Tawny Fish Owl

The Tawny Fish Owl (Bubo flavipes) is a species of owl. It used to be placed in Ketupa with the other fish owls, but that group is tentatively included with the eagle-owls in Bubo, until the affiliations of the fish owls and fishing owls can be resolved more precisely.

This typical owl is found in subtropical to temperate forests in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It eats fish, crabs, shrimps, frogs, toads, lizards, snakes, and small mammals such as moles, and particularly rodents like mice, voles and rats. It also prey on birds like Mandarin duck in Taiwan. The owl occupies a river strecth of 5.5-7.7 km in length.

References

• BirdLife International 2004. Ketupa flavipes. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 July 2007.
• Sun, Y., Y. Wang, and K. A. Arnold. 1997. Notes on a nest of Tawny Fish-Owls at Sakatang Stream, Taiwan. J. Raptor Research 31：387-389.
• Sun, Y. and Y. Wang. 1997. Tawny fish owl activity pattern. Wilson Bull. 109：377-381.
• Sun, Y., Y. Wang, and C. Lee. 2000. Habitat selection by tawny fish owl (Ketupa flavipes) in Taiwan. J. Raptor Research 34：102-107.
• Sun, Y., H. WU, and Y. Wang. 2004. Predation by Tawny Fish-Owls at fish farms in Taiwan. J. Raptor Research 38(4): 326-333.
• Wu, H, Y. Sun, Y. Wang, and Y. Tseng. 2006. Food habits of Tawny Fish-Owls in Sakatang Stream, Taiwan. J. Raptor Research 40: 111-119.