Spotted Eagle Owl

Text Version

Saturday May 10th, 2008

Spotted Eagle Owl
Bubo africanus

Click on small image to view larger one

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

Registered Charity Number: 1055489
Limited Company Number: 5296745

The World Owl Trust is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). The Trust relies on a dedicated membership, visitors, donations and legacies.

Any comments, errors or problems please contact the webmaster