The Philippine hawk-owl is a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

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 ...

s 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 ...

. They are all

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 elsew ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Description

The Philippine hawk-owls are earless. The males and females look much alike. They differ in size and pattern on the bottom side. ''N. reyi'' and ''N. spilonota'' are the biggest and ''N. philippensis'', ''N. spilocephala'' and ''N. mindorensis'' the smallest. The pattern on the bottom side of ''N. reyi'', ''N. p. spilonota'' and ''N. mindorensis'' is checked. The pattern on all the other species are striped. Species range in size (including the tail) to a length of 21.0 to 26.5 cm and have a wingspan of 16.5 to 20.5 cm. All are species splits from what was once recognized as a single species, ''N. philippensis'', known together as the Philippine hawk-owl. Two of the owls have been recognized in 2012 as distinct species based on vocal and other differences. They were also previously characterized as subspecies.New Owl Species: Camiguin Hawk-Owl, Cebu Hawk-Owl Discovered In Philippines
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Systematics and taxonomy

There are seven known species: *

Luzon boobook The Luzon boobook or Luzon hawk-owl (''Ninox philippensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Philippines where it lives in forests. It is a brown and white mottled bird and males and females look much alike. Des ...

, 'Ninox philippensis'' ** ''Ninox philippensis centralis'' (

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

Boracay Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Akla ...

Carabao The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...

Guimaras Guimaras , officially the Province of Guimaras ( hil, Kapuoran sang Guimaras; tl, Lalawigan ng Guimaras), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Jordan while its largest local government ...

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

Semirara Semirara is an island in the Philippines located at in the Caluya archipelago which is situated south of Mindoro Island. It is under the jurisdiction of the town of Caluya of the province of Antique. It is a major site of coal mining in the Phili ...

and

Siquijor Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Siquijor; tl, Lalawigan ng Siquijor), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor ...

) ** ''Ninox philippensis philippensis'' (

Biliran Biliran, officially the Province of Biliran ( Waray-Waray: ''Probinsya han Biliran''; ceb, Lalawigan sa Biliran; tl, Lalawigan ng Biliran), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region (Region VIII). Biliran is ...

, Buad,

Catanduanes Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes, is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across Maqueda Cha ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies be ...

, Polillo and

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

) ** ''Ninox philippensis ticaoensis'' ( Ticao) *

Mindoro boobook The Mindoro boobook or Mindoro hawk-owl (''Ninox mindorensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to the Philippines. Description EBird describes the bird as "A fairly small owl of lowland and foothill forest and woodla ...

, ''Ninox mindorensis'' (

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

Sulu boobook The Sulu boobook or Sulu hawk-owl (''Ninox reyi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines. It was previously known as a subspecies of the Philippine hawk-owl, but was reclassified in ...

, ''Ninox reyi'' (

Bongao Bongao, officially the Municipality of Bongao, is a 2nd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,118 ...

Jolo Jolo ( tsg, Sūg) is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has ...

, Sanga Sanga,

Siasi Siasi, officially the Municipality of Siasi ( Tausūg: ''Kawman sin Siasi''; tl, Bayan ng Siasi), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 67,705 people. Geography ...

Sibutu Sibutu, officially the Municipality of Sibutu, is a municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,243 people. History Due to an administrative error in the Treaty of Paris, whi ...

and

Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi ( tl, Lalawigan ng Tawi-Tawi; Tausug: ''Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi''; Sinama: ''Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim M ...

) *

Mindanao boobook The Mindanao boobook or Mindanao hawk-owl (''Ninox spilocephala'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to the Philippines on the island of Mindanao. It was previously known as a subspecies of the Philippine hawk-owl, but w ...

, ''Ninox spilocephala'' (

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan ( cbk, Provincia de Basilan; yka, Wilayah Basilanin; tsg, Wilaya' sin Basilan; fil, Lalawigan ng Basilan), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Re ...

, Dinagat,

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

and

Siargao Siargao is a tear-drop shaped island in the Philippine Sea situated 196 kilometers southeast of Tacloban. It has a land area of approximately . The east coast is relatively straight with one deep inlet, Port Pilar. The coastline is marked by a s ...

) * Romblon boobook, ''Ninox spilonotus'' ** ''Ninox spilonotus spilonotus'' (

Sibuyan Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has t ...

) ** ''Ninox spilonotus fischeri'' ( Tablas) *

Cebu boobook The Cebu boobook or Cebu hawk-owl (''Ninox rumseyi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Philippine hawk-owl, but was reclassified in 2012, as voice and ot ...

, ''Ninox rumseyi'' (

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

) *

Camiguin boobook The Camiguin boobook or Camiguin hawk-owl (''Ninox leventisi'') is an owl species resident to the Camiguin island in the Philippines. It is the only owl in the country with greenish-yellow or grayish eyes. It was previously known as a subspecies ...

, ''Ninox leventisi'' (

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Min ...

) Locally, this bird is known as ''kuwago'', like other large owls.

Ecology

The Philippine hawk-owl species can be found in forest areas up to an altitude of 1800 metres, although they mostly reside in areas less than 1000 metres above sea level. 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 moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

and subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

. All of the species mate around February. The nests can be found in hollow trees.

References

{{Reflist * Kennedy, R.S., Gonzales P.C., Dickinson E.C., Miranda, Jr, H.C., Fisher T.H. (2000) ''A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines'', Oxford University Press, Oxford.

External links

Image at ADWPicture from Flickr

Philippine hawk-owl The Philippine hawk-owl is a species complex of owls in the family Strigidae. They are all endemic to the Philippines. Description The Philippine hawk-owls are earless. The males and females look much alike. They differ in size and pattern on th ...

* Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bird common names Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN