Spotted eagle-owl

The spotted eagle-owl, also known as the African spotted eagle-owl and the African eagle-owl, is a medium-sized species of owl, one of the smallest of the eagle owls. Its length is 45 cm (18 in) and its weight is from 454 to 907 grams. It has a 100 to 140 cm wingspan. The facial disk is off-white to pale ochre and the eyes are yellow. It has prominent ear-tufts, and the upper body is dusky brown, the lower parts off-white with brown bars. Prior to 1999 the spotted eagle-owl was considered conspecific with the greyish eagle-owl, but now it is classed as a separate species.

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Distribution

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Typical Environment

Occurs widely from dry savannas and open woodlands to rocky outcrops, scrub, farmland, and urban parks and gardens. Avoids dense rainforest but tolerates semi-desert and mosaic habitats with scattered trees or cliffs. Frequently seen roosting in trees or on buildings during the day. Readily occupies areas near humans where prey is abundant.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 2500 m

Climate Zone

Subtropical

Characteristics

Size40–50 cm

Wing Span100–140 cm

Male Weight0.55 kg

Female Weight0.75 kg

Life Expectancy12 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

This adaptable owl thrives from savannas to towns and often hunts around streetlights where insects and small prey gather. Pairs are typically monogamous and perform duets of deep hoots to maintain their territory. Nests are simple scrapes on the ground, rock ledges, tree cavities, or building ledges, usually with two eggs. It has excellent camouflage by day and near-silent flight at night.

Gallery

A spotted eagle-owl feeding on a rat

A spotted eagle-owl is feeding young owlets inside an owl house made from recycled plastic. Photographed at the Owl Rescue Centre in the North West Province of South Africa.

Behaviour

Temperament

solitary and territorial

Flight Pattern

silent flier with strong, rounded wingbeats

Social Behavior

Usually found as territorial pairs that roost close together and call in duet. Monogamous, with simple nests on the ground, ledges, or cavities, sometimes on buildings. Both parents attend the young, which leave the nest before fully flying and are fed nearby.

Migratory Pattern

Resident

Song Description

Deep, resonant hoots given in repeated sequences; pairs often duet with a rhythmic back-and-forth. Also produces hisses, growls, and clacking when alarmed or at the nest.

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Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Spotted elachura

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Spotted forktail

The spotted forktail is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas and the hills of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and southern China including Yunnan. Birds of this species are 25 cm with a long tail. The sexes are alike, having a white forehead and a black crown and nape, a black back spotted white, and a broad white wing bar. The tail is deeply forked, graduated black and white. The white spotted back easily identifies this species from other similar sized forktail. Its call is a shrill, screechy KREE, mostly given in flight; it also makes some shrill, squeaky notes while perched. It breeds mostly at 1200–3600 m, and descends to about 600 m in winter. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, where it is found in boulder-strewn torrents, forest streams, and roadside canals.

Spotted green pigeon

The spotted green pigeon or Liverpool pigeon is a species of pigeon which is most likely extinct. It was first mentioned and described in 1783 by John Latham, who had seen two specimens of unknown provenance and a drawing depicting the bird. The taxonomic relationships of the bird were long obscure, and early writers suggested many different possibilities, though the idea that it was related to the Nicobar pigeon prevailed, and it was therefore placed in the same genus, Caloenas. Today, the species is only known from a specimen kept in World Museum, Liverpool. Overlooked for much of the 20th century, it was recognised as a valid extinct species by the IUCN Red List only in 2008. It may have been native to an island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean or the Indian Ocean, and it has been suggested that a bird referred to as titi by Tahitian islanders was this bird. In 2014, a genetic study confirmed it as a distinct species related to the Nicobar pigeon, and showed that the two were the closest relatives of the extinct dodo and Rodrigues solitaire.

Spotted greenbul

The spotted greenbul or spotted bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is classified in the monotypic genus Ixonotus. It is widely spread throughout the African tropical rainforest, from Sierra Leone and Guinea to Ghana; southern Nigeria to Uganda, northern Tanzania, eastern and central Democratic Republic of the Congo and extreme north-western Angola. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and moist savanna.