| Pharaoh eagle-owl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| At Kakegawa Kacho-en, Kakegawa, Shizuoka, Japan | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Bubo |
| Species: | B. ascalaphus |
| Binomial name | |
| Bubo ascalaphus Savigny, 1809 | |
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| Range of the Pharaoh eagle-owl | |
The Pharaoh eagle-owl (Bubo ascalaphus) is a Middle Eastern and North African species of owl in the family Strigidae.
The Pharaoh eagle-owl has a mottled plumage and large orange-yellow eyes. The head and upperparts are tawny and densely marked with black and creamy-white streaks and blotches, while the underparts are pale creamy-white, with black streaks on the upper breast and fine reddish-brown vermiculations on the lower breast and belly. The face has the disc-like form typical of most owls, defined by a dark rim, the robust bill is black and hooked, and the head is crowned with small ear tufts. With a body length of 46–50 cm (18–20 in), it is one of the smaller eagle-owl species. There are two recognised subspecies of the Pharaoh eagle-owl, the Pharaoh eagle-owl (B. a. ascalaphus) and the desert eagle-owl (B. a. desertorum), the latter being smaller and paler with sandier colouration.
The Pharaoh eagle-owl is native to much of arid Northern Africa, including some of the most desolate parts of the central Saharan Desert, [2] where it may be found in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal (vagrant owls), Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara. [2] Its range extends eastward into the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, where it is found in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. [2] [1] Its preferred habitat is mostly open, barren plains or desert with scattered palms or other endemic plants, where it nests in rocky outcrops, wadis and cliffs. [3]
The Pharaoh eagle-owl is nocturnal and emerges at dusk to hunt over an area of about 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi). It will feed on any small creatures it can find including mammals, birds, snakes, lizards, beetles and scorpions. It perches on an eminence and watches and listens so as to detect moving prey before swooping down on its victim. [3]
This owl is monogamous and forms a lifelong relationship. Breeding takes place in late winter and the nest is a scrape in a crevice or among rocks. Two eggs are laid and incubated by the female for about 31 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and leave the nest at about 20 to 35 days old, but remain reliant on their parents for several more months. [3]
The Pharaoh eagle-owl has a very large range and is reported as being abundant in at least part of the range. It faces no particular threats, and is therefore listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. [1]
The fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of molluscs, insects and earthworms in the summer, and berries, grain and seeds in the winter.
The isabelline wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher in the family Muscicapidae. It is a migratory insectivorous bird. Its habitat is steppe and open countryside and it breeds in southern Russia and Central Asia to northern Pakistan, wintering in Africa and northwestern India. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
The desert wheatear is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). It is a migratory insectivorous species, 14.5 to 15 cm in length. Both western and eastern forms of the desert wheatear are rare vagrants to western Europe. The western desert wheatear breeds in the Sahara and the northern Arabian peninsula. The eastern race is found in the semi-deserts of Central Asia and in winter in Pakistan and northeast Africa.
The Eurasian eagle-owl is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and females can grow to a total length of 75 cm (30 in), with a wingspan of 188 cm, with males being slightly smaller. This bird has distinctive ear tufts, with upper parts that are mottled with darker blackish colouring and tawny. The wings and tail are barred. The underparts are a variably hued buff, streaked with darker colouring. The facial disc is not very defined and the orange eyes are distinctive.
The brown fish owl is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. Due its wide distribution it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It inhabits forests and wooded wetlands. Of the four living species of fish owl, it is the most widely distributed, most common and best-studied. It occupies a range of over 7,000 km (4,300 mi).
The long-legged buzzard is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long-legged buzzard is a member of the genus Buteo, being one of the larger species therein. Despite being relatively powerful, it is considered a rather sluggish raptor overall. Like most buzzards, it prefers small mammals such as rodents, including gerbils, ground squirrels, voles and rats, also taking reptiles, birds and insects as well as carrion. Adaptable to a variety of habitats, long-legged buzzards may nest on a variety of surfaces, including rocks, cliffs and trees. it is a typical buzzard in its reproductive biology. The long-legged buzzard is widely distributed and appears to be quite stable in population. Therefore, it is considered as Least Concern by the IUCN.
The tawny eagle is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its heavily feathered legs mark it as a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as booted eagles. Tawny eagles have an extensive but discontinuous breeding range that constitutes much of the African continent as well as the Indian subcontinent, with rare residency in the southern Middle East. Throughout its range, it favours open dry habitats such as semideserts, deserts steppes, or savanna plains. Despite its preference for arid areas, the species seldom occurs in areas where trees are entirely absent. It is a resident breeder which lays one to three eggs in a stick nest most commonly in the crown of a tree. The tawny eagle is perhaps the most highly opportunistic of all Aquilinae, and often scavenges on carrion or engages in kleptoparasitism towards other carnivorous animals but is also a bold and active predator, often of relatively large and diverse prey. It is estimated that tawny eagles can reach the age of 16 years old. Nonetheless, precipitous declines have been detected throughout the tawny eagle's range. Numerous factors, particularly loss of nesting habitat due to logging and global warming, as well as persecution and other anthropogenic mortality are driving the once numerous tawny eagle perhaps to the brink of extinction.
Blakiston's fish owl, the largest living species of owl, is a fish owl, a sub-group of eagle-owls that specialize in hunting in riparian areas. It is native to China, Japan, and the Russian Far East. This species is a part of the family known as typical owls (Strigidae), which contains most species of owl. Blakiston's fish owl and three other piscivorous owls are placed with some eagle-owls in the genus Ketupa. Its habitat is riparian forest with large, old trees for nest sites that is near lakes, rivers, springs, and shoals that do not freeze in winter. Henry Seebohm named this bird after the English naturalist Thomas Blakiston, who collected the original specimen in Hakodate on Hokkaidō, Japan in 1883.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl, also known as the forest eagle-owl is a large bird of prey with a formidable appearance. It is a forest-inhabiting species found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. This species is considered part of a superspecies with the barred eagle-owl, which looks quite similar but is allopatric in distribution.
Temminck's lark or Temminck's horned lark, is a bird species of the family Alaudidae. It breeds across much of north Africa, through northern Saudi Arabia to western Iraq. It is mainly resident, but some populations of this passerine bird are partially migratory, moving further south in winter. This bird's common name commemorates the Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. The population is declining in Israel and may also be declining elsewhere, probably as a result of habitat loss. Nevertheless, this is a common bird in many parts of its wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Verreaux's eagle-owl, also commonly known as the milky eagle owl or giant eagle owl, is a member of the family Strigidae. This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. A member of the genus Ketupa, it is the largest African owl, measuring up to 66 cm (26 in) in total length. This eagle-owl is a resident primarily of dry, wooded savanna. Verreaux's eagle-owl is mainly grey in color and is distinguishable from other large owls by its bright pink eyelids, a feature shared with no other owl species in the world.
The Bengal eagle-owl, also widely known as the Indian eagle-owl or rock eagle-owl, is a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent. It is splashed with brown and grey, and has a white throat patch with black small stripes. It was earlier treated as a subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl. It is usually seen in pairs. It has a deep resonant booming call that may be heard at dawn and dusk.
The spotted eagle-owl, also known as the African spotted eagle-owl and the African eagle-owl, is a medium-sized species of owl, one of the smallest of the eagle owls. Its length is 45 cm (18 in) and its weight is from 454 to 907 grams. It has a 100 to 140 cm wingspan. The facial disk is off-white to pale ochre and the eyes are yellow. It has prominent ear-tufts, and the upper body is dusky brown, the lower parts off-white with brown bars. Prior to 1999 the spotted eagle-owl was considered conspecific with the greyish eagle-owl, but now it is classed as a separate species.
The Cape eagle-owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is one of several large species of the eagle-owl genus Bubo.
The akun eagle-owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae, native to the African tropical rainforest.
Fraser's eagle-owl is a species of African owl in the family Strigidae. It is named after the British zoologist Louis Fraser.
The Usambara eagle-owl, also called the East African nduk eagle-owl or Vosseier's eagle-owl, is a taxon of owl in the family Strigidae. It is now regarded as a subspecies of Fraser's eagle-owl. It is endemic to the Usambara Mountains in Tanga Region of Tanzania.
Pel's fishing owl is a large species of owl in the family Strigidae, found in Africa. It lives near rivers and lakes, and feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The species prefers slow-moving rivers with large, overhanging trees to roost in and forage from. It nests in hollows and the forks of large trees. Though as many as two eggs are laid, often only one chick is raised.
Whitaker's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Western Sahara, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, rocky and sandy coasts. It is a fairly common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
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