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Rainforest Scops Owl
The Madagascar scops owl (''Otus rutilus''), also known as the Malagasy scops owl or Rainforest scops owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found throughout Madagascar, now that is has recently been lumped with the Torotoroka scops owl (''O. r. madagascariensis''), with which it was long considered a separate species from. The nominate ''O. r. rutilus'' is referred to as Rainforest scops owl. Description The Madagascar scops owl is a relatively small owl with short, rounded wings and short erectile ear-tufts on top of the head. There are three morphs recorded of this species: a grey-plumaged morph, a brown-plumaged morph and a rufous-plumaged morph. Features which stand out from the main plumage color are the pale eyebrows, light spots on the scapulars and the barring on the wings and outer tail feathers. Sometimes the crown and the underparts are streaked. The bill has a black tip and may be dull green through to yellowish-grey and the eyes are yellow. They me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Pucheran
Jacques Pucheran (2 June 1817 – 13 January 1895) was a French zoologist born in Clairac. He was a grandnephew to physiologist Étienne Serres (1786-1868). Pucheran accompanied the expedition on the ''Astrolabe'' between 1837 and 1840, under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville, with fellow-naturalists Jacques Bernard Hombron and Honoré Jacquinot. On his return he contributed the ornithological section (with Jacquinot) of "''Voyage au Pôle sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes L'Astrolabe et La Zélée''" (1841–1854).Cronologia Ornitologica (Short Ornithological Timeline) Pucheran worked as a zoologist and naturalist at the |
Strigidae
The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical owls have a cosmopolitan distribution and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Morphology While typical owls (hereafter referred to simply as owls) vary greatly in size, with the smallest species, the elf owl, being a hundredth the size of the largest, the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakiston's fish owl, owls generally share an extremely similar body plan.Marks, J. S.; Cannings, R.J. and Mikkola, H. (1999). "Family Strigidae (Typical Owls)". ''In'' del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds.) (1999). '' Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 5: Barn-Owls to Hummingbirds.'' Lynx Edicions. They tend to have large heads, short tails, cryptic plumage, and round facial discs around the eyes. The family is generally arboreal (with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At Madagascar is the world's List of island countries, second-largest island country, after Indonesia. The nation is home to around 30 million inhabitants and consists of the island of Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar (the List of islands by area, fourth-largest island in the world), along with numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of wildlife of Madagascar, its wildlife is endemic. Human settlement of Madagascar occurred during or befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torotoroka Scops Owl
The Torotoroka scops owl (''Otus rutilus madagascariensis'') is a subspecies of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the western parts of Madagascar, and was previously regarded as its own species. However, ''O. madagascariensis'' and the rainforest scops owl ''Otus rutilus'' have now been re-lumped following Fuchs et al. (2007) as the Madagascar scops owl or Malagasy scops owl. Therefore this taxon now becomes a subspecies, ''Otus rutilus madagascariensis.'' Description It is very similar to the rainforest scops owl ''Otus rutilus'', and possibly indistinguishable from it. The two were formerly identified by different habitat preferences, with Torotoroka preferring drier habitats and Rainforest preferring wetter forests. Some small plumage and vocal differences were noted but minimal genetic divergence was found. Therefore, Clements has merged the two species. Distribution and habitat This taxon is endemic to the western parts of Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Hollow
A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees, and are a prominent feature of natural forests and woodlands, and act as a resource or habitat for a number of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Hollows may form as the result of physiological stress from natural forces causing the excavating and exposure of the heartwood. Forces may include wind, fire, heat, lightning, rain, attack from insects (such as ants or beetles), bacteria, or fungi. Also, trees may self-prune, dropping lower branches as they reach maturity, exposing the area where the branch was attached. Many animals further develop the hollows using instruments such as their beak, teeth or claws. The size of hollows may depend on the age of the tree. For example, eucalypts develop hollows at all ages, but only from when the trees are 120 years old do they f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayotte Scops Owl
The Mayotte scops owl (''Otus mayottensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the island of Mayotte in the Comoros. Taxonomy The Mayotte scops owl has been considered to be conspecific with the Pemba scops owl (''Otus pembaensis''), the Anjouan scops owl (''Otus capnodes''), the rainforest scops owl and the Torotoroka scops owl (''Otus madagascariensis'' under ''O. rutilus''), but this species has now been split and the Mayotte scops owl is now regarded as its own species, mainly based on its very different call. The scops owls of Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles form a clade within the genus Otus with the Oriental scops owl (''Otus sunia'') and are not closely related to the continental African scops owls. Description The Mayotte scops owl is very similar to the rainforest scops owl (''Otus rutilus'') with which it was once considered conspecific. The upperparts are plain brown marked with faint light spots while the underparts are paler brown t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pemba Scops Owl
The Pemba scops owl (''Otus pembaensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to Pemba Island which is part of and off the coast of Tanzania. Taxonomy The Pemba scops owl was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Madagascar scops owl, ''Otus rutilus'' ''sensu lato'', due to morphological similarities but genetic research has shown that it is closer to the clade in which the African scops owl, ''Otus senegalensis'', is situated. Description The Pemba scops owl is a medium-sized scops-owl with short ear-tufts. There are two colour morphs, a brown morph which is mainly pale rufous-brown with light streaking on the head and faint barring on paler underparts and a rufous morph which is a bright, rich rufous, that is paler on the underwing coverts. Both morphs show a pale scapular band, whitish in the brown morph and pale rufous in the rufous morph. The bill is black while the cere is greenish-yellow and the eyes and legs are yellow. It is tall with a wing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torotoroka Scops Owl
The Torotoroka scops owl (''Otus rutilus madagascariensis'') is a subspecies of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the western parts of Madagascar, and was previously regarded as its own species. However, ''O. madagascariensis'' and the rainforest scops owl ''Otus rutilus'' have now been re-lumped following Fuchs et al. (2007) as the Madagascar scops owl or Malagasy scops owl. Therefore this taxon now becomes a subspecies, ''Otus rutilus madagascariensis.'' Description It is very similar to the rainforest scops owl ''Otus rutilus'', and possibly indistinguishable from it. The two were formerly identified by different habitat preferences, with Torotoroka preferring drier habitats and Rainforest preferring wetter forests. Some small plumage and vocal differences were noted but minimal genetic divergence was found. Therefore, Clements has merged the two species. Distribution and habitat This taxon is endemic to the western parts of Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Scops Owl
The African scops owl (''Otus senegalensis'') is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy William John Swainson first described the species in 1837 from a specimen collected in Senegal, and initially assigned it to the now defunct genus ''Scops''. Today the species is assigned to the genus ''Otus''. There are three subspecies currently recognised: *''Otus senegalensis senegalensis'': Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa *''Otus senegalensis nivosus'': Found in south-eastern Kenya from the lower Tana River to the Lali Hills *''Otus senegalensis feae'': Endemic to Annobón island in the Gulf of Guinea (regarded by Birdlife International as a separate species, the Annobón scops owl) The African scops owl was formerly regarded as the African subspecies of the scops owl. It was grouped with the Arabian scops owl, Socotra scops owl, and the Annobón scops owl into ''Otus senegalensis''; however, these species are now considered to be separate. Description T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otus (bird)
Scops owls are typical owls in family Strigidae belonging to the genus ''Otus'' and are restricted to the Old World. ''Otus'' is the largest genus of owls with 59 species. Scops owls are colored in various brownish hues, sometimes with a lighter underside and/or face, which helps to camouflage them against the bark of trees. Some are polymorphic, occurring in a greyish- and a reddish-brown morph. They are small and agile, with both sexes being compact in size and shape. Female scops owls are usually larger than males. For most of the 20th century, this genus included the American screech owls, which are now again separated in ''Megascops'' based on a range of behavioral, biogeographical, morphological and DNA sequence data. Taxonomy The genus ''Otus'' was introduced in 1769 by the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant for the Indian scops owl (''O. bakkamoena''). The name is derived from the Latin word ' and the Greek word ''ōtos'' meaning horned or eared owl (cf. οὖς, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Birds Of Madagascar
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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