Chestnut owlet
| Chestnut owlet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Glaucidium |
| Species: | G. castaneum |
| Binomial name | |
| Glaucidium castaneum Neumann, 1893 | |
The chestnut owlet (Glaucidium castaneum) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in west and central Africa in two allopatric populations which may be species in themselves.
Description
The chestnut owlet is a small owlet which is rather similar to the African barred owlet, which is larger. The adult chestnut owlet has a brown facial disk which is marked with dark bars and flecks and whitish eyebrows. The upperparts are chestnut with a white spotted crown and a white shoulder line formed by the outer wens of the scapulars. The paler underparts are marked with dense barring on the breast, with spots on the rest of the underparts. The eyes are yellow, the cere and bill are greenish yellow, the legs are feathered and the toes are dirty yellow but rather bristly. They are 20–21.5 cm (7.9–8.5 in) in length.[2]
Distribution and subspecies
There are two currently recognised subspecies, which may be full species considering their allopatric distribution. The subspecies an their distributions are:[3]
- Glaucidium castaneum castaneum: north eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and southwestern Uganda, there are records of owlets from southern Cameroon, southwestern Central African Republic and Congo may refer to this subspecies.
- Glaucidium castaneum etchecopari: patchily distributed in Liberia and Ivory Coast.
This species is closely related to the African barred owlet and the subspecies G.c. etchecopari is sometimes regarded as a subspecies of that species.[2]
Habits and habitat
The chestnut owlet occurs in humid lowland rainforest and montane forest, at 1,000–1,700 m (3,300–5,600 ft) in altitude.[4]
The biology of the chestnut owlet is little known but like the related African barred owlet it is partly diurnal. Like other owls it will be mobbed by small passerines if discovered at its roost. Its prey is small vertebrates and arthropods, which are either caught from a perch or gleaned from the foliage.[2]
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Glaucidium castaneum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- 1 2 3 König, Claus; Weick, Friedhelm; Becking, Jan-Hendrick (1999). Owls A Guide to the Owls of the World. Pica Press. pp. 379–380. ISBN 1-873403-74-7.
- ↑ "Chestnut Owlet Glaucidium castaneum Reichenow, 1893". Avibase. Denis Lepage. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ↑ "Chestnut Owlet (Glaucidium castaneum)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 29 October 2016.