongly when disturbed and then erects its feather-ears vertically. In the case of Styx owls who do not feel disturbed, the feather ears are open and almost invisible.
The food spectrum includes small mammals, including bats. It beats birds up to the size of a pigeon. It also eats other small vertebrates and lizards. Reproductive biology, on the other hand, is not very well researched. However, it has been proven with certainty that the clutch usually comprises two eggs and that only the female incubates.
supporting documents
Single receipts
- ↑ König et al., P. 477
literature
- Claus König , Friedhelm Weick: Owls of the World . Christopher Helm, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
Web links
- Asio stygius inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013.