The southern white-faced owl (''Ptilopsis granti'') is a fairly small owl in the family Strigidae. It is native to the southern half of

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. It was formerly regarded as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

northern white-faced owl The northern white-faced owl (''Ptilopsis leucotis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. The southern white-faced owl (''P. granti'') was formerly included in this species and the two were known as the white-faced scops-owl. It is fou ...

(''P. leucopsis'') but the two are now commonly treated as separate species. It is long and weighs . The upperparts are grey with dark streaks and there are white spots on the scapular feathers. The underparts are whitish with dark streaks. The face is white with a black border and black around the large orange eyes. The head has two short ear-tufts with black tips.

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birds have a greyish face. The northern white-faced owl is usually paler and browner with reduced streaking below. Their call is a series of fast, bubbling hoots, uttered at night and frequently repeated. These fast, staccato notes followed by a longer and higher-pitched ‘hoot’ are extensively used during breeding season and pairs of owls often sing together. The northern white-faced owl has a very different two-note call. Its range extends from

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

eastwards to southern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and southwards to

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and northern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It inhabits

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and dry

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. It is usually seen alone or in pairs. It mainly hunts large insects, as well as occasional small

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s and

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s. The eggs are usually laid in the old nest of another bird. The clutch contains two or three eggs which are incubated for about 30 days. The young birds leave the nest about a month after hatching.

Temperature adaptability

During the winter, southern white-faced owls increase their resting metabolic rate by approximately 45% to adjust to the climate changes. Furthermore, the owls do this to increase cold temperature tolerance which is unusual for these creatures. Not only that, but the BMR (

Basal Metabolic Rate Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate of food energy, energy expenditure per unit time by endotherm, endothermic animals at rest. It is reported in energy units per unit time ranging from watt (joule/second) to ml O2/min or joule per hour per kg b ...

) of the owl is lower than what is expected of other birds similar to them to help them when there is a lack of food. This is unusual considering the lack of food and other survival resources during the winter.

References

*Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara'', Struik, Cape Town. *World Owl Trust (2005)
Southern White-faced Owl
'. Accessed 19/09/07. *Zimmerman, Dale A.; Turner, Donald A. & Pearson, David J. (1999) ''Birds of Kenya & Northern Tanzania'', Christopher Helm, London.

External links

BirdLife species factsheet for ''Ptilopsis granti''
* (Southern) White-faced Owl
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1271082

southern white-faced owl The southern white-faced owl (''Ptilopsis granti'') is a fairly small owl in the family Strigidae. It is native to the southern half of Africa. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the northern white-faced owl (''P. leucopsis'') but the tw ...

Birds of prey of Sub-Saharan Africa