Fishing owls are a group of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

n birds in the family

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 owl ...

, the true owls. Fishing owls have traditionally been placed in the genus ''Scotopelia'', but DNA evidence suggests they should be included in genus ''

Bubo A bubo (Greek βουβών, ''boubṓn'', 'groin') is adenitis or inflammation of the lymph nodes and is an example of reactive lymphadenopathy. Classification Buboes are a symptom of bubonic plague and occur as painful swellings in the thigh ...

'' with the horned owls and eagle-owls. ''Scotopelia'' contains the following species: *

Vermiculated fishing owl The vermiculated fishing owl (''Scotopelia bouvieri'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found within riverine forest in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, ...

(''Scotopelia bouvieri'') *

Pel's fishing owl Pel's fishing owl (''Scotopelia peli'') is a large species of owl in the family Strigidae. The species is found in Africa and lives near rivers and lakes. It feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The ...

(''Scotopelia peli'') *

Rufous fishing owl The rufous fishing owl (''Scotopelia ussheri''), rufous-backed fishing-owl or Ussher's fishing owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to west Africa, where it is a highly localised resident along forest rivers. Taxonomy ...

(''Scotopelia ussheri'')

References

Strigidae Scotopelia Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{strigiformes-stub