Pearl-spotted Owlet
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 Photo by Ron Eggert
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| Glaucidium perlatum (Vieillot, 1817) |
The Pearl-spotted Owlet (Glaucidium perlatum) is an owl which breeds in Africa south of the Sahara. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.
Pearl-spotted Owlet is a common and easily seen bird in open woodland and savannah. It nests in a hole in a tree, such as a disused barbet nest, laying 2-4 eggs.
The Pearl-spotted Owlet is small (19cm) and stocky, with a longish tail. The upperparts are rich brown, heavily spotted with white. The underparts are white, streaked with brown. The facial disc is white and the eyes are yellow. There are two eyespots on the nape.
Sexes are similar, but young birds are paler with a shorter tail. The flight is deeply undulating.
This species often hunts by day, and can be readily located by the small birds that mob it while it is perched in a tree. It hunts a variety of small prey. The call is a whistled tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Glaucidium perlatum. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
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