![grass owl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Grass_owl.jpg)
The African grass owl (''Tyto capensis'') is a species of
owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
in the barn owl family,
Tytonidae
Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs wit ...
.
Description
The African grass owl resembles the
barn owl and has a heart shaped whitish-cream facial disc, with a narrow yellowish-buff rim which is densely spotted dark. The eyes are brownish-black, and the bill is whitish to pale pink. The entire upperparts from the crown to the lower back and
wing-coverts are a uniform sooty blackish-brown, with scattered small white spots and greyish flecks. The
primary feathers
Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tai ...
and
secondary feathers are pale brownish-grey with dark bars and yellow bases. The short tail has uniform brown central feathers fading to paler, almost white, outer feathers which show about four dark bars. The underparts vary in colour from whitish to buff marked with dark spots. The legs have whitish feathers which extend to the lower third of the tarsi. The lower leg and feet are slightly bristled and coloured pale yellowish-grey.
The body length is , the wing length and they weigh between .
A high degree of
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
is present, whereby the body mass and length is significantly larger in females than in males. This is a consequence of observable differences in hunting techniques and efficiency of brooding.
Voice
They have a screeching call which is similar to that of the
Barn Owl, but it is less strident. A high-pitched sibilant tremolo lasting one to two seconds is thought to be the song of the male.
Distribution
It is distributed in sub-Saharan Africa where there are two blocks of its main range, one in central southern Africa across southern
Congo and northern
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
to the central coast of
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and the other centred on South Africa from the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
north to the southern extremities of
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
,
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...
and Mozambique. There are isolated populations in the
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n Highlands,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
and
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
.
Habitat
The African grass owl is found in moist grassland and open savanna up to an elevation of . In east Africa it may also be found in dry grassland and at higher altitudes in
Aberdares and on
Mount Kenya.
In southern Africa this species generally prefers
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
es and
vlei
A vlei () is a shallow minor lake, mostly of a seasonal or intermittent nature. It even might refer to seasonal ponds or marshy patches where frogs and similar marsh dwellers breed. Commonly, vleis vary in their extent, or even in the presence ...
s where there are patches of tall, rank grass and other vegetation but it may also be found in
fynbos,
renosterveld
Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregion ...
and
acacia scrub close to water.
The specific habitat requirements of the African grass owl characterize it as a habitat specialist.
Biology
The African grass owl is nocturnal and is rarely seen flying during the day. It roosts during the day on the ground in tall, rank grass where it creates domed platforms and tunnels by trampling down the surrounding grass. These tunnels can be several metres long and connect with other tunnels. The domed platform created at the end of a tunnel serves as either the nest or daytime roost site. Pairs of owls frequently roost together and occasionally small groups of owls may roost quite close to each other. It becomes active after sunset and hunts during the night, only if prey is scarce, will they fly during the early morning or late afternoon.
Studies done in the Eastern Cape reveal that, in comparison with the
Barn owl (''Tyto alba''), the African grass owl hunts later in the morning and earlier in the evening.
The preferred prey of the African grass owl are rodents and other small mammals normally weighing less than and taken from the ground. It normally hunts in an erratic flight close to the ground, listening and watching for prey, but will also "sit and wait" hunt from a perch.
When the owl locates prey it dives to the ground and picks it up with its talons, feeding on the ground or taking the prey on a nearby perch.
[ In southern Africa recorded prey items include Duthie's golden mole ''Chlorotalpa duthiae '', ]African marsh rat
The African marsh rat or common dasymys (''Dasymys incomtus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is found in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, a ...
''Dasymus incomtus'', Cape mole-rat ''Georychus capensis'', vlei rats ''Otomys
African vlei rats (''Otomys''), also known as groove-toothed rats, live in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Most species live in marshlands, grasslands, and similar habitats and feed on the vegetation of such areas, occasionally supplementing ...
spp'', multimammate mice ''Mastomys
''Mastomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square ...
spp'', Southern African hedgehog
The Southern African hedgehog (''Atelerix frontalis'') is a species of mammal in the family Erinaceidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Description
Their bodies are covered by sharp spine ...
''Atelerix frontalis'', elephant shrew
Elephant shrews, also called jumping shrews or sengis, are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea. Their traditional common English name "elephant shrew" comes from a perc ...
s, hares and bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s. Non mammalian prey included frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
s, African snipe
The African snipe (''Gallinago nigripennis'') also known as the Ethiopian snipe, is a small stocky wader. It breeds in eastern and southern Africa in wet mountain moorland and swamps at altitudes of . When not breeding it disperses widely, includ ...
''Gallinago nigripennis'' and termites.[
The African grass owl breeds from December to August, but the main breeding season is from February to April. The nest is a shallow hollow lined with grass positioned at the end of a grass tunnel. The two to four white eggs are laid at two-day intervals and are incubated solely by the female while the male supplies the food. The females starts incubating as soon as the first eggs is laid and continues for 32–42 days. The female feeds the young taking food brought by the male for the first 10 days; after which, both parents feed the chicks. When the chicks are about four weeks old, the female starts to roost away from the nest. After attaining five weeks of age the owlets begin to wander around the nest, before attempting their first flights at around seven weeks. Once fledged, the young stay with the parents for about 3 weeks, and are independent after that.] Prey which are fed to the young are often first decapitated.
African grass owls have been recorded as being preyed on by the African marsh harrier
The African marsh harrier (''Circus ranivorus'') is a bird of prey belonging to the harrier genus ''Circus''. It is largely resident in wetland habitats in southern, central and eastern Africa from South Africa north to South Sudan.
Description
...
''Circus ranivorus''.[
]
Taxonomy and subspecies
The African grass owl species is regarded by some authors as the same species as the eastern grass owl
The eastern grass owl (''Tyto longimembris''), also known as Chinese grass owl or Australian grass owl, is a species of owl in the family Tytonidae. They feed predominantly on small rodents.
Though some authorities consider this owl to be consp ...
''Tyto longimembris'' of Asia and Australia. There are two subspecies of African grass owl currently recognised:
*''Tyto capensis cameroonensis'': Cameroon Highlands.
*''Tyto capensis capensis'':the rest of the range.
Conservation status
The African grass owl is evaluated as Least Concern. However, in South Africa the species is regarded as vulnerable because habitat degradation through ploughing, grazing, draining and burning; the population in the country is considered to be fewer than 5,000 individuals.[
The habitats in which this species breeds and feeds are often alongside areas of human activity, such as industrial, agricultural or mining areas. This causes exposure to various environmental contaminants, for example, metals, which can subsequently be monitored using the birds' feathers. The African grass owl is a good bioindicator species.]
To combat their state of vulnerability in South Africa, programmes of captive breeding and release for the African grass owl were tested and studies revealed that this may be a possible effective conservation strategy. However, reintroduction of the African grass owl is not a simple process because supplementary feeding is required and the habitat must be suitable and contain sufficient prey.
References
External links
* (African) Grass Owl
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
Handbook of the Birds of the World
* Grass Owl
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{DEFAULTSORT:owl, grass, African
African grass owl
African grass owl
African grass owl
African grass owl
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot