The ashy-faced owl (''Tyto glaucops'') 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 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 ...

. It is

endemic 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 else ...

to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (split between Haiti and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

). Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.

Description

The ashy-faced owl is quite similar to the darker types of the

American barn owl The American barn owl (''Tyto furcata'') is usually considered a subspecies group and together with the western barn owl group, the eastern barn owl group, and sometimes the Andaman masked owl, make up the barn owl, cosmopolitan in range. The ba ...

(''Tyto furcata''), and was formerly conspecific with it. The

facial disc In ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds—most notably owls—surrounding the eyes. The concavity of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those ...

is heart-shaped and ashy-grey. The dorsal (upper) surface of the head and body is yellowish-brown speckled with dark grey or black and the ventral (under) surface is pale. Adults grow to a length of and weigh between . The call is a rapid series of clicks followed by a wheeze, and the bird can also emit a shrill scream.

Distribution

The ashy-faced owl is endemic to Hispaniola and some of the smaller islands in its vicinity, though it is more common in the Dominican Republic than Haiti. Its typical habitat is forest and open woodland and it is often found near towns and villages.

Behavior

The ashy-faced owl is a resident species and does not migrate. It nests in holes in trees, in crevices in rocks, on rocky ledges and inside buildings. A clutch of between three and seven eggs is laid some time between January and July.

Ecology

Like most other owls, the ashy-faced owl is nocturnal and feeds on small

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

s, such as the

Hispaniolan solenodon The Hispaniolan solenodon (''Solenodon paradoxus'') is a small, furry, shrew-like mammal endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Like other solenodons, it is a venomous, insect-eating animal that liv ...

(''Solenodon paradoxus'').Jonathan J. Derbridge et al., "Solenodon paradoxus (Soricomorpha: Solenodontidae)," Mammalian Species, Volume 47, Issue 927, 2015, Pages 100 - 106. The

(''Tyto furcata'') was first recorded in Hispaniola around 1950. A study, published in 2010, was undertaken in the

to determine the diets of both owls, and whether they compete with each other for food. This was done by examining the regurgitated pellets the owls produce, which contain the undigested bones, fur, and feathers of their prey. It was found that they each consume over 100 species of prey, with 92 species being in common between the two. Small mammals predominated in both diets, particularly so in the American barn owl, and made up the greatest proportion of the biomass. Both caught a similar proportion of bats, but the ashy-faced owl caught more birds. Amphibians and reptiles were also consumed more often by the ashy-faced owl than by the American barn owl. No conclusion could be reached as to whether the competition for food which was caused by the arrival of the American barn owl, or if it was detrimental to the native species.

Status

The IUCN lists the ashy-faced owl in its

Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

as being of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

. This is because it has a very wide range across Hispaniola (mostly the Dominican Republic) and, although the bird is not common, its population appears to be stable. The ashy-faced owl faces competition for nesting sites and suitable habitat from the sympatric American barn owl (''Tyto furcata'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1259972 ashy-faced owl Endemic birds of the Caribbean Endemic birds of Hispaniola Birds of Hispaniola Birds of the Dominican Republic Birds of Haiti ashy-faced owl Taxonomy articles created by Polbot