Eastern grass owl

Eastern grass owl
Painting from John Gould's Birds of Asia
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Tytonidae
Genus: Tyto
Species: T. longimembris
Binomial name
Tyto longimembris
(Jerdon, 1839)

The eastern grass owl (Tyto longimembris), or Australian grass owl is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family. It is found in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.[1]

Though some authorities consider this owl to be conspecific with the African grass owl, T. capensis, other consider it to be a valid species.[2]

They feed predominantly on small rodents.[3]

Description

The eastern grass owlis a medium-sized owl, similar in size to the barn owl. Adult males measure 32 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) in length, while the larger female can measure from 35 to 42 cm (14 to 17 in). The wingspan is from 100 to 116 cm (39 to 46 in). The female weighs 460 g (16 oz) while the male weighs 400 g (14 oz).[4][5][6] They have dark brown or tan upper parts with pale spots. They have black and tan bars on its wings and a very pale beak, feathered legs, and dark brown eyes. Like all tyto owls, it has a heart-shaped facial disk with brown buff and a white bordering.

Call

The eastern grass owl's primary call is like many other tyto owls. A loud, hissing screech but the grass owl's screech is louder than a barn owl's but quieter than a masked owl's.

Hunting

Although this species hunting is little known, the most common prey is the long-haired rat and the cane rat.

Habitat

This owl prefers tall grasslands and swamps since it is adapted to walking on the land in tall grass.

Distribution

Eastern grass owls live in the northeastern section of Australia, parts of New Guinea and the Western Pacific, southeast Asia and India. It has also been found in the coastal islands.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 BirdLife International (2012). "Tyto longimembris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Christidis, Les; Boles, Walter (2008). Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. p. 168. ISBN 0-643-06511-3.
  3. ↑ Wen-Loung Lin, Yin Wang and Hui-Yun Tseng (2007) Initial Investigation on the Diet of Eastern Grass Owl (Tyto longimembris) in Southern Taiwan. Taiwania, 52(1): 100-105
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Ali, Sálim (1996). The Book of Indian Birds (12th ed.). Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 0-19-563731-3.
  6. ↑

External Links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tyto longimembris.
Wikispecies has information related to: Tyto longimembris