bg aves

(Strigidae)

Typical Owls

Совові

The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls. This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The Strigidae owls have a cosmopolitan distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica.

While typical owls (hereafter referred to simply as owls) vary greatly in size, with the smallest species, the elf owl, being a hundredth the size of the largest, the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakiston’s fish owl, owls generally share an extremely similar body plan. They tend to have large heads, short tails, cryptic plumage, and round facial discs around the eyes. The family is generally arboreal (with a few exceptions like the burrowing owl) and obtain their food on the wing. The wings are large, broad, rounded, and long. As is the case with most birds of prey, in many owl species females are larger than males.

Because of their nocturnal habits, they tend not to exhibit sexual dimorphism in their plumage. Specialized feathers and wing shape suppress the noise produced by flying, both taking off, flapping and gliding. This silent flight allows owls to hunt without being heard by their prey. Owls possess three physical attributes that are thought to contribute to their silent flight capability. First, on the leading edge of the wing, there is a comb of stiff feathers. Second, the trailing edge of the wing contains a flexible fringe. Finally, owls have downy material distributed on the tops of their wings that creates a compliant but rough surface (similar to that of a soft carpet). All these factors result in significant aerodynamic noise reductions. The toes and tarsi are feathered in some species, and more so in species at higher latitudes. Numerous species of owls in the genus Glaucidium and the northern hawk-owl have eye patches on the backs of their heads, apparently to convince other birds they are being watched at all times. Numerous nocturnal species have ear-tufts, feathers on the sides of the head that are thought to have a camouflage function, breaking up the outline of a roosting bird. The feathers of the facial disc are arranged in order to increase sound delivered to the ears. Hearing in owls is highly sensitive and the ears are asymmetrical allowing the owl to localise a sound in multiple directions. Owls can pinpoint the position of prey, such as a squeaking mouse, by computing when the sound from the object reaches the owl’s ears. If the sound reaches the left ear first, the mouse must be to the left of the owl. The owl’s brain will then direct the head to directly face the mouse. In addition to hearing, owls have massive eyes relative to their body size. Contrary to popular belief, however, owls cannot see well in extreme dark and are able to see well in the day.

Behaviour

Owls are generally nocturnal and/or crepuscular and spend much of the day roosting. They are often misperceived as ‘tame’ since they allow humans to approach quite closely before taking flight, but in reality they are attempting to avoid detection through stillness. Their cryptic plumage and the inconspicuous locations they adopt are an effort to avoid predators and mobbing by small birds.

Communication

Owls, such as the eagle-owl, will use visual signaling in intraspecific communication (communication within the species), both in territorial habits and parent-offspring interactions. Some researchers believe owls can employ various visual signals in other situations involving intraspecific interaction. Experimental evidence suggests that owl feces and the remains of prey can act as visual signals. This new type of signaling behavior could potentially indicate the owls’ current reproductive state to intruders, including other territorial owls or non-breeding floaters. Feces are an ideal material for marking due to its minimal energetic costs, and can also continue to indicate territorial boundaries even when occupied in activities other than territorial defense. Preliminary evidence also suggests that owls will use feces and the feathers of their prey to signal their breeding status to members within the same species.

Migration

Some species of owl are migratory. One such species, the northern saw-whet owl, migrates south even when food and resources are ample in the north.

Habitat, climate and seasonal changes

Some owls have a higher survival rate and are more likely to reproduce in a habitat that contains a mixture of old growth forests and other vegetation types. Old growth forests provide ample dark areas for owls to hide from predators. Like many organisms, spotted owls rely on forest fires to create their habitat and provide areas for foraging. Unfortunately, climate change and intentional fire suppression have altered natural fire habits. Owls avoid badly burned areas but they benefit from the mosaics of heterogeneous habitats created by fires. This is not to say that all fires are good for owls. Owls only thrive when fires are not of high severity and not large stand-replacing (high-severity fires that burn most of the vegetation) which create large canopy gaps that are not adequate for owls.

Predators

The main predators of owls are other species of owls. An example of this occurs with the northern saw-whet owl that lives in the northern U.S. and lives low to the ground in brushy areas typically of cedar forests. These owls eat mice, and perch in trees at eye level. Their main predators are barred owls and great horned owls.

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athene jacquinoti

(Athene jacquinoti)

West Solomons Owl

Сова-голконіг меланезійська

Body length: 23–31 cm.
Weight: ≈175 g.

It is native to the western portion of Solomon Islands archipelago, where it is found in tropical or subtropical moist forests in lowlands and foothills, at elevations up to 1,500 m.

athene granti

(Athene granti)

Guadalcanal Owl

Сич гвадалканальський

It is endemic to Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands. It inhabits forests and forest edges at elevations up to 1,500 m.

athene roseoaxillaris

(Athene roseoaxillaris)

Makira Owl

Сич макіранський

Body length: ≈21 cm.

Mostly located on Makira Island, it is indigenous to the Solomon Islands. It lives in thick tropical rainforests, preferably in places where there is a lot of canopy cover. This species is frequently found close to water sources and has been seen in both main and secondary forests.

athene malaitae

(Athene malaitae)

Malaita Owl

Сич малаїтанський

It is endemic to Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands.

surnia ulula

(Surnia ulula)

Northern Hawk-Owl

Сова яструбина

Body length: 36–41 cm.
Wingspan: 74–81 cm.
Weight: 280–380 g.

It is found from eastern Alaska through Canada to Newfoundland, extending south in some areas into the northern United States, and from north-eastern Europe eastward to Siberia. It inhabits open coniferous forests, or coniferous forests mixed with deciduous species. They are found in muskegs, clearings, swamp valleys, meadows, or recently burnt areas, and generally avoid dense spruce-fir forests.

glaucidium siju

(Glaucidium siju)

Cuban Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець кубинський

Body length: 16–17 cm.
Weight: 47–102 g.

It is endemic to Cuba. It inhabits the interiors and edges of coastal, deciduous, and montane forest, both primary and secondary. and also found in areas such as pastures with scattered trees, cultivated fields, plantations, and large city parks, at elevations up to 1,500 m.

glaucidium nana

(Glaucidium nana)

Austral Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець магеланський

Body length: 17–21 cm.
Weight: 56–100 g.

It is found from approximately Valparaíso Province in Chile and Neuquén Province in western Argentina south to the tip of Tierra del Fuego. It inhabits a variety of landscapes from city parks and farmland with scattered trees to deciduous forests and thickets, evergreen shrublands, temperate and southern beech (Nothofagus) forests, and Patagonian steppe, at elevations up to 2,000 m.

glaucidium peruanum

(Glaucidium peruanum)

Pacific Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець перуанський

Body length: 15–17 cm.
Weight: 60–65 g.

It is found on the western slope of the Andes from north-central Ecuador south through Peru into Chile as far as the Antofagasta Region. It inhabits a variety of moist to arid landscapes including deciduous and riparian forest, arid lowland and montane scrublands, agricultural areas with large trees, and gardens, at elevations up to 3,500 m.

glaucidium brasilianum

(Glaucidium brasilianum)

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець рудий

Body length: 15–20 cm.
Weight: 60–75 g.

It is found in south-central Arizona and southern Texas in the United States, extending south through Mexico and Central America into Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. It inhabits a wide range of semi-open wooded habitats at elevations up to 2,250 m.

glaucidium minutissimum

(Glaucidium minutissimum)

Least Pygmy-Owl

Сичик-горобець крихітний

Body length: 12–15 cm.
Weight: 45–55 g.

It is found in south-eastern Brazil and easternmost Paraguay. It inhabits tropical and subtropical moist evergreen forests and edges as well as open bush canopy.

glaucidium hardyi

(Glaucidium hardyi)

Amazonian Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець бразильський

Body length: 14–15 cm.
Weight: ≈60 g.

It occurs in the central and southwestern areas of the Amazonia region. Its presence has been confirmed in Brasil, northern Bolivia, in Peru, and extending east to eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. It inhabits the canopy and subcanopy of tall, humid, tropical evergreen forests, at elevations up to 1,100 m.

glaucidium parkeri

(Glaucidium parkeri)

Subtropical Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець бурий

Body length: 14–14,5 cm.
Weight: ≈61.6 g.

It is found on the east slope of the Andes from far south-western Colombia through Ecuador and Peru to central Bolivia. It inhabits humid montane forest at elevations of 600–2,000 m.

glaucidium griseiceps

(Glaucidium griseiceps)

Central American Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець буроголовий

Body length: 13–18 cm.
Weight: 50–58 g.

It is found from southern Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama into northw-estern Colombia. A disjunct populations is in far north-western Ecuador. It inhabits lowland and foothill humid tropical evergreen forest, secondary forest, semi-open areas, and mature cacao plantations, at elevations up to 1,300 m.

(Glaucidium sanchezi)

Tamaulipas Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець мексиканський

Body length: 13–16 cm.
Weight: ≈53 g.

It is endemic to Mexico where it is only found in the mountains of northeastern Mexico, in the northern part of the state of Hidalgo and the southeastern part of the state of San Luis Potosí. Its habitat is moist evergreen forest, montane forest and cloud forest at elevations of 900–2,100 m.

glaucidium palmarum

(Glaucidium palmarum)

Colima Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець світлоголовий

Body length: 13–15 cm.
Weight: 43–48 g.

It is found in western Mexico from central Sonora south to Oaxaca, ranging from sea level up to 1,500 m in elevation. It inhabits several types of forests including thorn, tropical deciduous, lowland tropical evergreen, and the lower parts of humid montane forests. It is also found in coffee plantations.

glaucidium bolivianum

(Glaucidium bolivianum)

Yungas Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець болівійський

Body length: ≈16 cm.
Weight: 55–66 g.

It is found on the eastern slope of the Andes of Peru south through Bolivia into north-western Argentina. It inhabits montane forest and cloud forest with heavy undergrowth and much moss and epiphytes, and also Podocarpus forest, at elevations of 1,400–3,000 m.

glaucidium jardinii

(Glaucidium jardinii)

Andean Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець андійський

Body length: 15–16 cm.
Weight: 55–75 g.

It is found in far western Venezuela and the central and western Andes of Colombia south through Ecuador to central Peru. It inhabits a variety of mountain landscapes including cloudforest, elfin forest, Polylepis woodland, and sometimes more open landscapes, at elevations of 1,500–3,500 m.

glaucidium nubicola

(Glaucidium nubicola)

Cloud-forest Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець еквадорський

Body length: 14.5–16 cm.
Wingspan: 92–96 cm.
Weight: 75.6–79.3 g.

It is found throughout the Andes of western Colombia and north-western Ecuador, being confined to cloud forests between 900–2,000 m.

glaucidium costaricanum

(Glaucidium costaricanum)

Costa Rican Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець коста-риканський

Body length: 14.5–17 cm.
Weight: 53–99 g.

It is found the Cordillera Central and Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica, and (patchily) into western Panama, where it inhabits the canopy and edges of humid montane oak and evergreen forests. It occurs at elevations of 900–3,000 m.

glaucidium gnoma

(Glaucidium gnoma)

Northern Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець гірський

Body length: 15–17 cm.
Weight: 48–73 g.

It is native to western Canada, the western United States, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. Its habitats include coniferous, broad-leaved, and mixed mountain forests, as well as tropical and subtropical oak, pine, and evergreen forests, at elevations of 1,500–3,500 m.

glaucidium passerinum

(Glaucidium passerinum)

Eurasian Pygmy Owl

Сичик-горобець євразійський

Body length: 15.2–19 cm.
Weight: 50–77 g.

It is found in the boreal forests of Northern and Central Europe to eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and north-eastern China. It is found primarily in coniferous forests of the taiga and higher mountainous regions with coniferous and mixed forests.

glaucidium capense

(Glaucidium capense)

African Barred Owlet

Сичик-горобець мозамбіцький

Body length: 17–20 cm.

It is endemic to Southern and Eastern Africa from Kenya and the Eastern Cape to Western Angola. It occurs in open habitats with trees such as gallery forest, woodland, forest edge and secondary growth.

glaucidium castanotum

(Glaucidium castanotum)

Chestnut-Backed Owlet

Сичик-горобець цейлонський

Body length: 17–19 cm.
Wingspan: 122–133 cm.
Weight: ≈100 g.

It is endemic to Sri Lanka. It inhabits dense humid lowland and mountain tropical forests, at elevations up to 1,950 m.

glaucidium radiatum

(Glaucidium radiatum)

Jungle Owlet

Сичик-горобець індійський

Body length: 20–22 cm.
Weight: 88–114 g.

It is found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. It is found in habitats ranging from scrub forest to deciduous and moist deciduous forests, at elevations up to 2,000 m.

glaucidium cuculoides

(Glaucidium cuculoides)

Asian Barred Owlet

Сичик-горобець азійський

Body length: 22–25 cm.
Weight: 150–240 g.

It is found in southeast China, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, northeast India and the foothills of the Himalayas into Pakistan. It inhabits woodland habitats such as pine and oak forests, subtropical and tropical evergreen jungles at lower elevations.

glaucidium sjostedti

(Glaucidium sjostedti)

Sjöstedt's Barred Owlet

Сичик-горобець білогорлий

Body length: 20–25 cm.
Weight: ≈140 g.

It occurs in western Central Africa, from south-eastern Nigeria east through Cameroon to the Central African Republic, and southwards to Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, northern Congo and north-western and central Democratic Republic of Congo. It is generally restricted to lowland primary forest; it avoids regions that are particularly damp, and the forest edges.

glaucidium tephronotum

(Glaucidium tephronotum)

Red-Chested Owlet

Сичик-горобець рудобокий

Body length: 14–18 cm.
Wingspan: ≈35 cm.

It is found in Western and Central Africa. It inhabits primary rainforest and a mosaic of forest and scrub, as well as clearings and forest edges, at elevations up to 2,150 m.

glaucidium perlatum

(Glaucidium perlatum)

Pearl-Spotted Owlet

Сичик-горобець савановий

Body length: 17–19 cm.
Weight: 65–100 g.

It is found in sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs in a wide range of woodland and bushveld habitats, especially mopane and open thorn savanna with areas of sparse ground cover. They avoid dense woodland and forest, and open grassland and shrubland.

glaucidium castanopterum

(Glaucidium castanopterum)

Javan Owlet

Сичик-горобець яванський

Body length: 23–25 cm.

It is native to the islands of Java and Bali. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests at elevations up to 900 m.

The genus (Glaucidium) also includes:  Albertine Owlet (Glaucidium albertinum), Pernambuco Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium mooreorum).

(Otus bikegila)

Principe Scops Owl

Сплюшка принсіпська

It is found only on Príncipe Island, in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of Africa. It is found at low elevations in old native forest, which is now confined to the southern part of the island.

otus podarginus

(Otus podarginus)

Palau Scops Owl

Сплюшка мікронезійська

Body length: ≈22 cm.

It is endemic to the Palau Islands in the western Pacific, where they are found in woodland and lagoon trees, ravines and mangrove swamps.

otus jolandae

(Otus jolandae)

Rinjani Scops Owl

Сплюшка ринджанська

Body length: ≈23 cm.

It is found only on Lombok in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia and its neighbouring Gili Islands. It inhabits humid tropical forests at elevations up to 1,350 m.

otus silvicola

(Otus silvicola)

Wallace's Scops Owl

Сплюшка сумбейська

Body length: 23–27 cm.

It is endemic to the Sumbawa and Flores islands, in the Lesser Sundas chain of Indonesia. It inhabits humid lowland and montane tropical forests, forest clearings, secondary growth, and bamboo thickets, and occurs near human settlements at elevations of 350–1,700 m.

otus fuliginosus

(Otus fuliginosus)

Palawan Scops Owl

Сплюшка палаванська

Body length: 19–20 cm.

It is endemic to the Philippines, being found only on the island of Palawan. It is found on tropical moist lowland forest.

otus everetti

(Otus everetti)

Everett's Scops Owl

Сплюшка самарська

Body length: 22–25 cm.

It is found on Bohol, Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Mindanao and Basilan. It is found in tropical moist lowland forests and the lower reaches of montane forests, at elevations up to 1,500 m.

otus megalotis

(Otus megalotis)

Philippine Scops Owl

Сплюшка філіпінська

Body length: 23–28 cm.
Weight: 125–310 g.

It is found on Luzon, Marinduque, and Catanduanes in the northern Philippines. It inhabits humid lowland and montane tropical forests, at elevations of 300–1,600 m.

otus nigrorum

(Otus nigrorum)

Negros Scops Owl

Сплюшка негроська

Body length: 22–25 cm.

It is endemic to the islands of Negros and Panay in the Philippines. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland and montane primary and secondary forests, at elevations up to 1,000 m.

otus lempiji

(Otus lempiji)

Sunda Scops Owl

Сплюшка калімантанська

Body length: 20–25 cm.
Weight: 100–170 g.

It lives on the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. It can be found primarily in forests and gardens but is occasionally attracted to buildings.

otus semitorques

(Otus semitorques)

Japanese Scops Owl

Сплюшка японська

Body length: 16–30 cm.
Wingspan: 60–66 cm.
Weight: 130–200 g.

It is found in Japan, the Korean Peninsula, north-eastern China, and Russia (Sakhalin and Primorsky Krai). It lives in forested habitats such as lowland forests, wooded plains, and forested hillsides, at elevations up to 900 m.

otus lettia

(Otus lettia)

Collared Scops Owl

Сплюшка бангладеська

Body length: 23–25 cm.
Weight: 100–170 g.

It is a resident breeder in South Asia, from northern Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Himalayas east to southern China and Taiwan. It inhabits dry and humid tropical forests, woodlands, plantations, parks, and gardens, at elevations up to 2,400 m.

otus bakkamoena

(Otus bakkamoena)

Indian Scops Owl

Сплюшка індійська

Body length: 23–25 cm.

It is found in Pakistan, Iran, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. They live in dry and humid tropical forests, woodlands, and forested areas, in arid regions, on plantations, and in parks and gardens, at elevations up to 2,400 m.

otus brookii

(Otus brookii)

Rajah scops owl

Сплюшка малазійська

Body length: 21–25 cm.

It occurs in the Barisan Mountains of western Sumatra and in the mountains of northern Kalimantan, northern Sarawak, north-western North Kalimantan, and southern Sabah. It inhabits humid montane rainforests at elevations of 1,200–2,400 m.

otus mentawi

(Otus mentawi)

Mentawai Scops Owl

Сплюшка атолова

Body length: ≈20 cm.

It is endemic to larger islands of Mentawai, of west Sumatra, Indonesia. It inhabits humid lowland tropical forests and secondary thickets.

otus enganensis

(Otus enganensis)

Enggano Scops Owl

Сплюшка енганська

Body length: 18–20 cm.

It is endemic to Enggano Island, Indonesia. It inhabits humid tropical forests and woodlands.

otus umbra

(Otus umbra)

Simeulue Scops Owl

Сплюшка сималурська

Body length: 16–18 cm.
Weight: 90–100 g.

It is endemic to the island of Simeulue, Indonesia. It inhabits the edges of humid tropical forests, especially in coastal areas, and is also found in clove plantations.

otus alius

(Otus alius)

Nicobar Scops Owl

Сплюшка нікобарська

Body length: 19–20 cm.

It is endemic to the Nicobar Islands, India. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests.

otus insularis

(Otus insularis)

Seychelles Scops Owl

Сплюшка магейська

Body length: 19–21 cm.

It occurs in the Morne Seychellois National Park on the Seychelles island of Mahé. It lives in humid and cloud tropical forests, in gardens and plantations, at elevations of 100–700 m.

otus mantananensis

(Otus mantananensis)

Mantanani Scops Owl

Сплюшка мантананійська

Body length: 18–20 cm.
Weight: 106–110 g.

It is found on small islands between Borneo and the Philippines. It lives in humid lowland tropical forests, at forest edges and clearings, and in coconut groves and casuarina plantations.

otus collari

(Otus collari)

Sangihe Scops Owl

Сплюшка сангезька

Body length: 19–20 cm.
Weight: ≈76 g.

It is endemic to the Sangihe Islands, occurring mainly in North Sangihe, Indonesia, where it inhabits forests and mixed plantations.

otus mendeni

(Otus mendeni)

Banggai Scops Owl

Сплюшка бангайська

It is found on Banggai Island in Indonesia. It lives in humid flat tropical forests, at elevations up to 1,000 m.

otus manadensis

(Otus manadensis)

Sulawesi Scops Owl

Сплюшка сулавеська

Body length: 19–22 cm.
Weight: 83–93 g.

It is found on the Sulawesi island of Indonesia. It lives in humid lowland and montane tropical forests, at elevations up to 2,500 m.

otus beccarii

(Otus beccarii)

Biak Scops Owl

Сплюшка біяцька

Body length: 23–25 cm.

It is endemic to the twin islands of Biak-Supiori in Cenderawasih Bay, Papua, Indonesia. It lives in humid lowland and swampy tropical forests, at elevations up to 300 m.

otus sulaensis

(Otus sulaensis)

Sula Scops Owl

Сплюшка сулайська

Body length: ≈20 cm.

It is found on the Sula Islands of Indonesia. It lives in humid lowland and montane tropical forests and swamps, at elevations up to 1,100 m.

otus tempestatis

(Otus tempestatis)

Wetar Scops Owl

Сплюшка ветарська

Body length: 19–20 cm.

It is endemic to Wetar of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lives in humid lowland tropical forests, plantations, and gardens.

otus magicus

(Otus magicus)

Moluccan Scops Owl

Сплюшка серамська

Body length: 23–25 cm.
Weight: 114–165 g.

It is found in the Maluku and Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. It lives in lowland and swampy tropical forests, as well as on plantations and in gardens, at elevations up to 900 m.

otus elegans

(Otus elegans)

Ryūkyū Scops Owl

Сплюшка ріукійська

Body length: ≈20 cm.
Weight: 100–107 g.

It is found on the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, on Lanyu Island off south-east Taiwan, and on the Batanes and Babuyan Islands off northern Luzon, Philippines, in tropical or subtropical evergreen forest.

otus sunia

(Otus sunia)

Oriental Scops Owl

Сплюшка східноазійська

Body length: 17–21 cm.
Wingspan: 49–52 cm.
Weight: 75–95 g.

It has an extremely wide distribution across eastern and southern Asia, from the Russian Far East to Thailand. It lives in various forests and woodlands, on plantations, in parks and gardens, at elevations up to 2,300 m.

otus socotranus

(Otus socotranus)

Socotra Scops Owl

Сплюшка сокотрійська

Body length: 15–16 cm.
Weight: 64–85 g.

It is endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Socotra off the Horn of Africa. On Socotra it is found on over 45% of the island, most numerous in areas where there are mature palms. Its preferred habitat is rocky semi-desert with scattered trees and bushes.

otus senegalensis

(Otus senegalensis)

African Scops Owl

Сплюшка африканська

Body length: 16–19 cm.
Wingspan: 40–45 cm.
Weight: 45–100 g.

It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. It ranges from sea level to 2,000 m in elevation, and is found in wooded habitats and forest edge, including in gardens and mangroves.

otus pamelae

(Otus pamelae)

Arabian Scops Owl

Сплюшка бліда

Body length: ≈18 cm.
Weight: 62–71 g.

It lives in the Sarawat Mountains in south-western Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman. It inhabits palm groves in semi-deserts and deserts, rocky areas with little vegetation, and areas near settlements.

otus brucei

(Otus brucei)

Pallid Scops Owl

Сплюшка булана

Body length: 18–22 cm.
Wingspan: 54–64 cm.
Weight: 90–130 g.

It ranges from the Middle East to west and central Asia, with some populations migrating as far as the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and Pakistan in the winter. It inhabits semi-open country with trees and bushes.

otus cyprius

(Otus cyprius)

Cyprus Scops Owl

Сплюшка кіпрська

Body length: ≈19 cm.

It is endemic to the island of Cyprus, where it occurs in rural areas, woodlands, and forests from sea level up to 1,900 m.

otus scops

(Otus scops)

Eurasian Scops Owl

Сплюшка євразійська

Body length: 19–21 cm.
Wingspan: 47–54 cm.
Weight: ≈80 g.

It breeds in southern Europe eastwards into western and central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in southernmost Europe and sub-Saharan Africa

otus pembaensis

(Otus pembaensis)

Pemba Scops Owl

Сплюшка вогниста

Body length: 17–18 cm.

It is endemic to Pemba, the northern island of the Zanzibar archipelago, off the coast of east Africa. It is found in all wooded habitats from native forest to overgrown plantations of cloves and mango. However, it is most common in native forest.

otus moheliensis

(Otus moheliensis)

Moheli Scops Owl

Сплюшка могелійська

Body length: 20–22 cm.
Weight: 95–116 g.

It is found only on the mountain in the centre of the island of Mohéli, the total range covering 21 km2, including the highest point of the ridge, at 790 m in altitude, and the adjacent upper slopes. It occurs in dense humid forest, which is rich in epiphytes between 450 and 790 m.

otus capnodes

(Otus capnodes)

Anjouan Scops Owl

Сплюшка коморська

Body length: 20–22 cm.
Wingspan: ≈45 cm.

It is found only on the island of Anjouan, where it occurs in the remaining fragments of native upland forest, degraded forest and plantations.

otus pauliani

(Otus pauliani)

Karthala Scops Owl

Сплюшка карталанська

Body length: 15–20 cm.
Wingspan: ≈45 cm.
Weight: ≈70 g.

It is endemic to the island of Grande Comore, the Karthala scops owl is found only on Mount Karthala, an active volcano. Here it inhabits the montane forest, some secondary growth and the tree-heath above the forest.

otus mayottensis

(Otus mayottensis)

Mayotte Scops Owl

Сплюшка майотська

Body length: 20–22 cm.
Weight: ≈120 g.

It is endemic to Maore Island in Mayotte, where it is common and widespread, inhabiting subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

otus rutilus

(Otus rutilus)

Rainforest Scops Owl

Сплюшка мадагаскарська

Body length: 22–24 cm.
Wingspan: 52–54 cm.
Weight: 85–120 g.

It is endemic to eastern parts of Madagascar. It prefers humid tropical forests and bush.

otus madagascariensis

(Otus madagascariensis)

Torotoroka Scops Owl

Тороторока

Body length: 20–22 cm.
Weight: 85–115 g.

It is endemic to western parts of Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests, as well as man-made habitats such as parks, up to 2,000 m above sea level.

otus hartlaubi

(Otus hartlaubi)

São Tomé Scops Owl

Сплюшка сан-томейська

Body length: 16–19 cm.
Weight: ≈79 g.

It is endemic to São Tomé Island in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

otus mindorensis

(Otus mindorensis)

Mindoro Scops Owl

Сплюшка міндорійська

Body length: 18–19 cm.

It is native to the Mindoro island in the Philippines. It is found in tropical moist montane forests, at elevations above 870 m.

otus longicornis

(Otus longicornis)

Luzon Scops Owl

Сплюшка лусонська

Body length: 18–19 cm.

It is endemic to Luzon, Philippines. It is found in rainforests, montane forests, and tropical pine forests, at elevations of 350–1,800 m.

otus mirus

(Otus mirus)

Mindanao Scops Owl

Сплюшка мінданайська

Body length: 19–20 cm.

It is endemic to Mindanao Island in the Philippines. It is found in tropical montane forest above 1,000 m.

otus angelinae

(Otus angelinae)

Javan Scops Owl

Сплюшка яванська

Body length: 16–18 cm.
Weight: 75–90 g.

It is endemic to West Java’s highland forest. It prefers montane forest with a well-developed understory at elevations of 1,500–2,000 m.

otus spilocephalus

(Otus spilocephalus)

Mountain Scops Owl

Сплюшка гірська

Body length: 17–21 cm.
Weight: 50–112 g.

It is found in Bangladesh Bhutan, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Taiwan, and Thailand. It inhabits humid montane and lowland tropical forests, at elevations up to 2,750 m.

otus alfredi

(Otus alfredi)

Flores Scops Owl

Сплюшка флореська

Body length: 19–21 cm.

It is endemic to the island of Flores, Indonesia, where it inhabits montane forests at elevations of 1,000–1,400 m.

otus balli

(Otus balli)

Andaman Scops Owl

Сплюшка андаманська

Body length: 18–19 cm.

It is native to the Andaman Islands of India. It prefers living in trees in semi-open areas, including gardens, cultivated areas, and next to human settlements.

otus ireneae

(Otus ireneae)

Sokoke Scops Owl

Сплюшка кенійська

Body length: 15–18 cm.
Weight: 45–55 g.

It has a highly restricted range in coastal Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania. It has very specific habitat requirements of undisturbed lowland forest.

otus icterorhynchus

(Otus icterorhynchus)

Sandy Scops Owl

Сплюшка жовтодзьоба

Body length: 18–20 cm.
Weight: 51–80 g.

It has a scattered distribution across the African tropical rainforest ; it has been recorded from Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. It occurs in lowland evergreen forest, open canopy forest and scrub, or in open forest mosaic land.

otus thilohoffmanni

(Otus thilohoffmanni)

Serendib Scops Owl

Сплюшка цейлонська

Body length: ≈16,5 cm.

It inhabits humid lowland tropical forests with dense undergrowth in southwestern Sri Lanka. It occurs at elevations of 50–300 m.

otus sagittatus

(Otus sagittatus)

White-Fronted Scops Owl

Сплюшка білолоба

Body length: 25–28 cm.
Weight: 110–140 g.

It is found in western Thailand and in Peninsular Malaysia. Its range covers about 149,000 km² of forest, at elevations of 0–700 m.

otus gurneyi

(Otus gurneyi)

Giant Scops Owl

Сплюшка велика

Body length: 30–35 cm.

It is known only from the islands of Dinagat, Siargao, and Mindanao in the southern Philippines. Its habitat is primary and secondary forests, mostly at an altitude of under 670 m although it has been seen up to 1,300 m.

otus rufescens

(Otus rufescens)

Reddish Scops Owl

Сплюшка суматранська

Body length: 15–18 cm.
Weight: 70–83 g.

It is found in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. It inhabits humid lowland tropical forests, at elevations up to 1,000 m.

The genus (Otus) also includes:  Annobón Scops Owl (Otus feae), Siau Scops Owl (Otus siaoensis).

ptilopsis granti

(Ptilopsis granti)

Southern White-Faced Owl

Сплюшка південна

Body length: 22–28 cm.
Weight: 185–220 g.

It occurs patchily in the western regions central and southern Africa. It prefers open terrain with scattered trees and bushes, such as savannas and light dry forests, and avoids deserts and dense forests.

ptilopsis leucotis

(Ptilopsis leucotis)

Northern White-Faced Owl

Сплюшка сіра

Body length: 24–25 cm.
Weight: ≈200 g.

Its range extends across the African continent, from the southern edge of the Sahara and the north-eastern tip of Africa, and from Senegal and Gambia in the west to Somalia in the east. It inhabits savannahs, open woodlands, dry woodlands, forest edges and clearings, and moderately dense riverine forests.

asio solomonensis

(Asio solomonensis)

Fearful Owl

Сова соломонська

Body length: ≈38 cm.

It is endemic to the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea and to Choiseul Island and Santa Isabel Island in the Solomon Islands. It is found in old-growth lowland and hill forest, usually in primary forest but also sometimes in nearby secondary forest and woodland edges up to 2,000 m.

asio capensis

(Asio capensis)

Marsh Owl

Сова африканська

Body length: 31–38 cm.
Weight: 225–485 g.

They are common in the grasslands of southern Africa, occurring in the northern regions of South Africa down to the province of the Eastern Cape. They are also found in Zimbabwe on the Mashonaland plateau, and in the Makgadikgadi lacustrine depression in Botswana.

asio flammeus

(Asio flammeus)

Short-Eared Owl

Сова болотяна

Body length: 38–46 cm.
Weight: 206–475 g.

It occurs on all continents except Antarctica and Australia; thus it has one of the most widespread distributions of any bird. It breeds in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands. It is partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of its range.

asio stygius

(Asio stygius)

Stygian Owl

Сова темна

Body length: 38–46 cm.
Weight: 400–675 g.

It is found in Mexico, parts of Central America, Cuba, Hispaniola, and 10 countries in South America. It inhabits montane pine, pine-oak, and cloud forests, thorn scrub, cerrado, pine plantations, and even urban parks, at elevations up to 3,000 m.

asio madagascariensis

(Asio madagascariensis)

Madagascar Owl

Сова мадагаскарська

Body length: 36–50 cm.

It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is widespread in the western and central regions of the island, at elevations up to 1,800 m. It inhabits a variety of woodland habitats, mainly in the drier western forests, although it appears quite adaptable, and also occurs in degraded habitats, even on the central plateau where the forest cover has been fragmented.

asio abyssinicus

(Asio abyssinicus)

Abyssinian Owl

Сова ефіопська

Body length: 42–44 cm.

It lives in the Albertine Rift montane forests, Ethiopia and northern Kenya. It prefers open grasslands or moorlands with oak or cedar forests, and it is found in mountain valleys and gorges at elevations of up to 3,900 m.

asio otus

(Asio otus)

Long-Eared Owl

Сова вухата

Body length: 35–37 cm.
Wingspan: 84–95 cm.
Weight: 160–430 g.

It is widely distributed in Europe and North Asia, from north of the high-trunked forest zone to the Okhotsk coast, Primorye, and Japan (Hokkaido), and south to Iraq, Central Asia, the Himalayas, and China. It also occurs in North Africa, the Canary Islands, and North America.

asio clamator

(Asio clamator)

Striped Owl

Сова-крикун

Body length: 30–38 cm.
Weight: 320–546 g.

It is native to much of South and Central America. It uses a variety of habitats, including riparian woodlands, marshes, savannahs, grassy open areas, and tropical rainforests, at elevations up to 1,600 m.

asio grammicus

(Asio grammicus)

Jamaican Owl

Сова ямайська

Body length: 27–33 cm.
Weight: ≈335 g.

It is found throughout the island of Jamaica. It inhabits a variety of open and semi-open landscapes such as open woodland, forest edges, plantations, and gardens. It is primarily a bird of coastal and lowland areas, but can be found as high as 600 m of elevation in the mountains.

jubula lettii

(Jubula lettii)

Maned Owl

Сова-рогань африканська

Body length: ≈25 cm.

It is known only from the lowland, tropical rainforest of west Africa and has a patchy distribution from Liberia in the west through to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

bubo africanus

(Bubo africanus)

Spotted Eagle-Owl

Пугач африканський

Body length: ≈45 cm.
Wingspan: 100–140 cm.
Weight: 454–907 g.

It occurs throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is found in thorn savanna and suburban gardens.

bubo cinerascens

(Bubo cinerascens)

Greyish Eagle-Owl

Пугач сірий

Body length: ≈43 cm.
Weight: ≈500 g.

It is found in the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa from Mauritania and Liberia east to Sudan and Somalia. Its habitats include dry rocky deserts and open savannah, as well as lowland forests in Somalia.

bubo milesi

(Bubo milesi)

Arabian Eagle-Owl

Пугач аравійський

It is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula, occurring in southwestern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. It is found mainly in coastal areas and slightly inland, avoiding the most barren parts of the desert interior.

bubo capensis

(Bubo capensis)

Cape Eagle-Owl

Пугач капський

Body length: 46–61 cm.
Weight: 0,9–1,8 kg.

Its range is limited to the southernmost regions of southern Africa and parts of East Africa. It occurs in mountainous and hilly areas with rocks, as well as adjacent woodlands, grasslands, and wooded gullies, up to 2,500 m.

bubo ascalaphus

(Bubo ascalaphus)

Pharaoh Eagle-Owl

Пугач пустельний

Body length: 40–50 cm.
Weight: 1,9–2,3 kg.

It is native to much of arid Northern Africa, including some of the most desolate parts of the central Saharan Desert, and extending east into the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. 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.

bubo bengalensis

(Bubo bengalensis)

Indian Eagle-Owl

Пугач індійський

Body length: 50–56 cm.
Weight: ≈1,1 kg.

It inhabits scrub and light to medium forests, but is especially common near rocky areas within the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas, below 1,500 m elevation.

bubo bubo

(Bubo bubo)

Eurasian Eagle-Owl

Пугач палеарктичний

Body length: 56–75 cm.
Wingspan: 131–188 cm.
Weight: 1,2–4,6 kg.

It breeds in Europe and Northern Asia — north to forest edges, east to Yakutia, Sakhalin, and Japan, and south to North Africa, Arabia, and southern China. It mostly inhabits mountainous and rocky areas, often near varied woodland edge and near shrubby areas with openings or wetlands. Also occurs in coniferous forests, steppes, and remote areas.

bubo magellanicus

(Bubo magellanicus)

Lesser Horned Owl

Пугач магеланський

Body length: ≈45 cm.

Its range extends from central Peru and western Bolivia southwards through Chile and western Argentina as far as Tierra del Fuego. The bird occurs in a variety of habitats including open forest, scrubland, farmland and grassland.

bubo virginianus

(Bubo virginianus)

Great Horned Owl

Пугач віргінський

Body length: 43–64 cm.
Wingspan: 91–153 cm.
Weight: 1,2–2,5 kg.

It is distributed throughout most of North America and very spottily in Central America and then down into South America. It inhabits deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests, tropical rainforests, pampas, prairie, mountainous areas, deserts, subarctic tundra, rocky coasts, mangrove swamp forests, and some urban areas.

bubo scandiacus

(Bubo scandiacus)

Snowy Owl

Сова біла

Body length: 52.5–71 cm.
Wingspan: 116–183 cm.
Weight: 1,465–2,426 kg.

It nests in the Arctic tundra of the northernmost stretches of Alaska, Northern Canada, and the Euro-Siberian region. In winter, it migrates to southern zones, including steppes and deserts.

scotopelia ussheri

(Scotopelia ussheri)

Rufous Fishing Owl

Сова-рибоїд чорнодзьоба

Body length: 46–51 cm.

It is endemic to west Africa. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, where it occurs as a highly localised resident along shady river banks. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

scotopelia peli

(Scotopelia peli)

Pel's Fishing Owl

Сова-рибоїд смугаста

Body length: 51–63 cm.
Weight: 1.72–2.19 kg.

It is patchily distributed in Nigeria, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and in central Africa from the coast to eastern Zaire and discontinuously to South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania and southwards to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and eastern South Africa.

scotopelia bouvieri

(Scotopelia bouvieri)

Vermiculated Fishing Owl

Сова-рибоїд жовтодзьоба

Body length: 46–51 cm.

It is endemic to a large area of tropical west-central Africa extending from southern Nigeria in the west to South Sudan in the east and northern Angola to the south. It habitats gallery forests along rivers that are at least 10 m wide, and pools and flooded areas in forests; it sometimes occurs away from water.

ketupa philippensis

(Ketupa philippensis)

Philippine Eagle-Owl

Пугач філіппінський

Body length: 48–53 cm.

It is endemic to the Philippines, where it is found in lowland forests on the islands of Catanduanes, Samar, Bohol, Mindanao, Luzon, Leyte and possibly Sibuyan.

ketupa coromanda

(Ketupa coromanda)

Dusky Eagle-Owl

Пугач брунатний

Body length: 40–50 cm.

It is found from Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh to Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia into China. It inhabits forests, wooded wetlands, agricultural areas with scattered groves and trees, and roadside avenues with old large trees.

ketupa nipalensis

(Ketupa nipalensis)

Spot-Bellied Eagle-Owl

Пугач непальський

Body length: 50–65 cm.
Weight: 1.3–2.5 kg.

It is distributed through the Lower Himalayas from Kumaon east to Burma, and further to central Laos, central Vietnam, southern Thailand, and Sri Lanka. It inhabits primary and older secondary forests at elevations of 900–1,200 m.

ketupa sumatrana

(Ketupa sumatrana)

Barred Eagle-Owl

Пугач суматранський

Body length: 40–48 cm.

It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It typically is a resident of evergreen forests with pools or streams, but also ranges into large gardens with tall, densely foliated trees.

ketupa ketupu

(Ketupa ketupu)

Buffy Fish Owl

Пугач-рибоїд малазійський

Body length: 40–48 cm.
Weight: 1–2.1 kg.

It is found from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Sunda Islands. It inhabits tropical forests and freshwater wetlands near rivers, lakes and aquaculture sites at elevations up to 1,600 m.

ketupa flavipes

(Ketupa flavipes)

Tawny Fish Owl

Пугач-рибоїд рудий

Body length: 48–61 cm.
Weight: 2–2.6 kg.

It lives in subtropical to temperate forests in southern Nepal, northern India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Laos, Myanmar, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It occurs at elevations of 1,500–2,450 m.

ketupa zeylonensis

(Ketupa zeylonensis)

Brown Fish Owl

Пугач-рибоїд бурий

Body length: 48–61 cm.
Weight: 1.1–2.5 kg.

It is an all-year resident throughout most tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and adjoining regions. It inhabits mainly the lowlands, from open woodland to dense forest as well as in plantations; in the Himalayas foothills it ranges into submontane forest up to 1,500 m.

ketupa blakistoni

(Ketupa blakistoni)

Blakiston's Fish Owl

Пугач далекосхідний

Body length: 60–72 cm.
Weight: 2.95–4.6 kg.

It is found in eastern Russia from Magadan to Primorye, Sakhalin and the southern Kuril Islands, as well as in Japan and north-eastern China. It occurs in dense, minimally or undisturbed old-growth forest near waterways including floodplains or wooded coastlines.

ketupa shelleyi

(Ketupa shelleyi)

Shelley's Eagle-Owl

Пугач камерунський

Body length: 53–61 cm.

It is found in Central and Western Africa. It has been found in widely scattered locations, perhaps isolated by habitat destruction. It is a resident of lowland tropical rainforests and has never been recorded outside densely forested or old-growth areas.

ketupa lactea

(Ketupa lactea)

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl

Пугач блідий

Body length: 55–66 cm.
Weight: 1,615–3,150 g.

It is found through most of sub-Saharan Africa, though it is absent from most of the deep rainforests. It is found at the highest densities in eastern and southern Africa. Because it avoids primary forests, it is found very spottily in west Africa.

ketupa leucosticta

(Ketupa leucosticta)

Akun Eagle-Owl

Пугач плямистогрудий

Body length: 40–46 cm.
Weight: 486–607 g.

It has a patchy range that extends through a number of the west African countries which have coastlines on the Gulf of Guinea, from Guinea east to Cameroon and south to Angola, extending inland into the southern Central African Republic, Congo and northern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

ketupa poensis

(Ketupa poensis)

Fraser's Eagle-Owl

Пугач гвінейський

Body length: 39–42 cm.

It is widely distributed across the African tropical rainforest and is also found on Bioko. It inhabits primarily forests, forest clearings, and cardamom plantations at elevations up to 1,600 m.

psiloscops flammeolus

(Psiloscops flammeolus)

Flammulated Owl

Сплюшка канадська

Body length: 16–17 cm.
Weight: 44–100 g.

It breeds from southern British Columbia and the western United States to central Mexico. As a Neotropical migrant, it winters from southern Mexico to Guatemala and El Salvador. It typically inhabits coniferous forests.

gymnasio nudipes

(Gymnasio nudipes)

Puerto Rican Owl

Сплюшка пуерто-риканська

Body length: 20–25 cm.
Weight: 100–170 g.

It is endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. It inhabits moist lowland forests, but it is also found in dry forests and urban areas.

megascops atricapilla

(Megascops atricapilla)

Black-capped Screech-Owl

Сплюшка темноголова

Body length: 22–23 cm.
Weight: 115–160 g.

It is found in south-eastern Brazil, south-eastern Paraguay, and extreme north-eastern Argentina. It inhabits a variety of landscapes, especially lowland rainforest and including forest with thick undergrowth, edges, open woodland, and secondary forest.

megascops watsonii

(Megascops watsonii)

Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl

Сплюшка амазонійська

Body length: 19–24 cm.
Weight: 114–155 g.

It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It inhabits the interior of lowland rainforest, mostly old growth and mature secondary forest, at elevations of 600–700 m.

megascops roboratus

(Megascops roboratus)

West Peruvian Screech-Owl

Сплюшка чагарникова

Body length: 20–22 cm.
Weight: 144–162 g.

It is found from Santa Elena and Guayas Provinces in south-western Ecuador south slightly into north-western Peru. It inhabits dry deciduous woodland on mountain slopes and hills, dry coastal scrub and deciduous forests at elevations of 500–2,100 m.

megascops gilesi

(Megascops gilesi)

Santa Marta Screech-Owl

Сплюшка санта-мартійська

Body length: ≈24 cm.

It is known only from Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of northern Colombia. It inhabits humid forests at elevations of 1,800–2,500 m.

megascops sanctaecatarinae

(Megascops sanctaecatarinae)

Long-tufted Screech-Owl

Сплюшка санта-катаринська

Body length: 25–28 cm.
Weight: 155–211 g.

It is found in the southeastern Brazilian states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, in Misiones Province of northeastern Argentina, and in adjoining northern Uruguay. It inhabits sparse woodland, pastures with trees, the edges of dense forest, secondary forest, and woodlots near villages.

megascops roraimae

(Megascops roraimae)

Foothill Screech-Owl

Сплюшка нагірна

Body length: 20–23 cm.
Weight: 91–128 g.

It is found in southern and northern Venezuela, southern Guyana, Suriname, eastern Colombia, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and eastern Ecuador. It inhabits dense humid to wet rainforest at elevations of 250–1,800 m.

megascops centralis

(Megascops centralis)

Chocó Screech-Owl

Сплюшка чокоанська

Body length: 20–27 cm.
Weight: 106–121 g.

It is found from central Panama into north-western Colombia and in a narrow band of western Ecuador. It inhabits the interior and borders of humid primary and secondary forest in lowlands and foothills at elevations of 1,000–1,575 m.

megascops hoyi

(Megascops hoyi)

Montane Forest Screech-Owl

Сплюшка аргентинська

Body length: 23–24 cm.
Weight: 110–145 g.

It is found from south-central Bolivia’s Cochabamba Department south into north-western Argentina as far as Tucumán Province. It inhabits moist montane and cloud forests characterized by tall trees and abundant epiphytes at elevations of 1,000–2,800 m.

megascops marshalli

(Megascops marshalli)

Cloud-forest Screech-Owl

Сплюшка Маршалла

Body length: 20–23 cm.
Weight: 105–115 g.

It lives in the Andes of south and central Peru, in the Departments of Pasco, Cuzco, and Puno, as well as in northern Bolivia. It inhabits cloud forest, a humid, mossy landscape with epiphytes, ferns, and a dense understory, at elevations of 1,550–2,580 m.

megascops petersoni

(Megascops petersoni)

Cinnamon Screech-Owl

Сплюшка еквадорська

Body length: 23–24 cm.
Weight: 88–119 g.

It is known only from the eastern slope of the Andes, ranging from southern Ecuador into northern Peru, and occurring locally in northern Colombia. It inhabits humid montane forest at elevations of 1,650–2,450 m.

megascops ingens

(Megascops ingens)

Rufescent Screech-Owl

Сплюшка андійська

Body length: 25–28 cm.
Weight: 134–223 g.

It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It inhabits a wide variety of forest types including the interior and edges of mature evergreen and secondary forests and pastures with scattered trees, at elevations of 1,200–2,500 m.

megascops koepckeae

(Megascops koepckeae)

Koepcke's Screech-Owl

Сплюшка високогірна

Body length: ≈24 cm.
Weight: 112–130 g.

It is endemic to Peru. It inhabits evergreen forests, dry forests, and scrubby areas in intermontane valleys. It occurs at elevations of 1,400–4,500 m.

megascops guatemalae

(Megascops guatemalae)

Guatemalan Screech-Owl

Сплюшка гватемальська

Body length: 22–23 cm.
Weight: 95–150 g.

It is found from northern Mexico to western Panama. It inhabits evergreen, semi-deciduous, and thorn forests, and to a lesser extent, secondary forests and plantations at elevations of 0–1,500 m.

megascops seductus

(Megascops seductus)

Balsas Screech-Owl

Сплюшка бура

Body length: 24–27 cm.
Weight: 150–174 g.

It is endemic to interior southwestern Mexico. Its range is centered on the valley of the Balsas River from southern Jalisco southeast into central Guerrero. It inhabits arid open and semi-open areas such as deciduous woodland with cactus, thorn forest, and secondary forest, at elevations of 600–1,500 m.

megascops asio

(Megascops asio)

Eastern Screech-Owl

Сплюшка східна

Body length: 16–25 cm.
Weight: 121–244 g.

It is found in eastern North America, ranging from Mexico northward to Canada. It inhabits most types of woodland habitats across its range, and is relatively adaptable to urban and developed areas.

megascops kennicottii

(Megascops kennicottii)

Western Screech-Owl

Сплюшка західна

Body length: 21–24 cm.
Weight: 88–220 g.

It is native to Canada, United States, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. Its habitat includes temperate forests, subtropical and tropical montane forests, shrubland, desert, rural fields, and even suburban parks and gardens.

megascops cooperi

(Megascops cooperi)

Pacific Screech-Owl

Сплюшка мангрова

Body length: 20–26 cm.
Weight: 115–175 g.

It is found from eastern Oaxaca and Chiapas in Mexico, south along the Pacific slope into north-western Costa Rica. It inhabits swamp forests and mangroves, arid and semi-arid woodlands and scrub, open areas with scattered trees and cacti, and secondary forest.

megascops barbarus

(Megascops barbarus)

Bearded Screech-Owl

Сплюшка чіапська

Body length: 16–20 cm.
Weight: 63–72 g.

It is found from the highlands of central Chiapas, Mexico south and east into the highlands of central and western Guatemala. It inhabits humid temperate montane forests of various types, including pine-oak, oak, and cloud forests, at elevations of 1,350–2,500 m.

megascops choliba

(Megascops choliba)

Tropical Screech-Owl

Сплюшка неотропічна

Body length: 21–23 cm.
Weight: 97–160 g.

It is found from Costa Rica and Panama south and throughout South America, almost entirely east of the Andes, but not in the far south. It inhabits secondary forests, open woodland, coffee plantations, residential areas, and the borders of terra firme and várzea forests.

megascops albogularis

(Megascops albogularis)

White-throated Screech-Owl

Сплюшка білогорла

Body length: 20–26 cm.
Weight: 130–185 g.

It is found in the Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It inhabits the interior and edges of open humid evergreen montane forest and cloud forest and semi-open areas of scattered trees, at elevations of 1,300–3,700 m.

megascops clarkii

(Megascops clarkii)

Bare-shanked Screech-Owl

Сплюшка коста-риканська

Body length: 23–25 cm.
Weight: 125–190 g.

It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, and far north-western Colombia. Its habitat is in mountain forests that are dense and humid, along with the edges of forests and in cloud forests that have an elevation of 900–3,300 m.

megascops trichopsis

(Megascops trichopsis)

Whiskered Screech-Owl

Сплюшка вусата

Body length: 17–19 cm.

It is found from south-eastern Arizona and south-western New Mexico in the United States, south through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to north-central Nicaragua. Its breeding habitat includes dense coniferous or oak woodlands and coffee plantations.

megascops alagoensis

(Megascops alagoensis)

Alagoas Screech-Owl

Сплюшка алагоаська

It is found only in the Atlantic Forest north of the São Francisco River of Brazil, and is threatened by forest fragmentation.

The genus (Megascops) also includes: Xingu Screech-Owl (Megascops stangiae).

pulsatrix melanota

(Pulsatrix melanota)

Band-bellied Owl

Сова рудовола

Body length: 44–48 cm.
Weight: 590–1,250 g.

It is found on the eastern slopes of the Andes, from central Colombia south through Ecuador and Peru to west-central Bolivia. It primarily inhabits the interior of humid montane forests and foothill rainforests, at elevations of 650–2,200 m.

pulsatrix koeniswaldiana

(Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana)

Tawny-browed Owl

Сова вохристоброва

Body length: ≈44 cm.
Weight: 405–670 g.

It is found in Brazil from Espírito Santo state south to northern Rio Grande do Sul and the immediately adjacent areas of eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. It inhabits humid tropical forest, open woodland, and forest dominated by Araucaria evergreens, at elevations up to 1,500 m.

pulsatrix perspicillata

(Pulsatrix perspicillata)

Spectacled Owl

Сова вохристочерева

Body length: 41–52 cm.
Weight: 453–1,250 g.

It is found in forests from southern Mexico and Trinidad, through Central America, and south to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northwestern Argentina.

lophostrix cristata

(Lophostrix cristata)

Crested Owl

Сова-рогань бура

Body length: 38–43 cm.
Weight: 425–620 g.

It is found in Central America and northern South America. It occurs throughout most of the Amazon Basin, except in the northwestern region. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, at elevations up to 1,000 m.

strix seloputo

(Strix seloputo)

Spotted Wood Owl

Сова таїландська

Body length: 44–48 cm.
Wing length: 30–36 cm.

It is found in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, southern Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, and Bawean), and the western Philippines (Palawan and the Calamian Islands). It inhabits plantations, forest clearings, evergreen secondary forests, and forest edges.

strix ocellata

(Strix ocellata)

Mottled Wood Owl

Сова мангрова

Body length: 41–48 cm.

It is fairly common throughout the Indian subcontinent and in the Himalayan foothills of India and southern Nepal. It is found in the plains in gardens and lightly wooded habitats.

strix leptogrammica

(Strix leptogrammica)

Brown Wood Owl

Сова бура

Body length: 45–57 cm.

It lives in coastal woodlands and tropical forests, ranging from India and Sri Lanka to south-western China, and from Myanmar south to Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. It occurs at elevations of 700–4,000 m.

strix aluco

(Strix aluco)

Tawny Owl

Сова сіра

Body length: 37–46 cm.
Wingspan: 81–105 cm.
Weight: 385–800 g.

It has a distribution stretching discontinuously across temperate Europe, from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to western Siberia. It is found in deciduous and mixed forests, and sometimes mature conifer plantations, at elevations of 0–2,400 m.

strix mauritanica

(Strix mauritanica)

Maghreb Owl

Сова мавританська

Body length: 27–30 cm.
Weight: 325–575 g.

It occurs in north-western Africa from Morocco to Tunisia and Mauritania.

strix nivicolum

(Strix nivicolum)

Himalayan Owl

Сова гімалайська

Body length: 33–40 cm.
Weight: 375–392 g.

The range extends from the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Nepal, and south-eastern Tibet eastward to the east coast of China, Taiwan, and Korea, and southward to southern Assam, north-western Myanmar, and northern Vietnam. It occurs at elevations of 1,000–2,700 m.

strix hadorami

(Strix hadorami)

Desert Owl

Сова бліда

Body length: 29–33 cm.

It breeds in Israel, northeast Egypt, Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula. Its habitat includes desert, semi-desert, rocky ravines, and palm groves. It nests in crevices and holes in cliffs.

strix butleri

(Strix butleri)

Omani Owl

Сова аравійська

Body length: 30–34 cm.

It is found in shrubland and rocky areas of Oman, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

strix occidentalis

(Strix occidentalis)

Spotted Owl

Сова плямиста

Body length: 41–48 cm.
Wingspan: ≈114 cm.
Weight: ≈600 g.

It is found in western North America, ranging from British Columbia to Mexico. It occurs in a variety of hardwood and coniferous forest habitats, although it prefers closed-canopy, uneven-aged, late-successional, and old-growth forests.

strix varia

(Strix varia)

Barred Owl

Сова неоарктична

Body length: 48–55 cm.
Weight: 468–1,150 g.

It is distributed throughout most of the eastern United States, as well as much of southern Canada. Its habitat consists mainly of old deciduous and mixed forests, and occasionally coniferous

strix sartorii

(Strix sartorii)

Cinereous Owl

Сова мексиканська

Body length: 43–50 cm.
Weight: 469–1,051 g.

It occurs in three disjunct areas. The largest is along the Sierra Madre Oriental between San Luis Potosi in the north and Veracruz in the south. The next largest is a band from Durango south to Michoacán and the third is a relatively small area in Guerrero.

strix fulvescens

(Strix fulvescens)

Fulvous Owl

Сова чіяпська

Body length: 41–44 cm.

It is found in highland regions in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. It imnhabits in montane evergreen pine forests and humid pine-oak forests, and more generally within a cloud forest habitat.

strix hylophila

(Strix hylophila)

Rusty-barred Owl

Сова бразильська

Body length: 35–36 cm.
Weight: 250–395 g.

It is found in south-eastern Brazil from Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul, in south-eastern Paraguay, and in Argentina’s extreme north-eastern Misiones Province. It inhabits the interior and edges of a variety of wooded landscapes including montane, tropical evergreen, and temperate forest, at elevations up to 1,000 m.

strix chacoensis

(Strix chacoensis)

Chaco Owl

Сова болівійська

Body length: 35–38 cm.
Weight: 360–500 g.

It is found in southern South America, from Bolivia’s Santa Cruz Department south through western Paraguay into north-central Argentina. It inhabits the Gran Chaco at elevations of 500–1,300 m.

strix rufipes

(Strix rufipes)

Rufous-legged Owl

Сова патагонська

Body length: 33–38 cm.
Weight: ≈350 g.

It is found in Chile from Valparaíso Province and in far western Argentina from Mendoza Province south to the tip of Tierra del Fuego. It primarily inhabits moist old-growth forests with a closed canopy and dense understory, at elevations up to 2,000 m.

strix uralensis

(Strix uralensis)

Ural Owl

Сова довгохвоста

Body length: 50–64 cm.
Wingspan: 110–134 cm.
Weight: 451–1,454 g.

The breeding range extends as far west as much of Scandinavia, montane eastern Europe, and, sporadically, central Europe, thence sweeping across the Palearctic broadly through Russia to as far east as Sakhalin and throughout Japan.

strix nebulosa

(Strix nebulosa)

Great Grey Owl

Сова бородата

Body length: 61–84 cm.
Weight: 580–1,900 g.

It breeds in North America, from as far east as Quebec to the Pacific coast and Alaska. In Eurasia, its breeding range extends north to 52°N latitude, from Scandinavia east to the Anadyr Basin and along the coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.

strix woodfordii

(Strix woodfordii)

African Wood Owl

Сова-лісовик африканська

Body length: 30.5–35 cm.
Weight: 240–350 g.

It is found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. Its range extends from Senegal and The Gambia eastward to Ethiopia, and south to Angola, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. It is also inhabits in Mozambique and the Cape Province of South Africa.

strix virgata

(Strix virgata)

Mottled Owl

Сова-лісовик бура

Body length: 28–35 cm.

It is native to Central and South America. Its range extends from Mexico south to Argentina and Brazil, occurring at elevations up to 2,500 m. It inhabits a variety of wooded habitats and plantations, as well as open countryside with scattered trees.

strix albitarsis

(Strix albitarsis)

Rufous-banded Owl

Сова-лісовик руда

Body length: 30–35 cm.
Weight: 265–350 g.

It is found in the Andes, from northern Venezuela south to western and southern Bolivia. It inhabits humid evergreen montane forest and cloud forests with a dense understory, epiphytes, and mosses, at elevations of 1,700–3,700 m.

strix huhula

(Strix huhula)

Black-banded Owl

Сова-лісовик смугаста

Body length: 30–36 cm.

Its natural habitats are varied subtropical or tropical forests ranging from lowlands to areas of medium altitude, and it has been found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

strix nigrolineata

(Strix nigrolineata)

Black-and-white Owl

Сова-лісовик строката

Body length: 35–40 cm.
Weight: 400–535 g.

Its range extends from central Mexico south to the north-western section of Peru and western Colombia. It is mostly found in gallery forests and rainforests, but also occurs in wet deciduous and mangrove forests at elevations of 0–2400 m.

Footer Birds
bg aves

(Tytonidae)

Barn Owls

Сипухові

The bird family Tytonidae, which includes the barn owls Tyto and the bay owls Phodilus, is one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. They also differ from the Strigidae in structural details relating in particular to the sternum and feet.

The main characteristic of the barn owls is the heart-shaped facial disc, formed by stiff feathers which serve to amplify and locate the source of sounds when hunting. Further adaptations in the wing feathers eliminate sound caused by flying, aiding both the hearing of the owl listening for hidden prey and keeping the prey unaware of the owl. Barn owls overall are darker on the back than the front, usually an orange-brown colour, the front being a paler version of the back or mottled, although considerable variation is seen even within species.

Bay owls closely resemble the Tyto owls, but have a divided facial disc, ear tufts, and tend to be smaller.

Hunting and feeding

Hunting in twilight or at night, the barn owl can target its prey and dive to the ground. Its legs and toes are long and slender, which improves its ability to forage among dense foliage or beneath the snow and gives it a wide spread of talons when attacking prey. This bird hunts by flying slowly, quartering the ground and hovering over spots that may conceal prey. It has long, broad wings that enable it to manoeuvre and turn abruptly. It has acute hearing, with ears placed asymmetrically, which improves detection of sound position and distance; the bird does not require sight to hunt. The facial disc helps with the bird’s hearing, as is shown by the fact that, with the ruff feathers removed, the bird can still determine a sound source’s direction, although without the disc it cannot determine the source’s height. It may perch on branches, fence posts, or other lookouts to scan its surroundings, and this is the main means of prey location in the oil palm plantations of Malaysia.

Rodents and other small mammals may constitute over ninety percent of the prey caught. Birds are also taken, as well as lizards, amphibians, fish, spiders, and insects. Even when they are plentiful, and other prey scarce, earthworms do not seem to be consumed. In North America and most of Europe, voles predominate in the diet, and shrews are the second most common food choice. In Ireland, the accidental introduction of the bank vole in the 1950s led to a major shift in the barn owl’s diet: where their ranges overlap, the vole is now by far the largest prey item. Mice and rats are the main foodstuffs in the Mediterranean region, the tropics, subtropics, and Australia. Gophers, muskrats, hares, rabbits, and bats are also preyed upon. Barn owls are usually specialist feeders in productive areas and generalists in areas where prey is scarce.

On the Cape Verde Islands, geckos are the mainstay of the diet, supplemented by birds such as plovers, godwits, turnstones, weavers, and pratincoles. On a rocky islet off the coast of California, a clutch of four young were being reared on a diet of Leach’s storm petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). On bird-rich islands, a barn owl might include birds as some fifteen to twenty percent of its diet, while in grassland it will gorge itself on swarming termites, or on Orthoptera such as Copiphorinae katydids, Jerusalem crickets (Stenopelmatidae), or true crickets (Gryllidae). Smaller prey is usually torn into chunks and eaten completely, including bones and fur, while prey larger than about 100 grams (3.5 oz)—such as baby rabbits, Cryptomys blesmols, or Otomys vlei rats—is usually dismembered and the inedible parts discarded.

Compared to other owls of similar size, the barn owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Relative to its size, barn owls consume more rodents. Studies have shown that an individual barn owl may eat one or more voles (or their equivalent) per night, equivalent to about fourteen percent of the bird’s bodyweight. Excess food is often cached at roosting sites and can be used when food is scarce. This makes the barn owl one of the most economically valuable wildlife animals for agriculture. Farmers often find these owls more effective than poison in keeping down rodent pests, and they can encourage barn owl habitation by providing nesting sites.

Breeding

Barn owls living in tropical regions can breed at any time of year, but some seasonality in nesting is still evident. Where there are distinct wet and dry seasons, egg-laying usually takes place during the dry season, with increased rodent prey becoming available to the birds as the vegetation dies off. In arid regions, such as parts of Australia, breeding may be irregular and may happen in wet periods, with the resultant temporary increase in the populations of small mammals. In temperate climates, nesting seasons become more distinct, and there are some seasons of the year when no egg-laying takes place. In Europe and North America, most nesting takes place between March and June, when temperatures are increasing. The actual dates of egg-laying vary by year and by location, being correlated with the amount of prey-rich foraging habitat around the nest site. An increase in rodent populations will usually stimulate the local barn owls to begin nesting, and, consequently, two broods are often raised in a good year, even in the cooler parts of the owl’s range.

Predators and parasites

Predators of the barn owl include large American opossums (Didelphis), the common raccoon, and similar carnivorous mammals, as well as eagles, larger hawks, and other owls. Among the latter, the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), in the Americas, and the Eurasian eagle-owl (B. bubo) are noted predators of barn owls. Despite some sources claiming that there is little evidence of predation by great horned owls, one study from Washington found that 10.9% of the local great horned owl’s diet was made up of barn owls. In Africa, the principal predators of barn owls are Verreaux’s eagle-owls (Bubo lacteus) and Cape eagle-owls (B. capensis). In Europe, although less dangerous than the eagle-owls, the chief diurnal predators are the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and the common buzzard (Buteo buteo). About 12 other large diurnal raptors and owls have also been reported as predators of barn owls, ranging from the similar-sized Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii) and scarcely larger tawny owl (Strix aluco) to huge bald (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). As a result of improved conservation measures, the populations of the northern goshawk and eagle-owls are increasing, thus increasing the incidence of hunting on barn owls where the species coexist.

When disturbed at its roosting site, an angry barn owl lowers its head and sways it from side to side, or the head may be lowered and stretched forward and the wings outstretched and drooped while the bird emits hisses and makes snapping noises with its beak. Another defensive attitude involves lying flat on the ground or crouching with wings spread out.

Barn owls are hosts to a wide range of parasites. Fleas are present at nesting sites, and externally the birds are attacked by feather lice and feather mites, which chew the barbules of the feathers and which are transferred from bird to bird by direct contact. Blood-sucking flies, such as Ornithomyia avicularia, are often present, moving about among the plumage. Internal parasites include the fluke Strigea strigis, the tapeworm Paruternia candelabraria, several species of parasitic round worm, and spiny-headed worms in the genus Centrorhynchus. These gut parasites are acquired when the birds feed on infected prey. There is some indication that female birds with more and larger spots have a greater resistance to external parasites. This is correlated with smaller bursa of Fabricius, glands associated with antibody production, and a lower fecundity of the blood-sucking fly Carnus hemapterus, which attacks nestlings.

 

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tyto tenebricosa

(Tyto tenebricosa)

Greater Sooty Owl

Сипуха темно-бура

Body length: 37–43 cm.
Weight: 500–1,200 g.

It is found in south-eastern Australia, Montane rainforests of New Guinea and have been seen on Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. It occurs at elevations of 0–4,000 m.

tyto multipunctata

(Tyto multipunctata)

Lesser Sooty Owl

Сипуха срібляста

Body length: 32–38 cm.
Weight: ≈450 g.

It is restricted to wet eucalyptus forests near the coast of north-eastern Queensland, Australia. It occurs at elevations of 0–300 m.

tyto almae

(Tyto almae)

Seram Masked Owl

Сипуха серамська

Body length: ≈31 cm.
Weight: ≈540 g.

It is endemic to Seram Island in Indonesia. It occurs at elevations of 0–1,350 m.

tyto inexspectata

(Tyto inexspectata)

Minahasa Masked Owl

Сипуха мінагаська

Body length: 27–31 cm.
Wingspan: 80–95 cm.

It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It prefers undisturbed or lightly disturbed rainforest at elevations of 100–1,600 m.

tyto nigrobrunnea

(Tyto nigrobrunnea)

Taliabu Masked Owl

Сипуха таліабуйська

Body length: ≈31 cm.

It is endemic to Taliabu Island of Indonesia.

tyto sororcula

(Tyto sororcula)

Moluccan Masked Owl

Сипуха танімбарська

Body length: 29–31 cm.
Wing length: 22–25 cm.

It is endemic to the southern Moluccas of Indonesia.

tyto aurantia

(Tyto aurantia)

Golden Masked Owl

Сипуха новобританська

Body length: 27–33 cm.
Weight: 408–770 g.

It is endemic to the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

tyto novaehollandiae

(Tyto novaehollandiae)

Australian Masked Owl

Сипуха австралійська

Body length: 33–50 cm.
Weight: 420–1,200 g.

It is found in southern New Guinea, on the island of Tasmania and in the non-desert areas of Australia.

tyto rosenbergii

(Tyto rosenbergii)

Sulawesi Masked Owl

Сипуха сулавеська

Body length: 43–46 cm.

It is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Sangihe and Peleng.

tyto soumagnei

(Tyto soumagnei)

Madagascar Red Owl

Сипуха мадагаскарська

Body length: 27–30 cm.
Wing length: ≈20 cm.
Weight: 320–430 g.

It is endemic to Madagascar, inhabiting tropical montane rainforests in the eastern part of the country. It also occurs occasionally in dry deciduous forests.

tyto alba

(Tyto alba)

Western Barn Owl

Сипуха крапчаста

Body length: 33–35 cm.
Wingspan: 80–95 cm.
Weight: 240–380 g.

Its range includes all of Europe (except Fennoscandia and Malta), most of Africa excluding the Sahara, and south-western Asia extending east to western Iran.

tyto furcata

(Tyto furcata)

American Barn Owl

Сипуха американська

Body length: 34–38 cm.
Weight: 311–700 g.

It is widespread across North and South America. It occurs from southern regions of Canada to southern Argentina and Chile. It inhabits a wide range of environments.

tyto javanica

(Tyto javanica)

Eastern Barn Owl

Сипуха східна

Body length: ≈44 cm.

It occurs on the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Australia, and many Pacific Islands. It is a bird of open country such as farmland or grassland with some interspersed woodland, usually at altitudes below 2,000 m.

tyto deroepstorffi

(Tyto deroepstorffi)

Andaman Masked Owl

Сипуха андаманська

Body length: 30–36 cm.
Weight: 250–264 g.

It is endemic to the southern Andaman Islands archipelago of India. It occurs on the coastal plain, in fields and gardens with trees, and in human settlements.

tyto glaucops

(Tyto glaucops)

Ashy-faced Owl

Сипуха гаїтянська

Body length: 27–33 cm.
Weight: 260–540 g.

It is found on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and on Île de la Tortue of the north-western Haitian coast.

tyto capensis

(Tyto capensis)

African Grass Owl

Сипуха африканська

Body length: 38–42 cm.
Wing length: 28–34 cm.
Weight: 355–520 g.

It is distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, with two main range blocks: one in south-central Africa, and the other extending from the Western Cape north to the southern extremities of Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Mozambique. There are isolated populations in the Ethiopian Highlands, Kenya, Uganda and Cameroon.

tyto longimembris

(Tyto longimembris)

Eastern Grass Owl

Сипуха довгонога

Body length: 32–42 cm.
Wingspan: 100–116 cm.
Weight: 400–460 g.

It lives in eastern, southern and southeast Asia, parts of New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia (mainly in Queensland) and the western Pacific.

tyto prigoginei

(Tyto prigoginei)

Itombwe Owl

Ітомбвійська сова

Body length: 23–25 cm.
Weight: ≈195 g.

It is endemic to the Itombwe Mountains in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The genus (Tyto) also includes: Manus Masked Owl (Tyto manusi) .

phodilus badius

(Phodilus badius)

Oriental Bay Owl

Лехуза вухата

Body length: 22.5–29 cm.
Wing length: 17–24 cm.
Weight: 255–308 g.

It is found throughout Nepal, north-eastern India, Myanmar and Thailand, east to south China, and south through the Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sundas. It inhabits woodland, plantations and mangrove swamps at altitudes of up to 2,200 m.

phodilus assimilis

(Phodilus assimilis)

Sri Lanka Bay Owl

Лехуза цейлонська

Body length: 22–27 cm.

It is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats in Kerala, South Western India.

Footer Birds
bg aves

(Strigiformes)

Owls

Совоподібні

Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes, which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl.

Owls are divided into two families: the true (or typical) owl family, Strigidae, and the barn owl and bay owl family, Tytonidae. Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except the polar ice caps and some remote islands.

Anatomy

Owls possess large, forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, a hawk-like beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers, a facial disc, around each eye. The feathers making up this disc can be adjusted to sharply focus sounds from varying distances onto the owls’ asymmetrically placed ear cavities. Most birds of prey have eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl’s forward-facing eyes permits the greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting. Owls have binocular vision, but they must rotate their entire heads to change the focus of their view because, like most birds, their eyes are fixed in their sockets. Owls are farsighted and cannot clearly see anything nearer than a few centimetres of their eyes. Caught prey can be felt by owls with the use of filoplumes—hairlike feathers on the beak and feet that act as “feelers”. Their far vision, particularly in low light, is exceptionally good.

Owls can rotate their heads and necks as much as 270°. Owls have 14 neck vertebrae—humans have only seven—and their vertebral circulatory systems are adapted to allow them to rotate their heads without cutting off blood to the brain. Specifically, the foramina in their vertebrae through which the vertebral arteries pass are about ten times the diameter of the artery, instead of about the same size as the artery, as is the case in humans; the vertebral arteries enter the cervical vertebrae higher than in other birds, giving the vessels some slack, and the carotid arteries unite in a very large anastomosis or junction, the largest of any bird’s, preventing blood supply from being cut off while they rotate their necks. Other anastomoses between the carotid and vertebral arteries support this effect.

Different species of owls produce different sounds; this distribution of calls aids owls in finding mates or announcing their presence to potential competitors, and also aids ornithologists and birders in locating these birds and distinguishing species. As noted above, their facial discs help owls to funnel the sound of prey to their ears. In many species, these discs are placed asymmetrically, for better directional location.

Owl plumage is generally cryptic, although several species have facial and head markings, including face masks, ear tufts, and brightly colored irises. These markings are generally more common in species inhabiting open habitats, and are thought to be used in signaling with other owls in low-light conditions.

Sexual dimorphism

Female owls are typically larger than the males. The degree of size dimorphism varies across multiple populations and species, and is measured through various traits, such as wing span and body mass.

Hunting adaptations

All owls are carnivorous birds of prey and live on diets of insects, small rodents and lagomorphs. Some owls are also specifically adapted to hunt fish. They are very adept in hunting in their respective environments. Since owls can be found in nearly all parts of the world and across a multitude of ecosystems, their hunting skills and characteristics vary slightly from species to species, though most characteristics are shared among all species.

Flight and feathers

Most owls share an innate ability to fly almost silently and also more slowly in comparison to other birds of prey. Most owls live a mainly nocturnal lifestyle and being able to fly without making any noise gives them a strong advantage over prey alert to the slightest sound in the night. A silent, slow flight is not as necessary for diurnal and crepuscular owls given that prey can usually see an owl approaching. Owls’ feathers are generally larger than the average birds’ feathers, have fewer radiates, longer pennulum, and achieve smooth edges with different rachis structures. Serrated edges along the owl’s remiges bring the flapping of the wing down to a nearly silent mechanism. The serrations are more likely reducing aerodynamic disturbances, rather than simply reducing noise. The surface of the flight feathers is covered with a velvety structure that absorbs the sound of the wing moving. These unique structures reduce noise frequencies above 2 kHz, making the sound level emitted drop below the typical hearing spectrum of the owl’s usual prey and also within the owl’s own best hearing range. This optimizes the owl’s ability to silently fly to capture prey without the prey hearing the owl first as it flies, and to hear any noise the prey makes. It also allows the owl to monitor the sound output from its flight pattern.

The disadvantage of such feather adaptations for barn owls is that their feathers are not waterproof. The adaptations mean that barn owls do not use the uropygial gland, informally the “preen” or “oil” gland, as most birds do, to spread oils across their plumage through preening. This makes them highly vulnerable to heavy rain when they are unable to hunt. Historically, they would switch to hunting indoors in wet weather, using barns and other agricultural buildings, but the decline in the numbers of these structures in the 20th and 21st centuries has reduced such opportunities.

Vision

Eyesight is a particular characteristic of the owl that aids in nocturnal prey capture. Owls are part of a small group of birds that live nocturnally, but do not use echolocation to guide them in flight in low-light situations. Owls are known for their disproportionally large eyes in comparison to their skulls. An apparent consequence of the evolution of an absolutely large eye in a relatively small skull is that the eye of the owl has become tubular in shape. This shape is found in other so-called nocturnal eyes, such as the eyes of strepsirrhine primates and bathypelagic fishes. Since the eyes are fixed into these sclerotic tubes, they are unable to move the eyes in any direction. Instead of moving their eyes, owls swivel their heads to view their surroundings. Owls’ heads are capable of swiveling through an angle of roughly 270°, easily enabling them to see behind them without relocating the torso. This ability keeps bodily movement at a minimum, thus reduces the amount of sound the owl makes as it waits for its prey. Owls are regarded as having the most frontally placed eyes among all avian groups, which gives them some of the largest binocular fields of vision. Owls are farsighted and cannot focus on objects within a few centimetres of their eyes. These mechanisms are only able to function due to the large-sized retinal image. Thus, the primary nocturnal function in the vision of the owl is due to its large posterior nodal distance; retinal image brightness is only maximized to the owl within secondary neural functions. These attributes of the owl cause its nocturnal eyesight to be far superior to that of its average prey.

Hearing

Owls exhibit specialized hearing functions and ear shapes that also aid in hunting. They are noted for asymmetrical ear placements on the skull in some genera. Owls can have either internal or external ears, both of which are asymmetrical. Asymmetry has not been reported to extend to the middle or internal ear of the owl. Asymmetrical ear placement on the skull allows the owl to pinpoint the location of its prey. This is especially true for strictly nocturnal species such as the barn owls Tyto or Tengmalm’s owl. With ears set at different places on its skull, an owl is able to determine the direction from which the sound is coming by the minute difference in time that it takes for the sound waves to penetrate the left and right ears. The owl turns its head until the sound reaches both ears at the same time, at which point it is directly facing the source of the sound. This time difference between ears is about 30 microseconds. Behind the ear openings are modified, dense feathers, densely packed to form a facial ruff, which creates an anterior-facing, concave wall that cups the sound into the ear structure. This facial ruff is poorly defined in some species, and prominent, nearly encircling the face, in other species. The facial disk also acts to direct sound into the ears, and a downward-facing, sharply triangular beak minimizes sound reflection away from the face. The shape of the facial disk is adjustable at will to focus sounds more effectively.

The prominences above a great horned owl’s head are commonly mistaken as its ears. This is not the case; they are merely feather tufts. The ears are on the sides of the head in the usual location (in two different locations as described above).

Talons

While the auditory and visual capabilities of the owl allow it to locate and pursue its prey, the talons and beak of the owl do the final work. The owl kills its prey using these talons to crush the skull and knead the body. The crushing power of an owl’s talons varies according to prey size and type, and by the size of the owl. The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), a small, partly insectivorous owl, has a release force of only 5 N. The larger barn owl (Tyto alba) needs a force of 30 N to release its prey, and one of the largest owls, the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), needs a force over 130 N to release prey in its talons. An owl’s talons, like those of most birds of prey, can seem massive in comparison to the body size outside of flight. The Tasmanian masked owl has some of the proportionally longest talons of any bird of prey; they appear enormous in comparison to the body when fully extended to grasp prey. An owl’s claws are sharp and curved. The family Tytonidae has inner and central toes of about equal length, while the family Strigidae has an inner toe that is distinctly shorter than the central one. These different morphologies allow efficiency in capturing prey specific to the different environments they inhabit.

Beak

The beak of the owl is short, curved, and downward-facing, and typically hooked at the tip for gripping and tearing its prey. Once prey is captured, the scissor motion of the top and lower bill is used to tear the tissue and kill. The sharp lower edge of the upper bill works in coordination with the sharp upper edge of the lower bill to deliver this motion. The downward-facing beak allows the owl’s field of vision to be clear, as well as directing sound into the ears without deflecting sound waves away from the face.

Camouflage

The coloration of the owl’s plumage plays a key role in its ability to sit still and blend into the environment, making it nearly invisible to prey. Owls tend to mimic the coloration and sometimes the texture patterns of their surroundings, the barn owl being an exception. The snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) appears nearly bleach-white in color with a few flecks of black, mimicking their snowy surroundings perfectly, while the speckled brown plumage of the tawny owl (Strix aluco) allows it to lie in wait among the deciduous woodland it prefers for its habitat. Likewise, the mottled wood owl (Strix ocellata) displays shades of brown, tan, and black, making the owl nearly invisible in the surrounding trees, especially from behind. Usually, the only tell-tale sign of a perched owl is its vocalizations or its vividly colored eyes.

Behavior

Most owls are nocturnal, actively hunting their prey in darkness. Several types of owls are crepuscular—active during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk; one example is the pygmy owl (Glaucidium). A few owls are active during the day, also; examples are the burrowing owl (Speotyto cunicularia) and the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus).

Much of the owls’ hunting strategy depends on stealth and surprise. Owls have at least two adaptations that aid them in achieving stealth. First, the dull coloration of their feathers can render them almost invisible under certain conditions. Secondly, serrated edges on the leading edge of owls’ remiges muffle an owl’s wing beats, allowing an owl’s flight to be practically silent. Some fish-eating owls, for which silence has no evolutionary advantage, lack this adaptation.

An owl’s sharp beak and powerful talons allow it to kill its prey before swallowing it whole (if it is not too big). Scientists studying the diets of owls are helped by their habit of regurgitating the indigestible parts of their prey (such as bones, scales, and fur) in the form of pellets.

Breeding and reproduction

Owl eggs typically have a white color and an almost spherical shape, and range in number from a few to a dozen, depending on species and the particular season; for most, three or four is the more common number. In at least one species, female owls do not mate with the same male for a lifetime. Female burrowing owls commonly travel and find other mates, while the male stays in his territory and mates with other females.

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bg aves

(Apterygiformes)

Kiwis

Ківіподібні

Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand of the order Apterygiformes. The five extant species fall into the family Apterygidae and genus Apteryx. Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are the smallest ratites.

DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the conclusion that kiwi are much more closely related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand. There are five recognised species, four of which are currently listed as vulnerable, and one of which is near threatened. All species have been negatively affected by historic deforestation, but their remaining habitat is well protected in large forest reserves and national parks. At present, the greatest threat to their survival is predation by invasive mammalian predators.

Description

Their adaptation to a terrestrial life is extensive: like all the other ratites (ostrich, emu, rhea and cassowary), they have no keel on the sternum to anchor wing muscles. The vestigial wings are so small that they are invisible under the bristly, hair-like, two-branched feathers. While most adult birds have bones with hollow insides to minimise weight and make flight practicable, kiwi have marrow, like mammals and the young of other birds. Like most other ratites, they have no uropygial gland (preen gland). Their bill is long, pliable and sensitive to touch, and their eyes have a reduced pecten. Their feathers lack barbules and aftershafts, and they have large vibrissae around the gape. They have 13 flight feathers, no tail and a small pygostyle. Their gizzard is weak and their caecum is long and narrow.

The eye of the kiwi is the smallest relative to body mass in all avian species, resulting in the smallest visual field as well. The eye has small specialisations for a nocturnal lifestyle, but kiwi rely more heavily on their other senses (auditory, olfactory, and somatosensory system). The sight of the kiwi is so underdeveloped that blind specimens have been observed in nature, showing how little they rely on sight for survival and foraging. In an experiment, it was observed that one-third of a population of A. rowi in New Zealand under no environmental stress had ocular lesions in one or both eyes. The same experiment examined three specific specimens that showed complete blindness and found them to be in good physical standing outside of ocular abnormalities.

Unlike virtually every other palaeognath, which are generally small-brained by bird standards, kiwi have proportionally large encephalisation quotients. Hemisphere proportions are even similar to those of parrots and songbirds, though there is no evidence of similarly complex behaviour.

Behaviour and ecology

Before the arrival of humans in the 13th century or earlier, New Zealand’s only endemic mammals were three species of bat, and the ecological niches that in other parts of the world were filled by creatures as diverse as horses, wolves and mice were taken up by birds (and, to a lesser extent, reptiles, insects and gastropods).

The kiwi’s mostly nocturnal habits may be a result of habitat intrusion by predators, including humans. In areas of New Zealand where introduced predators have been removed, such as sanctuaries, kiwi are often seen in daylight. They prefer subtropical and temperate podocarp and beech forests, but they are being forced to adapt to different habitat, such as sub-alpine scrub, tussock grassland, and the mountains. Kiwi have a highly developed sense of smell, unusual in a bird, and are the only birds with nostrils at the end of their long beaks. Kiwi eat small invertebrates, seeds, grubs, and many varieties of worms. They also may eat fruit, small crayfish, eels and amphibians. Because their nostrils are located at the end of their long beaks, kiwi can locate insects and worms underground using their keen sense of smell, without actually seeing or feeling them. This sense of smell is due to a highly developed olfactory chamber and surrounding regions. It is a common belief that the kiwi relies solely on its sense of smell to catch prey, but this has not been scientifically observed. Lab experiments have suggested that A. australis can rely on olfaction alone but is not consistent under natural conditions. Instead, the kiwi may rely on auditory and/or vibrotactile cues.

Mating and breeding

Once bonded, a male and female kiwi tend to live their entire lives as a monogamous couple. During the mating season, June to March, the pair call to each other at night, and meet in the nesting burrow every three days. These relationships may last for up to 20 years. They are unusual among other birds in that, along with some raptors, they have a functioning pair of ovaries. (In most birds and in platypuses, the right ovary never matures, so that only the left is functional.)

Usually, only one egg is laid per season. The kiwi lays one of the largest eggs in proportion to its size of any bird in the world, so even though the kiwi is about the size of a domestic chicken, it is able to lay eggs that are about six times the size of a chicken’s egg. Kiwi eggs can weigh up to one-quarter the weight of the female, helped by their inability to fly that could limit the extent by its body weight; brown kiwi females carry and lay a single egg that may weigh as much as 450 g. The eggs are smooth in texture, and are ivory or greenish white. The male incubates the egg, except for the great spotted kiwi, A. haastii, in which both parents are involved. The incubation period is 63–92 days. Producing the huge egg places significant physiological stress on the female; for the thirty days it takes to grow the fully developed egg, the female must eat three times her normal amount of food. Two to three days before the egg is laid there is little space left inside the female for her stomach and she is forced to fast.

It was believed that the large eggs were a trait of much larger moa-like ancestors, and that kiwi retained large eggs as an evolutionarily neutral trait as they became smaller. However, research in the early 2010s suggested that kiwi were descended from smaller flighted birds that flew to New Zealand and Madagascar, where they gave rise to kiwi and elephant birds. The large egg is instead thought to be an adaptation for precocity, enabling kiwi chicks to hatch mobile and with yolk to sustain them for two and half weeks. The large eggs would be safe in New Zealand’s historical absence of egg-eating ground predators, while the mobile chicks would be able to evade chick-eating flying predators.

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apteryx maxima

(Apteryx maxima)

Great Spotted Kiwi

Ківі сірий

Height: 45–50 cm.
Weight: 1.2–3.3 kg.

It is endemic to New Zealand and inhabits higher elevations in the northern part of the South Island, ranging from sea level up to 1,500 m.

apteryx owenii

(Apteryx owenii)

Little Spotted Kiwi

Ківі малий

Height: 35–45 cm.
Weight: 0.8–1.95 kg.

It is endemic to New Zealand and, in pre-European times, occurred on both main islands. Today, it is mainly restricted to 8 small islands, with two remaining subpopulations on the North Island.

apteryx rowi

(Apteryx rowi)

Okarito Kiwi

Ківі окаритський

Height: ≈ 55 cm.

It is found in a restricted area of the Ōkārito forest on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, and has a population of only about 600 birds.

apteryx australis

(Apteryx australis)

Southern Brown Kiwi

Ківі бурий

Height: 45–55 cm.
Weight: 1.6–3.9 kg.

It lives on the South Island and Stewart Island. On the South Island, it is found in Fiordland and Westland. Its range includes temperate and subtropical forests, grasslands, and shrublands.

apteryx mantelli

(Apteryx mantelli)

North Island Brown Kiwi

Ківі північний

Height: 50–65 cm.
Weight: 2–2.6 kg.

It inhabits four primary regions within New Zealand’s North Island. They are Northland and its associated islands, the Coromandel, eastern North Island and western North Island.

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bg aves

(Casuariiformes)

Cassowaries and Emus

Казуароподібні

The Casuariiformes is an order of large flightless birds that has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary, and the only remaining species of emu. They are divided into either a single family, Casuariidae, or occasionally two, with the emu splitting off into its own family, Dromaiidae. The IOC World Bird List and Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World both do not recognize Dromaiidae, placing the emu in the family Casuariidae.

Reproduction

Throughout its climatically varied range, the emu is a winter breeder; egg laying begins at the end of April. The nest is a flattened bed of bark, grasses, and leaves near a tree or bush and is situated so that the sitting bird (always the male) has a good view of its surroundings. Despite their size, nests are extremely difficult to find. The large green eggs, with granulated shells, average about 130 mm in length and 87 mm in width and weigh 450 to 800 g. They are laid at intervals of about four days, and the male starts to incubate the eggs when the hen has laid five to nine. The normal clutch size is eight, nine, or 10 eggs; large clutches contain up to 16. In exceptionally good seasons as many as 20 eggs may be laid, in poor seasons as few as four or five. Incubation varies from about 58 to 61 days, during which the male seldom leaves the nest, even to feed. The newly hatched chicks, which are concealingly streaked with black, are brooded by the male for two or three days before they begin to move around in his company. Normally two years are required to reach maturity. In the nonbreeding season the groups coalesce into flocks, which may undertake local movements or more extensive migrations. Marking with leg bands has proved that individual emus may travel hundreds of kilometres.

Far less precise data are available on the annual cycle of the cassowaries. According to several observers, the eggs are laid in winter and are incubated by the male for 49 to 52 days. The eggs are paler green than those of the emu and there are fewer in the clutch, which varies from three to eight. Maturity may not be reached until the second or third year. Cassowaries are not gregarious in the nonbreeding season but live as pairs or family parties.

Ecology

Cassowaries are more pugnacious and aggressive than the emu. They are essentially creatures of the tropical rainforests, where they are extremely difficult to observe. Their diet consists mainly of fruit. Emus, on the other hand, live under a wide variety of environmental conditions, ranging from dense temperate forest to open plains and arid scrub country. They frequently exhibit a curious inquisitiveness toward human activities and may be lured to close range by various devices, as for example the waving of objects in the air, a habit that was utilized by the Australian Aborigines in hunting them. Emus are basically vegetarian, subsisting on fruits, seeds, and vegetation of all kinds. They will nevertheless also feed on insects, including caterpillars and grasshoppers, when they occur in great numbers.

Emus and cassowaries swim well and are fast runners. Emus are capable of a stride of nearly 3 m and can keep up with an automobile traveling as fast as 40 to 50 km per hour for some distance.

Vocalizations

Both sexes of the emu are reported to utter resonant drumming notes and guttural grunting calls, under varying conditions. Less is known about the calls of cassowaries, but scattered accounts indicate that they are similar to those of the emu.

Description

Next to the ostrich (Struthio camelus), the emu is the largest and heaviest of living birds; large individuals stand between 1.5 and 1.8 m high and weigh up to 55 kg, although most are well below that weight. Females are slightly larger, averaging about 40 kg, while the males average about 36 kg.

The sexes are alike in colour; the plumage is sombre brown, or brownish black, and the naked skin on the head and neck is blue. All three species of cassowaries are black and, except for the dwarf cassowary, have fleshy pendulous wattles of red, orange, or yellow on the head and neck. The head is crowned with a horny casque, or helmet, believed by some authorities to protect the bird from injury by branches during rapid movements in the forest. The plumage of casuariiforms is loose and hairlike because of the lack of barbules, the secondary branches that interlock to form the flat vane in the feathers of most birds. There are no feathers differentiated as tail feathers, but cassowaries have five quills of the wing modified into hollow, unbranched spines.

As with many running birds, casuariiforms have only three toes, the hind toe having been lost. The inner toe of cassowaries is armed with an elongated, daggerlike claw, making the foot a formidable weapon in kicking.

The casuariiform skeleton is similar to that of the other large flightless birds (ratites) in the reduction of the wing elements and of the keel on the sternum (breastbone) and in the enlargement of the leg elements. Vestigial clavicles (collarbones) remain in the shoulder girdle, but the humerus (upper “arm” bone) is much reduced, being shorter than the combined forewing and manus (“hand”). The manus has a single digit, now believed to be the third, which bears a long claw.

The pattern of bones in the palate, an important diagnostic feature in the taxonomy of ratites, is of the palaeognathous or dromaeognathous type (common to all ratites), in which the vomer bones of the skull extend back to separate the palatines. The casuariiforms have the simplest form of this palate type, with large vomers and short palatines.

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casuarius casuarius

(Casuarius casuarius)

Southern Cassowary

Казуар звичайний

Height: 130–170 cm.
Weight: 29–85 kg.

It is distributed in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and north-eastern Australia. It mainly inhabits tropical rainforests but may make use of nearby savanna forests or mangroves stands. It occurs at elevations of 0–1,200 m.

casuarius unappendiculatus

(Casuarius unappendiculatus)

Northern Cassowary

Казуар жовтошиїй

Height: 150–180 cm.
Weight: 30–58 kg.

It is endemic to the coastal swamps and lowland rainforests of the islands of New Guinea, Yapen, Batanta and Salawati, in the countries of Indonesia and the Papua New Guinea. It occurs at elevations of 0–500 m.

casuarius bennetti

(Casuarius bennetti)

Dwarf Cassowary

Казуар малий

Height: 100–110 cm.
Weight: 17–26 kg.

It is endemic to the montane cloud forests and tropical rainforests of the islands of New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, and Yapen. It occurs at elevations of 30–3,600 m.

dromaius novaehollandiae

(Dromaius novaehollandiae)

Emu

Ему австралійський

Height: 150–190 cm.
Weight: 18–60 kg.

It lives in various habitats across Australia, both inland and along the coast. It is most common in areas of savanna woodlands and sclerophyll forests. It occurs at elevations of 0–2,300 m.

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bg aves

(Rheiformes)

Rheas

Нандуподібні

The rhea, also known as the ñandu or South American ostrich, is a South American ratite (flightless bird without a keel on the sternum bone) of the order Rheiformes. They are distantly related to the two African ostriches and Australia’s emu (the largest, second-largest and third-largest living ratites, respectively), with rheas placing just behind the emu in height and overall size.

Rheas are from South America only and are limited within the continent to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. They are grassland birds, and prefer open land. The greater rheas live in open grasslands, pampas and chaco woodlands. They prefer to breed near water and prefer lowlands, seldom going above 1,500 m. On the other hand, the lesser rhea will inhabit most shrubland, grassland, even desert salt puna up to 4,500 m.

Individual and flock behavior

Rheas tend to be silent birds, except when they are chicks or the male seeks a mate. During the breeding season, the male will attempt to attract females by calling. This call is a loud booming noise. While calling like this, they will lift the front of their body and ruffle their plumage, all while keeping their neck stiff. They will then extend and raise their wings and run short distances, alternating with their wings. He may then single out a female and walk alongside or in front of her with a lowered head and spread wings. If the female notices him, he will wave his neck back and forth in a figure eight. Finally, a female may offer herself, and copulation will commence.

During the non-breeding season they may form flocks of between 20 and 25 birds, although the lesser rhea forms smaller flocks than this. When in danger, they flee in a zigzag course, using one wing and the other, similar to a rudder. During the breeding season, the flocks break up.

Feeding and diet

Mostly, rheas are herbivorous and prefer broad-leafed plants, but they also eat fruits, seeds, roots, and insects such as grasshoppers, small reptiles, and rodents. Young rheas eat only insects for the first few days. Outside the breeding season, they gather in flocks and feed with deer and cattle.

Reproduction

Rheas are polygynandrous, with males courting between two and twelve females and females commonly mating with multiple dominant males during the breeding season. After mating, the male builds a nest where each female lays eggs. The nest is a simple scrape in the ground, lined with grass and leaves. The male incubates from ten to sixty eggs. The male will use a decoy system and place some eggs outside the nest, then sacrifice these to predators so they do not attempt to get inside the nest. The male may use another subordinate male to incubate his eggs while he finds another group of females to start a second nest with. The chicks hatch within 36 hours of each other. Right before hatching, the chicks begin to whistle. The group of females, meanwhile, may move on and mate with other males. While caring for the young, the males will charge at any perceived threat approaching the chicks, including female rheas and humans. The young reach full adult size in about six months but do not breed until they reach two years of age.

Predators

The natural predators of adult greater rheas are limited to the cougar (Puma concolor), which are found in most areas inhabited by greater rheas and are certain to be their leading predator, and the jaguar (Panthera onca), which are found with greater rheas and opportunistically hunt them in the Paraguayan chaco, central Bolivia and the Brazilian cerrado. Feral dogs are known to kill younger birds, and the crested caracara (Caracara plancus) is suspected to prey on hatchlings. Armadillos sometimes feed on greater rhea eggs; nests have been found which had been undermined by a six-banded armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus) or a big hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) and the rhea eggs were broken apart. Predation on young rheas has also been reportedly committed by greater grisons (Galictis vittata).

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rhea americana

(Rhea americana)

Greater Rhea

Нанду великий

Height: 127–140 cm.
Weight: 20–25 kg.

It is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It inhabits grasslands, as well as savannas, scrub forests, chaparral, and even desert and palustrine habitats, at elevations up to 1,200 m.

rhea pennata

(Rhea pennata)

Lesser Rhea

Нанду малий

Height: 92–100 cm.
Weight: 15–25 kg.

It lives in areas of open scrub in the grasslands of Patagonia and on the Andean plateau (the Altiplano), through the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. It occurs at elevations of 0–2,000 m.

Footer Birds

(Phocidae)

Earless Seals

Тюленеві

The earless seals, phocids, or true seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal lineage, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae. They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family Otariidae. Seals live in the oceans of both hemispheres and, with the exception of the more tropical monk seals, are mostly confined to polar, subpolar, and temperate climates. The Baikal seal is the only species of exclusively freshwater seal.

The social structure of phocids varies from species to species. Some are monogamous or associate in small groups, while elephant seals are highly gregarious and polygamous. Most seals differ from sea lions, however, in that they do not congregate in the huge rookeries. Some species are migratory. Seals are accomplished divers. Their ability to reach great depths and stay under water for prolonged periods varies considerably from species to species. The champion diver may be the Weddell seal, which is known to reach depths of 600 m and to stay submerged for more than an hour.

External anatomy

Adult phocids vary from 1.17 m in length and 45 kg in weight in the ringed seal to 5.8 m and 4,000 kg in the southern elephant seal, which is the largest member of the order Carnivora. Phocids have fewer teeth than land-based members of the Carnivora, although they retain powerful canines. Some species lack molars altogether. The dental formula is 2-3/1-2, 1/1, 4/4, 0-2/0-2 = 26-36.

While otariids are known for speed and maneuverability, phocids are known for efficient, economical movement. This allows most phocids to forage far from land to exploit prey resources, while otariids are tied to rich upwelling zones close to breeding sites. Phocids swim by sideways movements of their bodies, using their hind flippers to fullest effect. Their fore flippers are used primarily for steering, while their hind flippers are bound to the pelvis in such a way that they cannot bring them under their bodies to walk on them. They are more streamlined than fur seals and sea lions, so they can swim more effectively over long distances. However, because they cannot turn their hind flippers downward, they are very clumsy on land, having to wriggle with their front flippers and abdominal muscles.

Phocid respiratory and circulatory systems are adapted to allow diving to considerable depths, and they can spend a long time underwater between breaths. Air is forced from the lungs during a dive and into the upper respiratory passages, where gases cannot easily be absorbed into the bloodstream. This helps protect the seal from the bends. The middle ear is also lined with blood sinuses that inflate during diving, helping to maintain a constant pressure.

Phocids are more specialized for aquatic life than otariids. They lack external ears and have sleek, streamlined bodies. Retractable nipples, internal testicles, and an internal penile sheath provide further streamlining. A smooth layer of blubber lies underneath the skin. Phocids are able to divert blood flow to this layer to help control their temperatures.

Communication

Unlike otariids, true seals do not communicate by “barking”. Instead, they communicate by slapping the water and grunting. True seals have also been documented to clap at each other underwater. One study published in Animal Behaviour found that seals use rhythmic percussive signalling in both “agonistic interactions” and display behavior.

Movements

With short front flippers and because their rear flipper is unable to rotate, true seals cannot walk when out of the water like sea lions. As a result, they bounce themselves forward in a motion called galumphing; the polar explorer Edward Wilson referred to the motion as lolloping.

Reproduction

Phocids spend most of their time at sea, although they return to land or pack ice to breed and give birth. Pregnant females spend long periods foraging at sea, building up fat reserves, and then return to the breeding site to use their stored energy to nurse pups. However, the common seal displays a reproductive strategy similar to that used by otariids, in which the mother makes short foraging trips between nursing bouts.

Because a phocid mother’s feeding grounds are often hundreds of kilometers from the breeding site, she must fast while lactating. This combination of fasting with lactation requires the mother to provide large amounts of energy to her pup at a time when she is not eating (and often, not drinking). Mothers must supply their own metabolic needs while nursing. This is a miniature version of the humpback whales’ strategy, which involves fasting during their months-long migration from arctic feeding areas to tropical breeding/nursing areas and back.

Phocids produce thick, fat-rich milk that allows them to provide their pups with large amounts of energy in a short period. This allows the mother to return to the sea in time to replenish her reserves. Lactation ranges from five to seven weeks in the monk seal to just three to five days in the hooded seal. The mother ends nursing by leaving her pup at the breeding site to search for food (pups continue to nurse if given the opportunity). “Milk stealers” that suckle from unrelated, sleeping females are not uncommon; this often results in the death of the mother’s pup, since a female can only feed one pup.

Growth and maturation

The pup’s diet is so high in calories that it builds up a fat store. Before the pup is ready to forage, the mother abandons it, and the pup consumes its own fat for weeks or even months while it matures. Seals, like all marine mammals, need time to develop the oxygen stores, swimming muscles, and neural pathways necessary for effective diving and foraging. Seal pups typically eat no food and drink no water during the period, although some polar species eat snow. The postweaning fast ranges from two weeks in the hooded seal to 9–12 weeks in the northern elephant seal. The physiological and behavioral adaptations that allow phocid pups to endure these remarkable fasts, which are among the longest for any mammal, remain an area of active study and research.

Feeding strategy

Most seals feed on fish, squid, octopus, and shellfish, but some take plankton, and one species catches penguins and small seals.

Phocids make use of at least four different feeding strategies: suction feeding, grip and tear feeding, filter feeding, and pierce feeding. Each of these feeding strategies is aided by a specialized skull, mandible, and tooth morphology. However, despite morphological specialization, most phocids are opportunistic and employ multiple strategies to capture and eat prey. For example, the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) uses grip and tear feeding to prey on penguins, suction feeding to consume small fish, and filter feeding to catch krill.

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monachus monachus

(Monachus monachus)

Mediterranean Monk Seal

Тюлень-монах звичайний

Body length: 230–280 cm.
Weight: 240–300 kg.

It can be found in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coasts of Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, as well as in the North Atlantic Ocean, off Mauritania, Western Sahara, and the archipelago of Madeira.

neomonachus schauinslandi

(Neomonachus schauinslandi)

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Тюлень-монах гавайський

Body length: 183–240 cm.
Weight: 140–270 kg.

The majority of it can be found around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, but a small and growing population lives around the main Hawaiian Islands.

mirounga angustirostris

(Mirounga angustirostris)

Northern Elephant Seal

Морський слон північний

Body length: 2.5–4 m.
Weight: (male) 1,500–2,300 kg, (female) 400–900 kg.

It is found in the Aleutian Islands and in the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California.

mirounga leonina

(Mirounga leonina)

Southern Elephant Seal

Морський слон південний

Body length: 2.15–4.5 m.
Weight: (male) 1,500–3,000 kg, (female) 350–600 kg.

It inhabits large portions of the southern hemisphere. This includes lands in Antarctica and islands in the southern part of Africa, South America, and Australia.

ommatophoca rossii

(Ommatophoca rossii)

Ross Seal

Тюлень Росса

Body length: 1.68–2.5 m.
Weight: 129–216 kg.

Its range is confined entirely to the pack ice of Antarctica and does not extend farther north than 60° S latitude.

lobodon carcinophaga

(Lobodon carcinophaga)

Crabeater Seal

Тюлень-крабоїд

Body length: 2.2–2.5 m.
Weight: 182–229 kg.

It is found mainly on the coast and pack ice around Antarctica. In the winter months, it may be found on the shores of South America, Australia, South Africa, Tasmania, New Zealand, and various islands surrounding Antarctica.

hydrurga leptonyx

(Hydrurga leptonyx)

Leopard Seal

Морський леопард

Body length: 2.4–3.5 m.
Weight: 200–590 kg.

It primarily inhabits the Antarctic pack ice between 50°S and 80°S, with higher densities observed in West Antarctica.

leptonychotes weddellii

(Leptonychotes weddellii)

Weddell Seal

Тюлень Ведделла

Body length: 2.5–3.5 m.
Weight: 400–600 kg.

It has a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica and is also found on fifteen small neighboring islands.

cystophora cristata

(Cystophora cristata)

Hooded Seal

Чубач плямистий

Body length: 2–2.7 m.
Weight: (male) 300–400 kg, (female) 160–300 kg.

It lives mainly on drifting pack ice and in the deep waters of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic.

erignathus barbatus

(Erignathus barbatus)

Bearded Seal

Лахтак бородатий

Body length: 2.1–2.7 m.
Weight: 200–430 kg.

In the Pacific, its range extends from the Chukchi Sea southward to the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. In the Arctic Ocean, it inhabits the northern coasts of Russia, Norway, Canada, and Alaska, including Svalbard and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In the Atlantic, it is found along the northern coast of Iceland, both coasts of Greenland, and the Canadian mainland as far south as Labrador.

(Phoca vitulina)

Harbor Seal

Тюлень звичайний

Body length: 1.2–1.9 m.
Weight: 80–140 kg.

It is found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere and inhabits the coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Baltic and North Seas.

phoca largha

(Phoca largha)

Spotted Seal

Тюлень плямистий

Body length: 1.5–2.1 m.
Weight: 82–109 kg.

It inhabits ice floes and the waters of the North Pacific and adjacent seas. It is commonly found in the Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort, and Okhotsk Seas, where it prefers to remain over the continental shelf. It can also be found in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.

pusa hispida

(Pusa hispida)

Ringed Seal

Нерпа кільчаста

Body length: 1–1.60 m.
Weight: 40–90 kg.

It occurs throughout the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. It can also be found in the Baltic Sea, Lake Ladoga in Russia, Lake Saimaa in Finland, and the Sea of Okhotsk near Japan.

pusa sibirica

(Pusa sibirica)

Baikal Seal

Нерпа байкальська

Body length: 1.1–1.4 m.
Weight: 50–90 kg.

It is endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia.

pusa caspica

(Pusa caspica)

Caspian Seal

Нерпа каспійська

Body length: 1.2–1.3 m.
Weight: 75–86 kg.

It is found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea. It lives along the shorelines, but also on the many rocky islands and floating blocks of ice that dot the Caspian Sea.

(Pagophilus groenlandicus)

Harp Seal

Лисун гренландський

Body length: 1.7–2 m.
Weight: 115–140 kg.

It is distributed from the Canadian Archipelago and the Labrador Peninsula eastward to the Barents Sea and Kara Sea in northern Russia.

histriophoca fasciata

(Histriophoca fasciata)

Ribbon Seal

Крилатка

Body length: 1.5–1.75 m.
Weight: 70–110 kg.

It is native to Arctic regions, occurring throughout icy waters of the northern Pacific Ocean and southern Arctic Ocean. In winter, it can be found along the ice front in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas.

halichoerus grypus

(Halichoerus grypus)

Grey Seal

Тев'як довгомордий

Body length: 1.65–2.3 m.
Weight: 100–310 kg.

There are three isolated populations: the Baltic (Baltic Sea), the East Atlantic (North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea, Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, and the coasts of Iceland and the Faroe Islands), and the West Atlantic (coasts of Newfoundland, the Labrador Peninsula, and the extreme northeastern United States).

footer mammalia

(Otariidae)

Eared Seals

Вухачеві

An eared seal, otariid, or otary is any member of the marine mammal family Otariidae, one of three groupings of pinnipeds. They comprise 15 extant species in seven genera and are commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals (phocids) and the walrus (odobenids). Otariids are adapted to a semiaquatic lifestyle, feeding and migrating in the water, but breeding and resting on land or ice. They reside in subpolar, temperate, and equatorial waters throughout the Pacific and Southern Oceans, the southern Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. They are conspicuously absent in the north Atlantic.

Anatomy and appearance

Otariids have proportionately much larger foreflippers and pectoral muscles than phocids, and have the ability to turn their hind limbs forward and walk on all fours, making them far more maneuverable on land. They are generally considered to be less adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, since they breed primarily on land and haul out more frequently than true seals. However, they can attain higher bursts of speed and have greater maneuverability in the water. Their swimming power derives from the use of flippers more so than the sinuous whole-body movements typical of phocids and walruses.

Otariids are further distinguished by a more dog-like head, sharp, well-developed canines, and the aforementioned visible external pinnae. Their postcanine teeth are generally simple and conical in shape. Sea lions are covered with coarse guard hairs, while fur seals have a thick underfur, which has historically made them the objects of commercial exploitation.

Male otariids range in size from the 70 kg Galápagos fur seal, smallest of all otariids, to the over 1,000 kg Steller sea lion. Mature male otariids weigh two to six times as much as females, with proportionately larger heads, necks, and chests, making them the most sexually dimorphic of all mammals.

Behavior

All otariids breed on land during well-defined breeding seasons. Except for the Australian sea lion, which has an atypical 17.5 month breeding cycle, they form strictly annual aggregations on beaches or rocky substrates, often on islands. All species are polygynous; i.e. successful males breed with several females. In most species, males arrive at breeding sites first and establish and maintain territories through vocal and visual displays and occasional fighting. Females typically arrive on shore a day or so before giving birth. While considered social animals, no permanent hierarchies or statuses are established on the colonies. The extent to which males control females or territories varies between species. Thus, the northern fur seal and the South American sea lion tend to herd specific harem-associated females, occasionally injuring them, while the Steller sea lion and the New Zealand sea lion control spatial territories, but do not generally interfere with the movement of the females. Female New Zealand sea lions are the only otariids that move up to 2 km into forests to protect their pups during the breeding season.

Otariids are carnivorous, feeding on fish, squid and krill. Sea lions tend to feed closer to shore in upwelling zones, feeding on larger fish, while the smaller fur seals tend to take longer, offshore foraging trips and can subsist on large numbers of smaller prey items. They are visual feeders. Some females are capable of dives of up to 400 m.

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arctocephalus pusillus

(Arctocephalus pusillus)

Brown Fur Seal

Бурий морський котик

Body length: 1.2–2.3 m.
Weight: (male) 190–300 kg, (female) 36–120 kg.

It inhabits the southern and southwestern coast of Africa, from Cape Cross in Namibia to Black Rocks in the Eastern Cape province. It is also found in the Bass Strait, on four islands off Victoria (southeastern Australia) and five islands off Tasmania.

arctocephalus gazella

(Arctocephalus gazella)

Antarctic Fur Seal

Кергеленський морський котик

Body length: 1.2–2 m.
Weight: (male) 130–204 kg, (female) 22–51 kg.

It is mostly found in waters south of the Antarctic Convergence, but some do inhabit areas slightly north of it. Most breeding populations occur on South Georgia Island and Bird Island, while other populations are found in the south Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen, and Macquarie Islands.

arctocephalus townsendi

(Arctocephalus townsendi)

Guadalupe Fur Seal

Гваделупський морський котик

Body length: 1.2–2 m.
Weight: (male) 160–170 kg, (female) 40–50 kg.

The northernmost border of its range is the Channel Islands, California, while the southernmost border is Cedros Island, Baja California, Mexico. Its only current breeding area is Guadalupe Island, located 290 km west of Baja California.

arctocephalus philippii

(Arctocephalus philippii)

Juan Fernández Fur Seal

Фернандеський морський котик

Body length: 1.2–2 m.
Weight: (male) ≈ 140 kg, (female) ≈ 40 kg.

It is found only on the Pacific Coast of South America, more specifically on the Juan Fernández and the Desventuradas Islands.

arctocephalus galapagoens

(Arctocephalus galapagoensis)

Galápagos Fur Seal

Галапагоський морський котик

Body length: 1–1.6 m.
Weight: (male) ≈ 64 kg, (female) ≈ 27 kg.

It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, South America. It is present on nearly all the islands of the Galapagos. They are typically found close to the coastline where there are rock ledges and crevices.

arctocephalus forsteri

(Arctocephalus forsteri)

New Zealand Fur Seal

Новозеландський морський котик

Body length: 1.5–2 m.
Weight: (male) 120–160 kg, (female) 30–50 kg.

It is found mainly on the South Island of New Zealand, southern Tasmania and southern Australia. It is also present on the Campbell Islands, as well as the Bounty, Chatham, and Auckland archipelagos.

arctocephalus tropicalis

(Arctocephalus tropicalis)

Subantarctic Fur Seal

Субантарктичний морський котик

Body length: 1.2–1.8 m.
Weight: (male) 70–165 kg, (female) 25–67 kg.

It is widespread in subantarctic waters, primarily north of the Antarctic Convergence, ranging from the south-eastern Atlantic and Indian Oceans to the south-western Pacific.

arctocephalus australis

(Arctocephalus australis)

South American Fur Seal

Південноамериканський морський котик

Body length: 1.4–1.9 m.
Weight: (male) 150–200 kg, (female) 30–60 kg.

It is found on neotropical ocean coasts from the Paracas Peninsula of southern Peru south to Cape Horn on the Pacific coast, and northward to southern Brazil on the Atlantic coast. They are also found on the Falkland Islands, Staten Island, and Escondida Island.

callorhinus ursinus

(Callorhinus ursinus)

Northern Fur Seal

Північний морський котик

Body length: 1.5–2.1 m.
Weight: (male) 180–270 kg, (female) 40–60 kg.

It is found in the North Pacific, with its southernmost range extending roughly from the southern tip of Japan to the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. It also inhabits the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

eumetopias jubatus

(Eumetopias jubatus)

Steller Sea Lion

Сивуч

Body length: 2.3–3.2 m.
Weight: (male) 450–1,120 kg, (female) 240–350 kg.

It is found in coastal marine habitats of the North Pacific Ocean, including the Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and Sea of Japan, extending south to northern Japan in the west and to central California in the east.

neophoca cinerea

(Neophoca cinerea)

Australian Sea Lion

Австралійський морський лев

Body length: 1.3–2.5 m.
Weight: (male) 200–300 kg, (female) 61–105 kg.

It is sparsely distributed across its range, from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia along the southern Australian coast to The Pages Islands in South Australia.

otaria flavescens

(Otaria flavescens)

South American Sea Lion

Південний морський лев

Body length: 2–3 m.
Weight: (male) ≤ 350 kg, (female) ≤ 150 kg.

It is found along the coasts and offshore islands of South America, from Peru south to Cape Horn and then north to southern Brazil.

phocarctos hookeri

(Phocarctos hookeri)

New Zealand Sea Lion

Новозеландський морський лев

Body length: 1.8–3.5 m.
Weight: (male) 240–350 kg, (female) 90–160 kg.

It is endemic to New Zealand and primarily breeds on New Zealand’s subantarctic Auckland, Campbell and Stewart islands.

zalophus californianus

(Zalophus californianus)

California Sea Lion

Каліфорнійський морський лев

Body length: 1.8–2.7 m.
Weight: (male) ≈ 350 kg, (female) ≈ 100 kg.

It ranges along the western coast and islands of North America, from south-eastern Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of California.

zalophus wollebaeki

(Zalophus wollebaeki)

Galápagos Sea Lion

Галапагоський морський лев

Body length: 1.5–2.5 m.
Weight: (male) 200–390 kg, (female) 50–120 kg.

It is found on all of the main islands of the Galápagos archipelago, and on a number of smaller islands in the area.

footer mammalia

(Odobenidae)

Walruses

Моржеві

(Odobenus rosmarus)

Walrus

Морж

Body length: 2.2–3.6 m.
Weight: 800–1,800 kg.

The majority of the population of the Pacific walrus spends its summers north of the Bering Strait in the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean along the northern coast of eastern Siberia, around Wrangel Island, in the Beaufort Sea along the northern shore of Alaska south to Unimak Island, and in the waters between those locations. Smaller numbers of males summer in the Gulf of Anadyr on the southern coast of the Siberian Chukchi Peninsula, and in Bristol Bay off the southern coast of Alaska, west of the Alaska Peninsula. In the spring and fall, walruses congregate throughout the Bering Strait, reaching from the western coast of Alaska to the Gulf of Anadyr. They winter over in the Bering Sea along the eastern coast of Siberia south to the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and along the southern coast of Alaska.

The much smaller population of Atlantic walruses ranges from the Canadian Arctic, across Greenland, Svalbard, and the western part of Arctic Russia.

Migration

The rest of the year (late summer and fall), walruses tend to form massive aggregations of tens of thousands of individuals on rocky beaches or outcrops. The migration between the ice and the beach can be long-distance and dramatic. In late spring and summer, for example, several hundred thousand Pacific walruses migrate from the Bering Sea into the Chukchi Sea through the relatively narrow Bering Strait.

Reproduction

Walruses live to about 20–30 years old in the wild. The males reach sexual maturity as early as seven years, but do not typically mate until fully developed at around 15 years of age. They rut from January through April, decreasing their food intake dramatically. The females begin ovulating as soon as four to six years old. The females are diestrous, coming into heat in late summer and around February, yet the males are fertile only around February; the potential fertility of this second period is unknown. Breeding occurs from January to March, peaking in February. Males aggregate in the water around ice-bound groups of estrous females and engage in competitive vocal displays. The females join them and copulate in the water.

Gestation lasts 15 to 16 months. The first three to four months are spent with the blastula in suspended development before it implants itself in the uterus. This strategy of delayed implantation, common among pinnipeds, presumably evolved to optimize both the mating season and the birthing season, determined by ecological conditions that promote newborn survival. Calves are born during the spring migration, from April to June. They weigh 45 to 75 kg at birth and are able to swim. The mothers nurse for over a year before weaning, but the young can spend up to five years with the mothers. Walrus milk contains higher amounts of fats and protein compared to land animals but lower compared to phocid seals. This lower fat content in turn causes a slower growth rate among calves and a longer nursing investment for their mothers. Young may be suckled at sea as well as during long haul-outs, making walrus the only pinnipeds that exhibit aquatic suckling. Because ovulation is suppressed until the calf is weaned, females give birth at most every two years, leaving the walrus with the lowest reproductive rate of any pinniped.

Diet

Walruses prefer shallow shelf regions and forage primarily on the sea floor, often from sea ice platforms. They are not particularly deep divers compared to other pinnipeds; the deepest dives in a study of Atlantic walrus near Svalbard were only 31 ± 17 m. However, a more recent study recorded dives exceeding 500 m in Smith Sound, between NW Greenland and Arctic Canada – in general, peak dive depth can be expected to depend on prey distribution and seabed depth.

The walrus has a diverse and opportunistic diet, feeding on more than 60 genera of marine organisms, including shrimp, crabs, priapulids, spoon worms, tube worms, soft corals, tunicates, sea cucumbers, various mollusks (such as snails, octopuses, and squid), some types of slow-moving fish, and even parts of other pinnipeds. However, it prefers benthic bivalve mollusks, especially clams, for which it forages by grazing along the sea bottom, searching and identifying prey with its sensitive vibrissae and clearing the murky bottoms with jets of water and active flipper movements. The walrus sucks the meat out by sealing its powerful lips to the organism and withdrawing its piston-like tongue rapidly into its mouth, creating a vacuum. The walrus palate is uniquely vaulted, enabling effective suction; researchers measured pressures in the oral cavity as low as -87.9 kPa in air, and -118.8 kPa underwater. The diet of the Pacific walrus consist almost exclusively of benthic invertebrates (97%).

Aside from the large numbers of organisms actually consumed by the walrus, its foraging has a large peripheral impact on benthic communities. It disturbs (bioturbates) the sea floor, releasing nutrients into the water column, encouraging mixing and movement of many organisms and increasing the patchiness of the benthos.

Seal tissue has been observed in a fairly significant proportion of walrus stomachs in the Pacific, but the importance of seals in the walrus diet is under debate. There have been isolated observations of walruses preying on seals up to the size of a 200 kg bearded seal. Rarely, incidents of walruses preying on seabirds, particularly the Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia), have been documented. Walruses may occasionally prey on ice-entrapped narwhals and scavenge on whale carcasses but there is little evidence to prove this.

Predators

Due to its great size and tusks, the walrus has only two natural predators: the orca and the polar bear. The walrus does not, however, comprise a significant component of either of these predators’ diets. Both the orca and the polar bear are also most likely to prey on walrus calves. The polar bear often hunts the walrus by rushing at beached aggregations and consuming the individuals crushed or wounded in the sudden exodus, typically younger or infirm animals. The bears also isolate walruses when they overwinter and are unable to escape a charging bear due to inaccessible diving holes in the ice. However, even an injured walrus is a formidable opponent for a polar bear, and direct attacks are rare. Armed with its ivory tusks, walruses have been known to fatally injure polar bears in battles if the latter follows the other into the water, where the bear is at a disadvantage. Polar bear–walrus battles are often extremely protracted and exhausting, and bears have been known to break away from the attack after injuring a walrus. Orcas regularly attack walruses, although walruses are believed to have successfully defended themselves via counterattack against the larger cetacean. However, orcas have been observed successfully attacking walruses with few or no injuries.

odobenus rosmarus
footer mammalia

(Procyonidae)

Procyonids

Ракунові

Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous.

Procyonids are generally small to medium-sized animals, ranging from slightly less than 1 kg to over 20 kg in weight. Some species have slender bodies, while others are stocky. All have medium or long tails. The pelage is gray or brown, sometimes with contrasting markings on the face and light and dark rings around the tail. Most species have relatively short, broad faces; and short but erect ears, which may be rounded or pointed. Forefeet and hindfeet have 5 digits, and procyonids are plantigrade, often walking with a bear-like shuffle. The claws are short and curved. In some species they can be partially retracted. The tail of of species, the kinkajou, is prehensile, and that of coatis is very mobile and is used for balancing during climbing. Males have a well-developed, bilobed baculum.

Procyonid skulls have relatively short rostrums (shorter than canids, longer than felids). They lack alisphenoid canals, but they have well-developed paroccipital processes. Their incisors are unspecialized, and their canines are moderately long and ovate (not round) in cross section. The molars are wide and at least somewhat bunodont. Most species lack secodont carnassials. The dental formula is 3/3, 1/1, 3-4/3-4, 2/2-3 = 36-42.

Most members of Procyonidae are solitary; however, some species form groups. Coati females will form bands of 4 to 24 individuals that forage together, while kinkajous have been found to form social groups of two males and one female. Certain procyonids give birth to one offspring like ringtails, olingos, and kinkajous while raccoons and coatis give birth to litters that range in size from 2 to 6 offspring.

Procyonids are omnivorous. They consume both plant and animal material, including small mammals and birds. Raccoons use their front paws to feel for food items in murky water or leaf litter. Ringtails inspect likely niches and hiding spots in their rocky habitats, hunting for rodents, birds, centipedes, and anything else edible. They are excellent mousers, pouncing and killing with a bite to the back of the rodent’s neck. Coatis dig in the soil and leaf litter using their long claws or their noses to turn up grubs, worms, or other invertebrates. They also turn over large rocks with their front paws to search for invertebrates, lizards, and snakes.

All species are to some degree arboreal, often seeking refuge in the trees when pursued by predators. Most are nocturnal, often denning in hollow trees during the day.

Raccoons are nocturnal and usually solitary, unless they congregate at man-made food sources such as picnic areas or campgrounds. They prefer brushy, thickly vegetated habitats, but adapt very well to the many artificial ponds, lakes, and wetlands found in the suburbs and housing developments. They can eat almost anything; their dexterous paws can easily open garbage cans, so they can readily take advantage of discarded food. In the warm desert climate, a raccoon may sleep away the day out in the open, draped over a tree branch.

Ringtails are strictly nocturnal animals, using their large eyes and keen sense of smell to locate prey. They are excellent climbers and leapers, using their long tails for balance as they negotiate steep canyon walls or trees with equal ease. The ringtails have semi-retractable claws and can rotate their hind feet 180 degrees, allowing them to descend cliffs face first. They den in niches in rock walls, boulder piles, or hollow trees. Ringtails are solitary, only pairing up for a few days of mating in April. The 2 to 4 kits are born in June. By fall the young can hunt for themselves and soon disperse. Though fierce little fighters, ringtails fall prey to great horned owls, bobcats, and coyotes. When frightened, they emit a musky odor from anal scent glands.

Coatis are diurnal, active mostly in the morning and late afternoon, then spending the night in trees or caves. As coatis forage through an area they travel with their long tails held vertically.

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procyon lotor

(Procyon lotor)

Raccoon

Ракун звичайний

Head-body length: 44–62 cm.
Tail length: 19–36 cm.
Weight: 2.7–10.4 kg.

It is found across southern Canada, throughout most of the United States, extending into northern South America, and has been introduced to parts of Asia and Europe. It lives in a variety of habitats near rivers, lakes, in floodplains, and less often in foothill deciduous and mixed forests.

procyon pygmaeus

(Procyon pygmaeus)

Cozumel Raccoon

Ракун пігмейський

Head-body length: 35–43 cm.
Tail length: 22–25 cm.
Weight: ≈ 3.5 kg.

It is endemic to Cozumel Island, off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. It inhabits a range of habitats but is primarily limited to the mangrove forests and sandy wetlands at the north-western tip of the island.

procyon cancrivorus

(Procyon cancrivorus)

Crab-eating Raccoon

Ракун крабоїд

Head-body length: 41–80 cm.
Tail length: 25–38 cm.
Weight: 3.1–7.7 kg.

It is native to marshy and jungle areas of Central and South America (including Trinidad and Tobago). It is found from Costa Rica south through most areas of South America east of the Andes down to northern Argentina and Uruguay.

nasua nasua

(Nasua nasua)

South American Coati

Носуха амазонська

Head-body length: 43–58 cm.
Tail length: 42–55 cm.
Weight: 2–7.2 kg.

It is widespread in tropical and subtropical South America, occurring in lowland forests east of the Andes at elevations up to 2,500 m, from Colombia and The Guianas south to Uruguay and northern Argentina.

nasua narica

(Nasua narica)

White-nosed Coati

Носуха білоноса

Head-body length: 43–66 cm.
Tail length: 42–68 cm.
Weight: 4–6 kg.

It is distributed from as far north as Arizona and New Mexico, through Mexico and Central America, to the far north-western region of Colombia. It inhabits wooded areas in tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, at elevations from sea level to 3,000 m.

nasua olivacea

(Nasuella olivacea)

Western Mountain Coati

Західна гірська носуха

Head-body length: 36–39 cm.
Tail length: 20–24 cm.
Weight: 1–1.5 kg.

It is found in cloud forest and páramo at altitudes of 1,300–4,250 m in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador.

bassariscus astutus

(Bassariscus astutus)

Ringtail

Котофредка смугастий

Head-body length: 30–42 cm.
Tail length: 31–44 cm.
Weight: 0.8–1.1 kg.

It is found in rocky desert habitats of the south-western United States and Mexico, ranging from the northern desert state of Baja California to Oaxaca.

bassariscus sumichrasti

(Bassariscus sumichrasti)

Cacomistle

Какоміцл

Head-body length: 38–50 cm.
Tail length: 39–55 cm.
Weight: 0.7–1.2 kg.

It is fond from southern Mexico to western Panama. Its preferred habitats are humid and tropical evergreen jungle and montane cloud forests; seasonally, it may venture into drier, deciduous forests.

potos flavus

(Potos flavus)

Kinkajou

Кінкажу

Head-body length: 42–76 cm.
Tail length: 39–57 cm.
Weight: 1.4–4.5 kg.

It is found from southern Mexico, throughout Central America, to Bolivia east of the Andes and the Atlantic Forest of south-eastern Brazil. It is found in closed-canopy tropical forests, including lowland rainforest, montane forest, dry forest, gallery forest, and secondary forest, at elevations of up to 2,500 m.

bassaricyon gabbii

(Bassaricyon gabbii)

Northern Olingo

Олінго Ґабба

Head-body length: 36–42 cm.
Tail length: 38–48 cm.
Weight: 1.2–1.4 kg.

It is found from Nicaragua south through Costa Rica and Panama to Colombia. It typically inhabits montane and tropical moist forests at elevations of up to 2,000 m

bassaricyon alleni

(Bassaricyon alleni)

Eastern Lowland Olingo

Олінго Алена

Head-body length: 30–45 cm.
Tail length: 40–53 cm.
Weight: 1.1–1.5 kg.

It it is known from the lowlands east of the Andes in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela.

bassaricyon neblina

(Bassaricyon neblina)

Olinguito

Олінгіто

Head-body length: 32–40 cm.
Tail length: 33–40 cm.
Weight: 0.7–1.1 kg.

It is found in Andean cloud forests, ranging from western Colombia to Ecuador, at elevations between 1,500–3,000 m.

bassaricyon medius

(Bassaricyon medius)

Western Lowland Olingo

Олінго західний низинний

Head-body length: 31–41 cm.
Tail length: 35–52 cm.
Weight: 0.9–1.2 kg.

It is found in Central and South America, specifically in Panama, Colombia and Ecuador west of the Andes.

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