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World Owl Trust - leading the World in Owl Conservation
Saturday 4th February, 2012


Spotted Eagle Owl
Bubo africanus
Spotted Eagle Owl - Bubo africanus
Spotted Eagle Owl - Bubo africanus
As of February 2005.
Description Medium to large owl with prominent ear tufts. Upper-parts dusky brown with pale spots, under-parts whitish and finely barred. Facial disk whitish to pale ochre. A more rufous morph exists in more arid areas.
Size 45cm, 480-850g
Range Africa south of the equator, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Habitat Savannah, rocky outcrops, scrub, open and semi-open woodland, semi-deserts.
Food Invertebrates, small mammals, birds and reptiles.
Breeding July-February, 2-4 eggs laid in scrape on the ground, normally sheltered by a bush, grass or rocks. Incubation 32 days. Young leave the nest by about 5 weeks and are fledged by 7 weeks, but remain with parents for at least another 5 weeks.
Call Song is normally 1 or 2 “double hoots”, followed by a 3 syllable hoot and then 1 long drawn out hoot hoo-hoo buhuhu-hoooh.
Status Not globally threatened, widespread and locally common. The status of the race milesi is unknown.
Comments None at this time.
Races Formerly included B.cinerascens as a race, but morphologically distinct with no evidence of interbreeding where the ranges overlap. The exact status of the milesi race is unclear and it may represent a distinct species. Other races have been described but probably represent individual variation.
B.a.africanus Sub-equatorial Africa from Kenya and Uganda south to the Cape
B.a.milesi W Arabian Peninsula

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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