Verreaux's Eagle Owl
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Verreaux's eagle-owl (''Bubo lacteus''), also commonly known as the milky eagle owl or giant eagle owl, is a member of 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 ...
. This species is widespread in
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 ...
. A member of the 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 ...
'', it is the largest African owl, measuring up to in total length. This eagle-owl is a resident primarily of dry, wooded
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 ...
. Verreaux's eagle-owl is mainly grey in color and is distinguishable from other large owls by its bright pink eyelids, a feature shared with no other owl species in the world.König, C., & Weick, F. (2008). ''Owls of the World''. A&C Black. . Verreaux's eagle-owl is a highly opportunistic predator equipped with powerful talons. Just over half of its known diet is composed of mammals but equal or even greater numbers of birds and even insects may be hunted locally, along with any other appropriately sized prey that is encountered.Brown, L. H. (1965). ''Observations on Verreaux's Eagle Owl Bubo lacteus (Temminck) in Kenya''. ''Journal of the East African Natural History Society'', 25, 101-107.Avery, G., Robertson, A. S., Palmer, N. G., & Prins, A. J. (1985). ''Prey of giant eagle owls in the de Hoop nature reserve, Cape province, and some observations on hunting strategy''. ''Ostrich'', 56(1-3), 117-122. This species is considered 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 ...
by
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
as it occurs over a wide range and has shown some adaptability to human-based alterations and destruction of habitat and adaptability to diverse prey when a primary prey species declines in a region. As a large, highly territorial species of owl, it does, however, occur at fairly low densities and some regional declines have been reported. The common name commemorates the French naturalist
Jules Verreaux Jules Pierre Verreaux (24 August 1807 – 7 September 1873) was a French botanist and ornithologist and a professional collector of and trader in natural history specimens. He was the brother of Édouard Verreaux and nephew of Pierre Antoine Dela ...
. The type specimen that was later described by Temminck at the
Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie The Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (National Museum of Natural History) was a museum on the Rapenburg in Leiden, the Netherlands. It was founded in 1820 by Royal Decree from a merger of several existing collections. This happened on the initi ...
was collected by Verreaux while he was still in his teens.Hume, R. (1991). ''Owls of the world''. Running Press, Philadelphia. 1991.


Description

Despite the alternative common name of ''giant eagle-owl'', Verreaux's eagle-owl is not the largest owl or eagle-owl in the world. It is, however, a very large and powerful owl species. This species is both the largest owl found in Africa and the world's largest owl to occur in the
tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
. Among all the world's owls, it is fourth heaviest living owl, after
Blakiston's fish owl Blakiston's fish owl (''Bubo blakistoni''), the largest living species of owl, is a fish owl, a sub-group of eagle-owls which specialize in hunting in riparian areas. It is native to China, Japan, and the Russian Far East. This species is a par ...
(''Bubo blakistoni''), the
Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
(''Bubo bubo'') and the
tawny fish owl The tawny fish owl (''Ketupa flavipes'') is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from southern Nepal to Bangladesh, Vietnam and China. Due to its wide geographical distribution, it is listed as Least Co ...
(''Bubo flavipes''). In addition, it is the fourth longest extant owl (measured from the bill to the tip of the tail), after the great gray (''Strix nebulosa''), Blakiston's fish and Eurasian eagle-owls.''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), . Based on body mass and wing chord length, Verreaux's eagle-owl is about the same size as "medium-sized" races of Eurasian eagle-owl, such as those from Central Asian
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
(''B. b. turcomanus'') and the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
(''B. b. hemachalana''), slightly smaller than most northern
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
n races, considerably smaller than Siberian and Russian eagle-owls, and somewhat larger than the smallest Eurasian eagle-owl subspecies, such as those from the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
(''B. b. hispanus'') and the Middle East (''B. b. omissus'' or ''nikolskii'').Vaurie, C. (1960). ''Systematic notes on Palearctic birds. No. 41, Strigidae, the genus Bubo''. ''American Museum Novitates''; no. 2000.Rothschild, W. & Hartert, E. ''Notes on eagle-owls''. ''Novitates Zoologicae, A Journal of Zoology''.Vaurie, C. (1963). ''Systematic notes on Palearctic birds. No. 52, Supplementary notes on Bubo bubo''. ''American Museum Novitates''; no. 2132.Qinghu C., Jianping S. & Zhigang J. (2008). ''Summer diet of two sympatric species of raptors upland buzzard (Buteo hemilasius) and Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) in Alpine meadow: Problem of coexistence''. ''Pol. J. Ecol'', 56(1), 173-179. Verreaux's eagle-owl ranges from in total length.''Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi'' by Stevenson & Fanshawe. Elsevier Science (2001), This species has been reported as having an average wingspan of , but Mikkola referenced this as the wingspan of a smaller male.Giant Eagle-Owl
, Arkive
J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott and J. Sargatal, eds. ''Handbook of the birds of the world. Volume 5. Barn-owls to Hummingbird''. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.''Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide'' by Mikkola, H. Firefly Books (2012), The largest known wingspan from a wild female measured nearly .Mendelsohn, J. M., Kemp, A. C., Biggs, H. C., Biggs, R., & Brown, C. J. (1989). ''Wing areas, wing loadings and wing spans of 66 species of African raptors''. ''Ostrich'', 60(1), 35-42. While female owls are almost always larger than males, Verreaux's eagle-owl stands out as one of the most
sexually dimorphic 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 ani ...
living owl species, some studies showing the female can average 35% heavier than the male. In comparison, the females of the nominate subspecies of
Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
s and
great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...
(''Bubo virginianus'') are reported to average approximately 20% and 25% heavier than the males, respectively. The full range of reported body mass in the species ranges from in males against a body mass of in females.Weick, F. (2007). ''Owls (Strigiformes): annotated and illustrated checklist''. Springer Science & Business Media. In one study, 4 males were found to have averaged while 6 females averaged . Another study found 5 males to have averaged approximately while five females averaged .Musindo, P. T. (2006). ''Morphological variation in bills and claws in relation to Prey type in Southern African Birds of Prey (Orders Falconiformes and Strigiformes)'' (Doctoral dissertation, University of Zimbabwe). Unusually large sizes have been claimed in captivity with claims that specimens measuring up to in length and in wingspan but these are unverified and possibly misreported as these figures match the largest Eurasian eagle-owls. Males heavier than any in the wild have been verified in captivity to weigh up to . Among standard measurements, the female is reported to measure from , averaging , in wing chord, in the tail, while the same measurements in the male are from , averaging , and from in tail length. In both sexes, the tarsus has measured and the
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
(in a small sample) . Based on wing chord size compared to body mass and other linear dimensions, the Verreaux's eagle-owl averages somewhat larger in the size of its wings relative to its body size than most other eagle-owls, excluding the Asian fish owls which are also relatively long-winged. Overall, Verreaux's eagle-owl is a fairly uniform and somewhat pale gray, with light and fine brownish vermiculations on the underside. The back is more solidly light brown with white spots on the shoulder. The oval facial disc is paler, sometimes ranging into a whitish color, than the rest of the front side of the bird with strong black borders bracketing either side. One other feature that immediately distinguishes adult Verreaux's eagle-owls in good light are its pink eyelids. The ecological purpose of their colorful eyelids is not known; however, Brown (1965) opined that they replace the colorful yellow to orange eyes of eagle-owls in breeding and territorial displays, since they were very conspicuous in displaying males. Their eyes are dark-brown in color and like all eagle-owls, they have ear-tufts. The ear-tufts are blunter and smaller relative to those of other African eagle-owls. The ear-tufts of this species are relatively subtle and can be missed in the field, especially if they are held lax. In appearance, they are quite easily distinguished if seen well. They are much bigger and bulkier than most other co-occurring owls. The only eagle-owl species in range that approaches its size is the
Shelley's eagle-owl Shelley's eagle-owl (''Bubo shelleyi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Despite its large size, it is a very little-known, rarely studied owl that occurs in very small numbers. A specimen was photographed in the wild for the first tim ...
(''Bubo shelleyi''), which may (but is not confirmed to) co-exist with the Verreaux's in northern
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 ...
and the southern sliver of the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
most likely in forest edge and mosaics, but that species is a much darker sooty colour overall with broad black bands on the underside. Shelley's eagle-owl also has considerably different habitat preferences, preferring deep, primary forests, and is much more rarely observed in the wild. The next largest eagle-owl in sub-Saharan Africa is the
cape eagle-owl The Cape eagle-owl (''Bubo capensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is one of several large species of the eagle-owl genus ''Bubo''. Range Its range is limited to the southernmost regions of southern Africa as well as parts ...
(''Bubo capensis''). The individual home ranges, if not habitats, of the Verreaux's and cape eagle-owls may abut in nearly every part of the latter's distribution. Even in its largest race (Mackinder's eagle-owl, ''B. c. mackinderi'') the cape eagle-owl is around 30% lighter in body mass on average than the Verreaux's eagle-owl, not to mention it being markedly different in almost all outward characteristics.
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''), which occurs in west, central and inland southern Africa and may co-exist with the Verreaux's eagle-owl in much of its range (despite favoring wetland and riparian zones surrounded by wooded areas), can attain similar sizes as the Verreaux's eagle-owl but is dramatically different in color (a rather brighter rufous-cinnamon hue) and lacks ear-tufts. In combination, the characteristics of their pink eyelids, dark eyes, relatively uniform plumage and extremely large size render the Verreaux's eagle-owl as nearly unmistakable.Barlow, C., Wacher, T., & Disley, T. (2005). ''A field guide to birds of The Gambia and Senegal''. Yale University Press.


Voice

The call of the Verreaux's eagle-owl is the deepest of any extant owl species and one of the deepest bird calls in the world, averaging slightly deeper than the calls of the Blakiston's and
brown fish owl The brown fish owl (''Ketupa zeylonensis'') is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. Due its wide distribution it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
s (''Ketupu zeylonensis''). The calls of Eurasian eagle-owls are less deep but are possibly louder and farther carrying. The male's song is an exceptionally deep ''gwok, gwok, gwonk-gwokwokwok gwokwokwok gwonk''. The depth and quality of the song makes confusion by sound more likely with a
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
(''Panthera pardus'') than any other bird. The song is sometimes considered unmistakable. According to a study in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, the voice is considered the second deepest bird call after the
southern ground hornbill The southern ground hornbill (''Bucorvus leadbeateri''; formerly known as ''Bucorvus cafer'') is one of two species of ground hornbill, both of which are found solely within Africa, and is the largest species in the hornbill order worldwide. It ...
(''Bucorvus leadbeateri''), though that species has a fairly croaking call reminiscent of a large frog and in recordings appears to have a less sonorous call. Apparently, the song can carry up to away on quiet nights. The female's call is similar but higher pitched, as in all owls to some extent because the larger female tends to have a smaller syrinx.Voous, K.H. 1988. ''Owls of the Northern Hemisphere''. The MIT Press, 0262220350. Like most ''Bubo'' owls, breeding pairs not infrequently call together but they are not as well-synchronized as the pair duets of
spotted eagle-owl The spotted eagle-owl (''Bubo africanus'') also known as the African spotted eagle-owl and the African eagle-owl, is a medium-sized species of owl, one of the smallest of the eagle owls. Its length is and its weight is from . It has a wingspan. ...
s (''Bubo africanus''), which are often found in nearby ranges. The alarm calls of both sexes are often a sonorous ''whok'' or ''hook'' but variable grunting notes and raspy screams also seem to indicate alarm. Both the female and the young engage in high, piercing calls when begging for food at the nest (at which time the male does the food capture). One other vocalization recorded has included a raspy, drawn-out ''shrooooo-ooo-eh'' apparently uttered as a distraction display mainly by the male near the nest. While sound is important to some degree for inner-species relations and hunting behaviour to all owl species, the Verreaux's eagle-owl appears to have relatively small and uncomplicated ear openings compared to several smaller types of owl. This indicates that the auditory senses are relatively unimportant in this species compared to vision.


Taxonomy

There are no known subspecies in the Verreaux's eagle-owl, and there is remarkably little variation in their appearance across their considerable distribution. Reportedly, birds in the southern part of their range appear marginally larger on average but these size differences are quite subtle and may be considered as a mild case of
Bergmann's rule Bergmann's rule is an ecogeographical rule that states that within a broadly distributed taxonomic clade, populations and species of larger size are found in colder environments, while populations and species of smaller size are found in warmer ...
. While genetic research has been undertaken for this species, its closest living relative in the genus ''Bubo'' is not fully clear. At one time, the Verreaux's eagle-owl was mentioned as an owl with particularly mysterious genetic alliances among living owls. Per Konig & Weick (2008), the species with studied genetic markers found to be most closely related are a dark-eyed species pair of Asian eagle-owls, the spot-bellied (''Bubo nipalensis'') and
barred eagle-owl The barred eagle-owl (''Bubo sumatranus''), also called the Malay eagle-owl, is a species of eagle owl in the family Strigidae. It is a member of the large genus ''Bubo'' which is distributed on most of the world's continents. This relatively lit ...
s (''Bubo sumatranus''), but these are not particularly closely related to the Verreaux's. Among species with available genomes to study for DNA characteristics, it has been revealed that the fish owls, in particular the
brown fish owl The brown fish owl (''Ketupa zeylonensis'') is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. Due its wide distribution it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
(''Bubo zeylonensis''), is the third most closely related species to the Verreaux's.Penhallurick, J. M. (2002). ''The taxonomy and conservation status of the owls of the world: a review''. Ecology and conservation of Owls. CSIRO Publishing, Australia, 343-354. Notably, Konig & Weick did not test the DNA of other African eagle-owls that may bear relation to the Verreaux's eagle-owl based largely on their solid dark brown eyes, namely Fraser's (''Bubo poensis''),
Usambara The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tanga ...
(''Bubo vosseleri''), greyish (''Bubo cinerascens'') and
Shelley's eagle-owl Shelley's eagle-owl (''Bubo shelleyi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Despite its large size, it is a very little-known, rarely studied owl that occurs in very small numbers. A specimen was photographed in the wild for the first tim ...
, as opposed to other eagle-owls which have yellow to orange irises. Fraser's and Usambara eagle-owls also have a small amount of bare skin around their eyes but this tends to bluish in color and is not nearly as extensive as the pink seen in Verreaux's. Other large owls native to Africa, the
fishing owl Fishing owls are a group of sub-Saharan African birds in the family Strigidae, the true owls. Fishing owls have traditionally been placed in the genus ''Scotopelia'', but DNA evidence suggests they should be included in genus ''Bubo'' with the h ...
s, also have uniform dark brownish eyes and are sometimes included with the genus ''Bubo'' but how closely related they are to modern eagle-owls is unclear.
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58South 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 ...
and
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, indicate that the Verreaux's eagle-owl descended from slightly smaller ancestors that increased in size as they diversified from related species.


Range and habitat

Verreaux's eagle-owl is found through most 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 ...
, though it is absent from most of the deep
rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s. The species is found at the highest densities in eastern and southern Africa. As this species avoids primary forests, it is found very spottily in west Africa. They reach their western distribution in
The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
and
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. Eastward from those countries to the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
, the species is distributed in a narrow transitional zone between the Sahara and rainforests. Seemingly isolated populations occur in central
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and central
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
.Wilson, R. T., & Wilson, M. P. (1981). ''Notes on the Giant Eagle Owl Bubo lacteus in central Mali''. ''Ardea'', 69, 205-208. In south-western Africa, they range up to as far north as the southern parts of the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, through most of
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 ...
(excluding the coastal regions) 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 ...
. In east Africa, their distribution is more or less continuous from southern
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
,
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
and inland
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
down to
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 ...
as far as the region of the city of
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
. This species inhabits mainly
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 ...
with scattered trees and thorny vegetation. Verreaux's eagle-owls mainly inhabit rather dry regions, some bordering semi-arid areas. In central
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, for example, near the extreme northwestern limit of the species range, the habitat that hosts these owls averages less than of rainfall annually. They also range into riverine forest adjacent to savanna and small, semi-open
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 ...
surrounded by open country, though they are less likely to inhabit heavily wooded habitats.
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 ...
n eagle-owls are not infrequently found around
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s and
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 at ...
es, which may provide the primary nesting habitat in some areas. In
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
, they are largely associated with riparian woodlands. Verreaux's eagle-owl may live at nearly all elevations, from sea level to near the snow-line at around in elevation, such as in the
Eastern Rift mountains The East African mountains are a mountain region in the African Great Lakes, within Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Location and description The mountains are related to the East African Rift, and are ...
. However, in general, they only sporadically inhabit
rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...
areas and so are generally very scarce in mountainous regions. The
bushveld The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of ...
of southern Africa is near ideal habitat for Verreaux's eagle-owl and the species may be found at near peak numbers here. The species was historically rare to absent from the
Kalahari desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...
, but the introduction by man of invasive trees like
conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s,
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
and
acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
s, irrigation areas and prey species has allowed them to spottily occupy this region.


Behavior

Verreaux's eagle-owls are
nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
birds and roost by day in trees, with large, shaded horizontal branches of tall, old trees being preferred. In
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, the most often-used perch trees were ''
Croton megalocarpus ''Croton megalocarpus'' is a tree species in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is indigenous to ten countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Mo ...
'' and invasive ''
Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
''. Elsewhere, ''
Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
'' trees may be used habitually.Pitman, C., & Adamson, J. (1978). ''Notes on the ecology and ethology of the giant eagle owl, Bubo lacteus''. ''Honeyguide'', 95: 26-43. Despite normally choosing dense foliage to rest in, sometimes they may sit wherever their hunting path ends from the prior night, including relatively exposed perches. They reportedly sleep rather lightly and will awaken very quickly to defend themselves from attack in daylight hours. Family groups consisting of breeding pairs and their offspring frequently roost together and may engage in
allopreening Preening is a found in birds that involves the use of the beak to position feathers, interlock feather that have become separated, clean plumage, and keep ectoparasites in check. Feathers contribute significantly to a bird's insulation, waterp ...
during this time. Reportedly some family groups include eagle-owls that had hatched up to three years prior, which if accurate is exceptional for any type of owl species. During extremely hot days, this species may flutter its throat for cooling purposes and has been known to bathe in rain and shallow water during extreme heat in the middle of the afternoon but usually drinks when possible during nighttime. Each breeding pair of Verreaux's eagle-owl defends a territory and these may be extremely large, ranging in size up to .


Dietary ecology

Verreaux's eagle-owl is considered an avian
apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic lev ...
, meaning it is at or near the top of the food chain and healthy adults normally have no natural predators. In many known aspects of its hunting behaviour, it is typical of the members of the genus ''Bubo''. This species hunts predominantly in early evening; however, they have been observed to swoop on prey during daylight. They usually fly to a different perch from their daytime roost to use as their habitual hunting perch. Verreaux's eagle-owls mainly hunt by gliding down on their prey from a perch. However, hunting on the wing has been reported, even of flying insects. On occasion, they hunt by flying low over a bush to catch prey by surprise or dash on the wing into dense foliage or through forests to catch a
galago Galagos , also known as bush babies, or ''nagapies'' (meaning "night monkeys" in Afrikaans), are small nocturnal primates native to continental, sub-Sahara Africa, and make up the family Galagidae (also sometimes called Galagonidae). They ar ...
or other arboreal prey item. They will also sometimes run after prey on the ground, flapping their wings rapidly as they walk, or wade into shallow waters to pin down fish. The wing size of eagle-owls in general limits their flying speed and abilities in the open and so they require perches to execute most of their hunting behaviour.Steyn, P. (1983). ''Birds of prey of southern Africa: Their identification and life histories''. Croom Helm, Beckenham (UK). 1983. Even among the ''Bubo'' owls, most species of which are known to be highly opportunistic predators with indiscriminating diets, the Verreaux's eagle-owl is a particularly opportunistic predator. While earlier studies characterized
great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...
, one of the most well-studied members of the genus ''Bubo'', as hunting whatever random species they first come across,Errington, P.L. 1932. ''Studies on the Behavior of the Great Horned Owl''. ''Wilson Bulletin'', 12: 212-220. more modern dietary studies have contrarily shown their prey selection is not completely random and that regionally they selected
cottontail Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...
s and
hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
s as prey instead of other foods regardless of prey population trends and became regional specialists on such prey, to such an extent that it predictably causes owl population declines at times when
leporid Leporidae is the family of rabbits and hares, containing over 60 species of extant mammals in all. The Latin word ''Leporidae'' means "those that resemble ''lepus''" (hare). Together with the pikas, the Leporidae constitute the mammalian order ...
numbers decline.Marti, C. D. (1974). ''Feeding ecology of four sympatric owls''. ''Condor'', 45-61.Adamcik, R. S., A. W. Todd, and L. B. Keith. 1978. ''Demographic and dietary responses of Great Horned Owls during a snowshoe hare cycle''. ''Canadian Field-Naturalist'', 92:156-166. Furthermore, species-wide, great horned owls may select mammals as prey nearly 88% of the time. In contrast, studies have indicated that for the Verreaux's eagle-owl only around 56% of its diet is mammals and no single prey type predictably dominates their prey selection by biomass in multiple regions. To date, more than 100 prey species have been counted for this eagle-owl and, with only about half a dozen comprehensive dietary studies known to have been conducted, this probably only represents a small portion of the total prey selected. Estimated prey size for the species has ranged from insects weighing less than to
ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, cam ...
s weighing at least . This is the second broadest size range positively attributed to a single owl species for prey items after the
Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
and the largest exceptional upper prey-size also after the Eurasian species.Andrews, Peter (1990) ''Owls, Caves, and Fossils: Predation, Preservation, and Accumulation of Small Mammal Bones in Caves, with an Analysis of the Pleistocene Cave Faunas from Westbury-sub-Mendip, Somerset, UK'' University of Chicago Press. 231 pg.


Mammals

The prey type most often associated with Verreaux's eagle-owl are
hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
s. It appears that this species is the only routine predator of hedgehogs in Africa, most other predators of small-to-medium-sized mammals choosing to pursue other abundant mammals without the hedgehog's prickly defenses.Kingdon, J., Happold, D., Butynski, T., Hoffmann, M., Happold, M., & Kalina, J. (2013). ''Mammals of Africa, Volume IV: Hedgehogs, Shrews and Bats''. A&C Black. In both the southernmost, from the western cape of
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 ...
, and northernmost, a partial study of the foods at nests in central
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, food studies for this species have found hedgehogs to be the most significant contributor of biomass in Verreaux's eagle-owl nests. The two known hedgehog prey species taken are the
four-toed hedgehog The four-toed hedgehog (''Atelerix albiventris''), is a species of hedgehog found throughout much of central and eastern Africa. Populations tend to be scattered between suitable savannah or cropland habitats, avoiding forested areas. The specie ...
(''Atelerix albiventris''), which averages in adults, in the north and the
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''), which averages in adults, in the south. When capturing hedgehogs, the eagle-owl descends silently with its soft-comb wings and ambushes the hedgehog by imbedding its talons about the face. After death, the hedgehog is skinned of its prickly back before being consumed by either the eagle-owl itself or the young at the nest. This may result in over a dozen hedgehog skins being found around Verreaux's eagle-owl roosts near their nests. The same method of dealing with hedgehogs is utilized by the
Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
, which is likewise reported as the only routine predator of hedgehogs in its native continent.Wassink, G. (2010). ''Het dieet van de Oehoe in Nederland en enkele aangrenzende gebieden in Duitsland''. Limosa. 83: 97-108. Studies in other areas have shown that, while hedgehogs are seemingly taken opportunistically, they are at best secondary as contributors of prey both in quantity and biomass. In general, the diet of Verreaux's eagle-owl is seemingly random and highly variable. Eagle-owl species from temperate zones may have no choice but to predate
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s which are rather small and this may require a nesting pair to capture up to a dozen rodents nightly.Marti, C. D., Korpimäki, E., & Jaksić, F. M. (1993). ''Trophic structure of raptor communities: a three-continent comparison and synthesis''. In ''Current Ornithology'' (pp. 47-137). Springer US.Craighead, J. J. and F. C. Craighead, Jr. 1956. ''Hawks, owls and wildlife''. Stackpole Co. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In comparison, the diversity and abundance of rodents is considerably greater in wild areas of sub-Saharan Africa and the Verreaux's eagle-owl seemingly ignores most small rodent species, with no rodent prey species known to average under in adult body mass. In
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, the most often recorded prey locally were ''
Tachyoryctes ''Tachyoryctes'' is a genus of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It contains the following species: * Ankole African mole-rat (''T. ankoliae'') * Mianzini African mole-rat (''T. annectens'') * Aberdare Mountains African mole-rat (''T. audax'') * D ...
''
mole-rat Mole-rat or mole rat can refer to several groups of burrowing Old World rodents: * Bathyergidae, a family of about 20 hystricognath species in six genera from Africa also called blesmols. *'' Heterocephalus glaber'', the naked mole-rat. * Spalaci ...
s; however, these were recorded only slightly more often than other genera or species, including non-mammals. Several species of
blesmol The blesmols, also known as mole-rats, or African mole-rats, are burrowing rodents of the family Bathyergidae. They represent a distinct evolution of a subterranean life among rodents much like the pocket gophers of North America, the tuco-tuc ...
, a separate family also sometimes referred to as mole-rats, have also been recorded as prey. Several
murid In Sufism, a ''murīd'' (Arabic مُرِيد 'one who seeks') is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by ''sulūk'' (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title murshid, '' pir'' or ''shaykh''. A '' sālik'' or Su ...
species have been hunted ranging in size from the
southern multimammate mouse The southern multimammate mouse or southern African mastomys (''Mastomys coucha'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae which is endemic to southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). It i ...
(''Mastomys coucha'') to the two non-native ''
Rattus ''Rattus'' is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus. Species and description The best-known ''Rattus'' species are the black rat (''R. rattus'') ...
'' species, including the
brown rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...
(''Rattus norvegicus'').Happold, D. C., & Kingdon, J. (Eds.). (2013). ''Mammals of Africa. Volume 3, Rodents, hares and rabbits''. Bloomsbury. Some larger rodents they've hunted have included the
cape ground squirrel The Cape ground squirrel or South African ground squirrel (''Geosciurus inauris'') is found in most of the drier parts of southern Africa from South Africa, through to Botswana, and into Namibia, including Etosha National Park. The name ' ...
(''Xerus inauris''), the
Gambian pouched rat The Gambian pouched rat (''Cricetomys gambianus''), also Common name, commonly known as the African giant pouched rat, is a species of nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus ''Cricetomys'', in the Family (biology), family Nesomyidae ...
(''Cricetomys qambianus'') and the lesser cane rat (''Thryonomys gregorianus''). The largest known rodent prey is the
South African springhare The South African springhare (''Pedetes capensis'') ( af, springhaas) is a medium-sized terrestrial and burrowing rodent. Despite the name, it is not a hare. It is one of two extant species in the genus '' Pedetes'', and is native to southern Afr ...
(''Pedetes capensis'') at an average adult weight of . Avery, et al. (1985) opined that springhares may be only taken as carrion as they claim it be too large for the eagle-owl to overpower and indeed at least one South African springhare was fed on as roadkilled carrion. However, Avery, et al. (1985) also acknowledged that adult
monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
s of larger size have verifiably been taken alive by the eagle-owls, so it certainly should not be ruled out that they also take live springhares. Many other mammals taken as prey by Verreaux's eagle-owl are seemingly any encountered except the much larger species, especially those that show a propensity for nocturnal or crepuscular activity. This species has hunted bats in several cases from the
Lander's horseshoe bat Lander's horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus landeri'') is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae found in Africa. Its natural habitats are savanna and caves. Taxonomy and etymology It was described as a new species in 1837 by English naturalis ...
(''Rhinolophus landeri''), the smallest known vertebrate prey species known for this eagle-owl, to ''
Rousettus ''Rousettus'' is a genus of Old World fruit bats or megabats, referred to as rousette bats. The genus is a member of the family Pteropodidae. The genus consists of seven species that range over most of Africa to southeast Asia, and the islands ...
''
fruit bat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—flying foxes. They are the only member of the sup ...
s that weigh over . Most other mammalian prey recorded or inferred as hunted by Verreaux's eagle-owl tend to be considerably larger. Both the scrub hare (''Lepus saxatilis'') and the
cape hare The Cape hare (''Lepus capensis''), also called the brown hare and the desert hare, is a hare native to Africa and Arabia extending into India. Taxonomy The Cape hare was one of the many mammal species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in ...
(''Lepus capensis'') have been reported as food, the scrub species estimated to average when taken. In parts of
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, the scrub hare can be a particularly significant contributor of biomass to the eagle-owl's diet.Short, L. L., & Horne, J. F. (2006). ''The Avifauna of an Upland Seasonal Woodland in Central Kenya: Ecology, Behavior, Breeding'' (No. 53). Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig. Other assorted mammalian prey species include the
golden-rumped elephant shrew The golden-rumped elephant shrew (''Rhynchocyon chrysopygus'') is a small African mammal. It is the largest species of the elephant shrew family along with its close relative the grey-faced sengi. It is classified as endangered. Taxonomy and d ...
(''Rhynchocyon chrysopygus'') and the
cape hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the da ...
(''Procavia capensis''), although it is possible that juvenile hyraxes are rather more commonly taken than adults. So far as is known, Verreaux's eagle-owl is the only living owl that preys upon multiple species of
primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
, although isolated incidents of predation (normally on young primates) has been reported in two to three other large, tropical owls. Multiple cases of predation against
galago Galagos , also known as bush babies, or ''nagapies'' (meaning "night monkeys" in Afrikaans), are small nocturnal primates native to continental, sub-Sahara Africa, and make up the family Galagidae (also sometimes called Galagonidae). They ar ...
s have been reported, unsurprisingly as they represent all nocturnal primates in Africa, although they are seldom identified to species. Known galago prey species have ranged from the
Thomas's bushbaby Thomas's bushbaby (''Galagoides thomasi'') is a species of primate in the family Galagidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zam ...
(''Galagoides thomasi'') to the
brown greater galago The brown greater galago (''Otolemur crassicaudatus''), also known as the large-eared greater galago or thick-tailed galago, is a nocturnal animal, nocturnal primate, the largest in the family of galagos. As opposed to smaller galago species it w ...
(''Otolemur crassicaudatus'').T. M. Butynski, J. Kingdon, J. Kalina (eds.). 2013. ''Mammals of Africa. Volume II: Primates''. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, United Kingdom, 556 pp. (print).
Monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
are also predated opportunistically. Particularly often reported in foods of the Verreaux's eagle-owl as primates go is the
vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct ...
(''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''). Incidents of successful predation have included vervets that were half-grown, which the eagle-owl was able to fly off with (despite being about as heavy as the eagle-owl itself), and an adult vervet of an estimated weight of , which an eagle-owl took on the ground and subsequently dismembered. However, considering the formidable gauntlet of predators that vervet monkeys face, the Verreaux's eagle-owl is one of its more minor predators and attacks on them may be considered incidental, due in part to the monkey's primarily diurnal activities. Other monkey species believed to be occasionally vulnerable to attacks include the
blue monkey The blue monkey or diademed monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis'') is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It ...
(''Cercopithecus mitis''), which is similar in size to the vervet,
patas monkey The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the wadi monkey or hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa. Taxonomy There is some confusion surrounding ...
s (''Erythrocebus patas'') and the young of the
chacma baboon The chacma baboon (''Papio ursinus''), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide vari ...
(''Papio ursinus''). Adult patas monkeys, averaging some , can be even larger than vervet monkeys but whether they take prime adults of the species is questionable. There are a few verified cases of Verreaux's eagle-owls feeding on
ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, cam ...
s; however, some authors such as Avery, et al. (1985) feel that these generally represent cases of scavenging on carrion. The remains of an adult grysbok (''Raphicerus melanotis''), weighing an estimated , was opined with certainty to have been taken as carrion per this study. Steyn (1982) accepted that this species could take live prey weighing up to on rare occasions; however, he stated in a case of an adult
common duiker The common duiker (''Sylvicapra grimmia''), also known as the grey or bush duiker, is a small antelope and the only member of the genus ''Sylvicapra''. This species is found everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the Horn of Africa ...
(''Sylvicapra grimmia'') being fed on by an eagle-owl that the duiker was likely roadkill. Scavenging on carrion is generally a rare behaviour in owls and has been reported in only a few cases where large owls are exceptionally hungry. Live ungulates verified to have been hunted have included piglets of
common warthog The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today th ...
s (''Phacochoerus africanus''), which have an average birth weight of only but grow to over in just a couple weeks. Adult
Kirk's dik-dik Kirk's dik-dik (''Madoqua kirkii'') is a small antelope native to Eastern Africa and one of four species of dik-dik antelope. It is believed to have six subspecies and possibly a seventh existing in southwest Africa. Dik-diks are herbivores, typi ...
s (''Madoqua kirkii''), one of the smallest
antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
species at an average of have also been hunted by Verreaux's eagle-owl. Among mammalian carnivores the bulk of predatory incidents have reportedly involved
mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...
s. Common, social species from savanna-edge such as the
yellow mongoose The yellow mongoose (''Cynictis penicillata''), sometimes referred to as the red meerkat, is a member of the mongoose family. It averages about in weight and about in length. It lives in open country, semi-desert scrubland and grasslands in An ...
(''Cynictis penicillata'') and the
meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...
s (''Suricata suricatta'') have been attacked, as well as larger, shy forest dwellers such as the
Jackson's mongoose Jackson's mongoose (''Bdeogale jacksoni'') is a mongoose species native to montane forests in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It appears to be rare and has been classified as Near Threatened since 2008. Its long and dense fur is grizzled black and w ...
(''Bdeogale jacksoni'').J. Kingdon, M. Hoffmann (eds.). 2013. ''Mammals of Africa. Volume V: Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses''. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, United Kingdom, 544 pp. An adult
Meller's mongoose Meller's mongoose (''Rhynchogale melleri'') is small brown mongoose native to savannas and woodlands of southeastern Africa. It is the only member of the genus ''Rhynchogale''. The Meller's mongoose lives alone and is active at night, feeding on ...
(''Rhynchogale melleri'') weighing about which was taken by a Verreaux's eagle-owl on the wing represents the second heaviest known object successfully flown with this species after the aforementioned half-grown vervet monkey.Steyn, P. (2010). ''A delight of owls: African owls observed''. Jacana Media. Other smallish carnivores known to fall prey to Verreaux's eagle-owls include the
African striped weasel The African striped weasel (''Poecilogale albinucha''), the lone member of the genus ''Poecilogale'', is a small, black and white weasel native to sub-Saharan Africa. Description The African striped weasel is one of the smallest mammalian carni ...
(''Poecilogale albinucha'') and its larger cousin, the
striped polecat The striped polecat (''Ictonyx striatus''), also called the African polecat, zoril, zorille, zorilla, Cape polecat, and African skunk, is a member of the family Mustelidae that resembles a skunk (of the family Mephitidae). The name "zorilla" co ...
(''Ictonyx striatus''), which in one nest from the border of the
Kalahari The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...
represented the sole prey species for a pair of eagle-owls. In southern Africa, both the
cape genet The Cape genet (''Genetta tigrina''), also known as the South African large-spotted genet, is a genet species endemic to South Africa. As it is common and not threatened, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Like other genets, it ...
(''Genetta tigrina''), averaging , and the
black-footed cat The black-footed cat (''Felis nigripes''), also called the small-spotted cat, is the smallest wild cat in Africa, having a head-and-body length of . Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark blackish brown. With its bold s ...
(''Felis nigripes''), the smallest felid in Africa, have been included amongst their prey. The Verreaux's eagle-owl is thought to be a threat to even larger carnivores, including the
bat-eared fox The bat-eared fox (''Otocyon megalotis'') is a species of fox found on the African savanna. It is the only extant species of the genus ''Otocyon'' and considered a basal canid species. Fossil records indicate this canid first appeared during th ...
(''Otocyon megalotis'') and the
aardwolf The aardwolf (''Proteles cristata'') is an insectivorous species of hyena, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is also called maanhaar-jackal (Afrikaans for " mane-jackal"), termite-eatin ...
(''Proteles cristata''), although whether healthy adults of the latter are in danger is doubtful. A scientifically-observed attack on an adult
African wildcat The African wildcat (''Felis lybica'') is a small wildcat species native to Africa, West and Central Asia up to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 2022. In Cyprus, an African wil ...
(''Felis silvestris cafra''), which averages about , was aborted after the eagle-owl apparently deemed that the felid was too heavy to take flight with. However, domesticated cats of any size may fall prey to Verreaux's eagle-owl. At Lake Baringo Country Club in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, this eagle-owl has apparently taken to habitually hunting outdoor cats, reportedly making the cats on the grounds highly skittish.


Birds

Verreaux's eagle-owl takes a diverse range of birds as prey. More than 50 avian prey species have been identified and they may locally exceed mammals in importance in the diet, somewhat unusually for eagle-owls. No one type of bird can be said to be predictably favored as prey and any avian species unfortunate enough to have a nighttime roost or nest that happens to be in an eagle-owl's foraging path may fall victim to this species. Many cases of predation involve nest robbery, with nestlings or fledglings being taken, although adult birds may be taken just as often, especially for species with less conspicuous nests. In
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 ...
's
De Hoop Nature Reserve De Hoop Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It lies three hours from Cape Town in the Overberg region, near Cape Agulhas, the southern tip of Africa. Approximately in area, it is one of the largest ...
, it was found that birds were somewhat better represented by both number, 43.3% of remains, and biomass, 57.84% of remains, than mammals or any other prey group. The species best represented in biomass in the prior study was the
black-headed heron The black-headed heron (''Ardea melanocephala'') is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is mainly resident, but some west African birds move further north in the rainy sea ...
(''Ardea melanocephala'') with several adults estimated to average being found among the prey remains. Other fairly common, largish herons are also known to fall prey at night to Verreaux's eagle-owl including the common egret (''Ardea alba''), the
grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...
(''Ardea cinerea'') and the purple heron (''Ardea purpurea''). Other medium-sized
water bird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...
s known to have been represented in this species diet include the
yellow-billed duck The yellow-billed duck (''Anas undulata'') is a 51–58 cm long dabbling duck which is an abundant resident breeder in southern and eastern Africa. This duck is not migratory, but wanders in the dry season to find suitable waters. It is h ...
(''Anas undulata''), the
African black duck The African black duck (''Anas sparsa'') is a species of duck of the genus ''Anas''. It is genetically closest to the mallard group, but shows some peculiarities in its behavior and (as far as they can be discerned) plumage; it is accordingly p ...
(''Anas sparsa''), the
African swamphen The African swamphen (''Porphyrio madagascariensis'') is a species of swamphen occurring in Egypt, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasik ...
(''Porphyrio madagascariensis'') and the
red-knobbed coot The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, (''Fulica cristata''), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest o ...
(''Fulica cristata'').Hancock, P., & Weiersbye, I. (2015). ''Birds of Botswana''. Princeton University Press. Besides herons, another well-represented group of birds in the diet are
galliforms Galliformes is an order (biology), order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkey (bird), turkeys, chickens, Old World quail, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems ...
. Perhaps the most widely preyed species reported from this group is the helmeted guineafowl (''Numida meleagris''), which may seasonally dominate the eagle-owl's food in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
. More modestly sized wild galliform species reported in the diet including the common quail (''Coturnix coturnix'') and the
grey-winged francolin The grey-winged francolin (''Scleroptila afra'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. ...
(''Francolinus africanus''). Domestic fowl, especially those allowed back to a semi-feral state and thus sleeping in the open as is prevalent in Africa, are taken when encountered, including
chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
s and
peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...
s.Chittenden, H. (2014). ''Prey items of Verreaux's Eagle-Owl Bubo lacteus breeding in suburbia''. ''Gabar'' 25: 15–16.. Various upland birds recorded as prey include the
Namaqua sandgrouse The Namaqua sandgrouse (''Pterocles namaqua''), is a species of ground-dwelling bird in the sandgrouse family. It is found in arid regions of south-western Africa. Taxonomy The Namaqua sandgrouse was formally described in 1789 by the German na ...
(''Pterocles namaqua''), the
rock pigeon The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon ( also ; ''Columba livia'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domes ...
(''Columba livia''), the
laughing dove The laughing dove (''Spilopelia senegalensis'') is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. Th ...
(''Streptopelia senegalensis''), the Senegal coucal (''Centropus senegalensis''), the
scaly-throated honeyguide The scaly-throated honeyguide (''Indicator variegatus'') is a species of bird in the family Indicatoridae. Range thumb , left , 200px , Dorsal view, Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, coastal Kenya It is found in Angola, Burundi, DRC, Eswatini, Ethiopia, ...
(''Indicator variegatus'') and several species of
hornbill Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family (biology), family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a Casque (an ...
, ranging in size from the
northern red-billed hornbill The northern red-billed hornbill (''Tockus erythrorhynchus'') is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found from southern Mauritania through Somalia and northeast Tanzania. There are five species of red-billed hornbills recogn ...
(''Tockus erythrorhynchus'') to the
silvery-cheeked hornbill The silvery-cheeked hornbill (''Bycanistes brevis'') is a large species of hornbill found in Africa. Silvery-cheeked hornbills are residents of the tall evergreen forests of East Africa from Ethiopia to South Africa. In Zimbabwe it is threatened ...
(''Bycanistes brevis''). Among
passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
s, the most frequently taken are likely to be
corvid Corvidae is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rook (bird), rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcracker (bird), nutcrackers. In coll ...
s, which are often favored by ''Bubo'' owls from around the world due to their large size, relatively open nests and frequently easy-to-find, communal nocturnal roosts. To date the
cape crow The Cape crow or black crow (''Corvus capensis'') is slightly larger (48–50 cm in length) than the carrion crow and is completely black with a slight gloss of purple in its feathers. It has proportionately longer legs, wings and tail too an ...
(''Corvus capensis'') and
pied crow The pied crow (''Corvus albus'') is a widely distributed African bird species in the crow genus. Structurally, the pied crow is better thought of as a small crow-sized raven, especially as it can hybridise with the Somali crow (dwarf raven) wher ...
(''Corvus albus'') are the corvids reported in dietary studies. In
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 ...
,
thick-billed raven The thick-billed raven (''Corvus crassirostris''), a corvid from the Horn of Africa, shares with the common raven the distinction of being the largest bird in the corvid family, and indeed the largest of the passerines. The thick-billed raven a ...
s (''Corvus crassirostris''), which at are possibly the heaviest corvid species in the world, mobbed them vigorously and seemed to consider them a primary threat. Smaller passerines are by no means ignored.
White-eye The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the ...
s are among the more frequently taken smaller passerines, with the southern yellow white-eye (''Zosterops anderssoni'') being the smallest identified avian prey species, although
penduline tit The penduline tits constitute the family (biology), family, Remizidae, of small perching bird, passerine birds, related to the true tit (bird), tits. All but the verdin make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees (whence "penduline", hanging), us ...
s (''Anthoscopus'' ssp.) are likely to be even smaller.Bubo lacteus (Verreaux's eagle-owl, Giant eagle owl)
. Biodiversityexplorer.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-24.
The largest bird to be hunted by Verreaux's eagle-owl is complicated by the fact that they often take relatively small nestlings of larger species, such as
ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...
es (''Struthio camelus'') and
grey crowned crane The grey crowned crane (''Balearica regulorum''), also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, African crane, Eastern crowned crane, Kavirondo crane, South ...
s (''Balearica regulorum''). The only avian prey items successfully attacked larger than other types of
birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...
(reviewed later) are likely
bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustards ...
s. Most predation records have reported on relatively small bustards, namely northern (''Afrotis afraoides'') and
southern black korhaan The southern black korhaan (''Afrotis afra''), also known as the black bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family, Otididae. This small bustard is found in southwestern South Africa, from Namaqualand, south to Cape Town and east to Mak ...
s (''Afrotis afra''), which average only and , respectively.Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG (eds) 2005. ''Roberts – Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed.'' The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. Larger species of
bustard Bustards, including floricans and korhaans, are large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grassland areas and on the steppes of the Old World. They range in length from . They make up the family Otididae (, formerly known as Otidae). Bustards ...
thought to be threatened by Verreaux's eagle-owl are the
Denham's bustard Denham's bustard, Stanley bustard or Stanley's bustard (''Neotis denhami'') is a large bird in the bustard family. It breeds in much of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of open ground, including agricultural land, grassland, flood-plains and ...
(''Neotis denhami'') and the
kori bustard The kori bustard (''Ardeotis kori'') is the largest flying bird native to Africa. It is a member of the bustard family, which all belong to the order Otidiformes and are restricted in distribution to the Old World. It is one of the four species ( ...
(''Ardeotis kori''), although it is not clear whether adults (especially males) are attacked in the latter species.


Other prey

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 and
amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s are occasional prey for Verreaux's eagle-owls. Various snakes have been included in their diet ranging from the small, innocuous brown house snake (''Boaedon fuliginosus'') at to large and venomous
Egyptian cobra The Egyptian cobra (''Naja haje''), also known as Ouraeus ''(derived from the Ancient Greek word: ''οὐραῖος'' - )'', is one of the most venomous snakes in North Africa, which has caused many snakebite incidents to humans. It averages rou ...
s (''Naja haje'') weighing over .
Frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s were amongst the prominent prey recorded for suburban-breeding eagle-owls in South Africa, namely the African red toad (''Schismaderma carens'') and the
guttural toad The African common toad or guttural toad (''Sclerophrys gutturalis'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réuni ...
(''Amietophrynus gutturalis''). Unidentified frogs were fairly significant in the diet from
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
. The largest herpetological prey known is the
Nile monitor The Nile monitor (''Varanus niloticus'') is a large member of the monitor family (Varanidae) found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile, with invasive populations in North America. The population in West African forests and sa ...
(''Varanus niloticus''), at a mean mature mass of , these primarily diurnal reptiles can provide a fulfilling meal but can be hard to subdue even if ambushed unaware. Predation on fish has been reported but no fish have been observed firsthand in dietary studies. A surprisingly wide range of
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
have been reported in the diet for this species. In some cases, they may prey on insects as small as
termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...
s and even smaller invertebrates have been recorded in pellets such as oribatid mites and ''
Sarcophaga ''Sarcophaga'' is a genus of true flies and the type genus of the flesh-fly family (Sarcophagidae). The members of this cosmopolitan genus are frequently known as common flesh flies. This genus occurs essentially worldwide. These flies are gene ...
'' flies, but are likely consumed incidentally while eating a larger item, either from carrion or the stomach of the prey itself.Vernon, C.J. 1980. ''Prey of six species of owl at the Zimbabwe Ruins – 1970-1975''. ''Honeyguide'' 101: 26-28. Unidentified
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
s,
spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s and
millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...
s have also been reported in their foods. Most attacks on insects involve large
ground beetle Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it i ...
s or
dung beetle Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night. Many dung beetles, known as ''rollers'', roll dung into round balls, which are used as a food source or breeding cha ...
s. Verreaux's eagle-owl has been known to feed on dung beetles among herds of African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer'') by night, boldly diving below the massive bovids’ legs, and will readily feed on beetles among
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
dung when available.


Interspecies predatory relations

Sub-Saharan Africa has many species of owl, although there is less species diversity than in some areas of similar latitude in the
neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...
s and south Asia. It also hosts the most species of eagle-owl with approximately eight "typical" ''Bubo'' species and all three
fishing owl Fishing owls are a group of sub-Saharan African birds in the family Strigidae, the true owls. Fishing owls have traditionally been placed in the genus ''Scotopelia'', but DNA evidence suggests they should be included in genus ''Bubo'' with the h ...
species as well. Due to the diversity here, there are a number of distinctions between habitat preference, primary prey types and body size among the eagle-owls of Africa. The three smallest species of this genus reside solely in Africa, the
akun eagle-owl The akun eagle-owl (''Ketupa leucosticta'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae, native to the African tropical rainforest. Taxonomy The akun eagle-owl was formally described in 1855 by the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub from a sp ...
(''Bubo leucostictus''), the
greyish eagle-owl The greyish eagle-owl or vermiculated eagle-owl (''Bubo cinerascens'') is a rather large owl of the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa. It was previously regarded as the northern subspecies of the spotted eagle-owl (''Bubo africanus''). Descrip ...
(''Bubo cinerascens'') and the
spotted eagle-owl The spotted eagle-owl (''Bubo africanus'') also known as the African spotted eagle-owl and the African eagle-owl, is a medium-sized species of owl, one of the smallest of the eagle owls. Its length is and its weight is from . It has a wingspan. ...
(''Bubo africanus''), in rough order of increasing size. These species are all primarily insectivores and are much reduced in the size and strength of their feet and talons compared to most other contemporary species, although the spotted eagle-owl can be locally specialized to feed on small
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s as well. While the akun is a primary forest-dweller as are the medium-sized Fraser's and
Usambara eagle-owl The Usambara eagle-owl, also called the East African nduk eagle-owl or Vosseier's eagle-owl, (''Bubo poensis vosseleri'') is a taxon of owl in the family Strigidae. It is now regarded as a subspecies of Fraser's eagle-owl (''Bubo poensis''). It i ...
and large
Shelley's eagle-owl Shelley's eagle-owl (''Bubo shelleyi'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Despite its large size, it is a very little-known, rarely studied owl that occurs in very small numbers. A specimen was photographed in the wild for the first tim ...
and thus is not likely to co-exist with Verreaux's eagle-owls except in rare cases, the northerly-distributed greyish eagle-owl (which was at one point considered merely a subspecies of the spotted) and the southerly-distributed spotted eagle-owl have much more similar habitat preferences to the Verreaux's species. Of the non-piscivorous owls in Africa, the
cape eagle-owl The Cape eagle-owl (''Bubo capensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is one of several large species of the eagle-owl genus ''Bubo''. Range Its range is limited to the southernmost regions of southern Africa as well as parts ...
can have a somewhat broad diet and a capability to take large prey but is more specialized to feed on a narrow range of mammals,
mole-rat Mole-rat or mole rat can refer to several groups of burrowing Old World rodents: * Bathyergidae, a family of about 20 hystricognath species in six genera from Africa also called blesmols. *'' Heterocephalus glaber'', the naked mole-rat. * Spalaci ...
s often supplemented with
rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the das ...
, than the Verreaux's eagle-owl. The cape eagle-owl has a fairly strong preference for nesting and hunting within the confines of rocky and mountainous habitats, whereas the Verreaux's is at best sporadic in such areas.Voous, K. H. (1966). ''The distribution of owls in Africa in relation to general zoogeographical problems''. ''Ostrich'', 37(S1), 499-506. In east Africa and South Africa, habitat degradation has allowed the more adaptable Verreaux's eagle-owl to move into areas inhabited by cape eagle-owls and has presented the possible issue of the Verreaux's competitively excluding the smaller species. Outside of the genus ''Bubo'', other owls in Africa are much smaller than Verreaux's eagle-owls and are more likely to be viewed as prey than competition. Among the small-to-mid-sized owls that have fallen prey to this species are the
barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...
(''Tyto alba'') and the
African grass owl The African grass owl (''Tyto capensis'') is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. 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 ...
(''Tyto capensis''), both of which average around in body mass in Africa, the
marsh owl The marsh owl (''Asio capensis'') is a medium to large species of owl in the family Strigidae. Description Medium-sized, dark brown with a pumpkin-shaped head with small 'ear' tufts. The facial disc is pale buff, with a distinct dark brown ri ...
(''Asio capensis'') and the
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 ...
(''Ptilopsis granti''). The only verified interactions with other typical eagle-owls have been predatory, as the
spotted eagle-owl The spotted eagle-owl (''Bubo africanus'') also known as the African spotted eagle-owl and the African eagle-owl, is a medium-sized species of owl, one of the smallest of the eagle owls. Its length is and its weight is from . It has a wingspan. ...
has been recorded among their prey in a few cases. There are several owls with broadly similar habitat preferences from
African scops owl The African scops owl (''Otus senegalensis'') is a small owl which is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy William John Swainson first described the species in 1837 from a specimen collected in Senegal, and initially assigned it to the no ...
s (''Otus senegalensis'') to African wood owls (''Strix woodfordii'') that have not been reported as food but are almost certainly occasionally threatened by Verreaux's eagle-owls. As is commonly the case with eagle-owls, the Verreaux's eagle-owl is perhaps the most serious predatory threat to diurnal raptors in its range, most often ambushing raptors on their prominent nests upon nightfall and freely killing birds of prey of any age from nestlings to adults. Such prey is not quantitatively significant as a food source but since raptors as a rule are sparsely distributed the habitual visitation of a single or pair of Verreaux's eagle-owl can potentially be devastating to a local population. Among the species of small-to-medium-sized raptors known to be attacked are the
African harrier-hawk The African harrier-hawk, harrier hawk or gymnogene (''Polyboroides typus'') is a bird of prey. It is about in length. It breeds in most of Africa south of the Sahara. The only other member of the genus is the allopatric Madagascar harrier-haw ...
(''Polyboroides typus''), the
pale chanting goshawk The pale chanting goshawk (''Melierax canorus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This hawk breeds in southern Africa and is a resident species of dry, open semi-desert with 75 cm or less annual rainfall. It is commonly seen ...
(''Melierax canorus''), 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''), the
scissor-tailed kite The scissor-tailed kite (''Chelictinia riocourii''), also known as African swallow-tailed kite or fork-tailed kite, is a bird of prey in the monotypic genus ''Chelictinia'' in the family Accipitridae. It is widespread in the northern tropics of A ...
(''Chelictinia riocourii''), the
African goshawk The African goshawk (''Accipiter tachiro'') is an African species of bird of prey in the genus ''Accipiter'' which is the type genus of the family Accipitridae. Description The African goshawk is a medium-sized to large ''Accipiter'' which is m ...
(''Accipiter tachiro'') the
common buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...
(''Buteo buteo'') and the
Wahlberg's eagle Wahlberg's eagle (''Hieraaetus wahlbergi'') is a bird of prey that is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is a seasonal migrant in the woodlands and savannas. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg. Like all eagles, it ...
(''Hieraaetus wahlbergi'').Fry, C. H., Keith, S. & Urban, E. K. 1988. ''The Birds of Africa Vol. 3''. Academic Press, London. There are reports of Verreaux's eagle-owls attacking even larger raptorial birds. A case of the Verreaux's eagle-owl killing an adult
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 ...
in
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 Kalahar ...
was verified. At roughly in body mass, the fishing owl is of nearly the same size as the eagle-owl. Cases where they've attacked the nests of particularly large diurnal birds of prey have sometimes involved only nestlings being victimized, such as attacks on the
hooded vulture The hooded vulture (''Necrosyrtes monachus'') is an Old World vulture in the order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus ''Necrosyrtes,'' which is sister to the larger ''Gyps ...
(''Necrosyrtes monachus'') and the
bateleur The bateleur (; ''Terathopius ecaudatus'') is a medium-sized eagle in the family Accipitridae. It is often considered a relative of the snake eagles and, like them, it is classified within the subfamily Circaetinae.Kemp, A. C., G. M. Kirwan, an ...
(''Terathopius ecaudatus''); none of the adults, which are about the same average adult body mass as the Verreaux's eagle-owls, have been reported as prey. However, in some even larger birds of prey, adults as well as nestlings and fledglings have been killed. Successful nighttime attacks have been reported on adults of the
African fish eagle The African fish eagle (''Haliaeetus vocifer'') or the African sea eagle, is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Na ...
(''Haliaeetus vocifer'') and the
secretarybird The secretarybird or secretary bird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller describe ...
(''Sagittarius serpentarius''). In the
Matobo Hills The Matobo National Park forms the core of the Matobo or Matopos Hills, an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. The hills were formed over 2 billion years ago with granite being forced ...
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 Mozam ...
, the Verreaux's eagle-owl has been considered as one of the inferred predators of
Verreaux's eagle Verreaux's eagle (''Aquila verreauxii'') is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the Indian black eagle (''Ictinaetus malayensis''), which lives far to t ...
(''Aquila verreauxii''), although whether adults or only nestlings are vulnerable is not definitely clear. Other than these rare cases, larger birds of prey such as eagles are not usually harassed by Verreaux's eagle-owl and are more aptly viewed as competitors. In fact, the
martial eagle The martial eagle (''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa.Ferguson-Lees & Christie, ''Raptors of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Company (2001), . It is the only member of the genus ''Polemaetus''. A species of t ...
(''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is sometimes regarded as the diurnal ecological equivalent of the Verreaux's eagle-owl. The martial eagle has rather similar habitat preferences to the eagle-owl and has a similarly broad, opportunistic diet. At roughly in average body mass, the martial eagle is roughly twice as heavy as Verreaux's eagle-owl and takes correspondingly large prey, its average prey weight range being and the eagles are capable of exceptionally taking prey up to nearly nine times their own weight, whereas most of the eagle-owls prey does not exceed . Verreaux's eagle-owl is likely to give martial eagles a respectful space during daytime and there are no records of the two species harassing one another.Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). ''Raptors of the world''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Another particularly large and aggressive eagle, the
crowned eagle The crowned eagle, also known as the African crowned eagle or the crowned hawk-eagle (''Stephanoaetus coronatus''), is a large bird of prey found in sub-Saharan Africa; in Southern Africa it is restricted to eastern areas.Sinclair & Ryan (2003) ...
(''Stephanoaetus coronatus''), is largely a forest-dweller and so is less directly a diurnal equivalent. There is a single recorded instance of an immature crowned eagle being aggressively displaced at night by an adult Verreaux's eagle-owl when it happened to encroach on the eagle-owl's territory but without bloodshed and eagle-owls would do well to avoid the exceptionally powerful eagle. Taken together, the Verreaux's, the Shelley's and the cape eagle-owls could be seen as nocturnally replacing the eagle species of martial, crowned and Verreaux's eagles in the respective habitats of savanna, forest and rocky areas but their increasingly diminishing size in comparison to the diurnal eagles means that, generally speaking, less large-bodied prey is likely to be attacked. Despite its place near the top of the nocturnal avian food chain, in 2013 a remote wildlife camera videotaped a
black-backed jackal The black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas),'' also called the silver-backed jackal, is a medium-sized canine native to eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly 900 kilometers. One region includes the southe ...
(''Canis mesomelas'') attacking and killing a Verreaux's eagle owl at a watering hole. Similar rare successful attacks on
great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...
s and
Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
s by smaller
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
es (''Vulpes vulpes'') have been reported, but in these cases the horned owl was mysteriously grounded and the eagle-owl was nesting in too-easily accessed sea cliffs. More often foxes are prey rather than predators for northern ''Bubo'' owls.Jaksić, F. M., & Marti, C. D. (1984). ''Comparative food habits of Bubo owls in Mediterranean-type ecosystems''. ''Condor'', 288-296.Leditznig, C., Leditznig, W., & Gossow, H. (2001). ''15 Jahre Untersuchungen am Uhu (Bubo bubo) im Mostviertel Niederösterreichs-Stand und Entwicklungstendenzen''. ''Egretta'', 44: 45-73. Given that the Verreaux's eagle-owl is surprisingly bold about coming to their ground to, among other things capture beetles, feed on prey too large to carry in flight or, as is likely the case in the jackal attack, drink water, it is possible that the jackal was simply able to ambush an incautious eagle-owl rather than a grounded one. Perhaps even more unexpectedly, an adult
bateleur The bateleur (; ''Terathopius ecaudatus'') is a medium-sized eagle in the family Accipitridae. It is often considered a relative of the snake eagles and, like them, it is classified within the subfamily Circaetinae.Kemp, A. C., G. M. Kirwan, an ...
was filmed killing a Verreaux's eagle-owl by day, though whether this was predation or a competitive or anti-predatory attack is unclear.


Breeding

In the heart of their distribution, i.e. east Africa, breeding activity in this species can peak any time from February to September, but can occur nearly any month at the species level. The timing of breeding is said to be correspondent roughly to the regional dry season, so averages earlier in the northern part of the range (before February) and later (July to September) in the southern part of the range such as
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
and
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 ...
. In the northern part of the range, breeding season commenced in November in
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
, in November and December in
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, December in
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
and January in
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. The monogamous pair is quite stable, most likely mating for life. As in most owls, a courtship display is both to establish mates for a newly mature pair of eagle-owls or to strength pair bonds prior to nesting. Vocalizations during courtship displays consist of relatively rapid and excited calling, hooting and whining. The pair during courtship will bow to one another, flick open their wings and preen each other's feathers, with the male taking the more active part in the courtship ritual. Like all raptorial birds, Verreaux's eagle-owls are strongly territorial. The pair will defend their territory by their song and sometimes (though rarely) through duets. The territories of Verreaux's eagle-owls can range up to 7,000 hectares in size, although average territory sizes are seemingly unknown. Like
great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...
s, but unlike
Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
s, the Verreaux's eagle-owls normally uses old nests built by other birds as their own nests. Usage of a nest site other than those constructed by other birds is considered rarer even than in the horned owl and is viewed as almost exceptional in some parts of this species range. Existent reports of this species building its own nest are certain to be dubious, as no known living owl builds a nest and only a small handful of owl species have been verified adding a small amount of nesting material to an existing surface or nest. They variety of bird nests they use is extreme. Large stick nests in sturdy trees are generally used. In southern Africa, recorded nest heights have ranged from off the ground. Like other ''Bubo'' owls, the large nest of large-bodied accipitrids are often popular for use, due to the often huge size and sturdiness of construction typical in this family, with the nest builders devoting up to four months to their construction. However, perhaps the constructor of nests that most often host Verreaux's eagle-owls are
hamerkop The hamerkop (''Scopus umbretta'') is a medium-sized wading bird. It is the only living species in the genus ''Scopus'' and the family Scopidae. The species and family was long thought to sit with the Ciconiiformes but is now placed with the Pe ...
s (''Scopus umbretta''). In everywhere from
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
to
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 ...
the eagle-owl has been recorded using old nests built by this species. The unusual, massive nest is an enclosed circle of sticks with a side entrance that are often very large relative to the size of the hamerkop, a smallish, compact wading bird. Usually the eagle-owls nest on the flat top of the hamerkop nest rather than the interior which is usually too small for the eagle-owls to enter and this can provide a rather safe structure for the eagle-owl family to call home. Other nest builders which are popular as hosts are
vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and So ...
,
eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
s (at least eight species have built nests used by these eagle-owls),
secretarybird The secretarybird or secretary bird (''Sagittarius serpentarius'') is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savanna of the sub-Saharan region. John Frederick Miller describe ...
s,
crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
s and even much smaller birds such as weavers, which build huge communal nest structures which the eagle-owls then similarly nest on top of. Most nests are already abandoned when the Verreaux's eagle-owl take over it, in large accipitrids for example, many build alternate nests which are not used for years on end. However, if the nest is occupied, the Verreaux's eagle-owl pair readily displaces the occupants and sometimes feeds on the birds in them. Species known to be successfully displaced from their nests have ranged up in size to
lappet-faced vulture The lappet-faced vulture or Nubian vulture (''Torgos tracheliotos'') is an Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus ''Torgos''. It ...
s (''Torgos tracheliotos''), which are more than three times heavier on average than the Verreaux's eagle-owl. In some cases, hamerkops have been known to try to defend their nest from the eagle-owls but are usually chased away. Verreaux's eagle-owls have been known to displace other opportunistic nest usurpers such as other
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 and
falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...
s in order to take over nest structures for themselves. In one case, a pair of eagle-owls nested on top of a hamerkop nest while the interior of the nest was occupied by Egyptian geese (''Alopochen aegyptiacus''), an unusual aggressive species of waterfowl that uses nests built by other species. In rare cases, Verreaux's eagle-owls have been recorded using large, old hollows, the stem of a
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...
tree or on a very dense tangle of creepers or orchids instead of birds' nests as a nesting site. On average, the female lays two white eggs, which typically measure , with a range in height of and a range in width of . The eggs weigh from , the upper weight being the mean mass of the first egg and the lower weight being the mean mass of the second egg. The eggs are reportedly laid at up to 7 day intervals and may take up nearly seven days as well between hatching. Most nest reportedly contain two eggs, but some may contain only one, and no more than two has been recorded in this species. The adult female incubates the eggs for 33 to 39 days, the incubation stage being slightly longer than those of most other eagle-owls, at least the more northern species. On average at hatching, the young weigh about . The weight of the nestling can triple within five days after hatching. Due to the extreme interval between the hatching of the first and the second egg, the older owlet is always considerably larger than the second. As is widely reported in different kinds of raptorial birds, the smaller chick usually dies in the nest. This may be due to starvation upon being outcompeted for food by the older chick or the smaller chick may be being attacked and killed by its older sibling. Usually the smaller chick is gone within two weeks after hatching in this species. In rare cases, both chicks are reared and survive to leave the nest, although there are no known cases of two fledglings resulting from a Verreaux's eagle-owl nest in southern Africa. The young are covered in off-white down from hatching on and the pink eyelids may become apparent within the first week of life. By three weeks of age, the chicks down will thicken and darken to a greyish colour with some barring present. By six weeks, the young eagle-owl will start to somewhat resemble an adult, replete with the blackish brackets on the facial disc of the adult but still being fairly downy, particularly about the head. Only a week later, almost all the down is likely to be moulted. The mother Verreaux's eagle-owl remains on the nest for nearly the entire incubation period while the male hunts for food for both of them. During the brooding stage, which lasts about 20 days after hatching, the female is still fed by the male, but resumes hunting thereafter. During the incubation and brooding stage, the male usually roosts near the nest during the day while the female continually sits about the nest. After the brooding stage, the female normally takes to a perch within a dozen or so metres of the nest. Both parents may use a favor perch near the nest at which they dismantle prey into pieces that can be more easily consumed by their young, these may be called "plucking" perches where birds are more commonly eaten or "peeling" perches where hedgehogs are the most regular prey. Most dietary studies for the species have been from researching the pellets and skins under such perches. The female is an extremely tight sitter both while incubating and brooding, and may not even be displaced from the nest even if shouted at or the tree is struck. When intruders approach too closely, including other eagle-owls, potential predators and humans, the most common response of the parent Verreaux's eagle-owl is to grunt lowly, often raising its ear-tufts and bill-clapping. Both sexes may engage in distraction displays when the area near the nest is encroached, but it usually the male and most displays occur during nighttime but are possible at any time of day or night. During such displays, the adult will fly lover the ground with drooping wings, or alights and drags its wings and flaps about, often while bill-clacking and calling. Similar injury-feigning distraction displays have been recorded in the
Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...
and smaller owl species but are not known in most other ''Bubo'' species. In one case, feral dogs were successfully lured away from a young Verreaux's eagle-owl by its parents’ distraction display after the young bird had fallen to the ground. In rare cases, the parent eagle-owls will attack interlopers. In one such case, a person who picked up a young eagle-owl on the ground was severely injured after both parents attacked him. On average, the young Verreaux's eagle-owl leaves the nest at around 62–63 days but cannot fly at this point. It may take roughly anywhere from another two weeks to a month after this before the fledgling is a competent flier. After leaving the nest, the fledgling is "remarkably inactive", making a minimum of effort to fly, and usually selecting a roost within a few feet of the nest which it has awkwardly climbed to or will drop to a large bush below the nest. In the nest, the chick will beg for food with a shrill or chittering noise, sometimes bobbing its head or swaying about and transferring its weight between its feet (sometimes called a "hunger dance") and it continues to rely on its parents for food well after leaving the nest. Sometimes after leaving the nest, the young eagle-owls are mobbed as are adults by other birds of prey and crows during the day, which is often heatedly directed at this species as adult eagle-owls regularly kill these birds at night. The young eagle-owl may dodge to denser branches to avoid being wounded during such attacks. Young Verreaux's eagle-owls may fall to the ground, often as a result of mobbing. If the young bird is discovered on the ground, it may feign death, lying prone with its head lax and its eyes closed. Even if picked up while death-shamming, the young eagle-owl may remain moribund. Upon being left without disturbance after "playing dead", the young Verreaux's eagle-owl will gradually open its eyes and return to a normal state. It is not until they are about 5 months old do most young Verreaux's eagle-owl show the ability to capture prey for themselves. However, the stage at which the young of this species becomes independent appears remarkably variable. One ringed 9-month-old moved away from its nest area and was thus seemingly fully independent. On the other hand, Verreaux's eagle-owls of over half-a-year in age who presumably can fly and hunt on their own have been seen to linger and continue to beg its parents to be fed into the next breeding season, and may even be fed by their father while he is also feeding the mother and a new nestling. In
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, when a biologist fed a wild juvenile eagle-owl
mole-rat Mole-rat or mole rat can refer to several groups of burrowing Old World rodents: * Bathyergidae, a family of about 20 hystricognath species in six genera from Africa also called blesmols. *'' Heterocephalus glaber'', the naked mole-rat. * Spalaci ...
s and chicken heads in its nest area, the young eagle-owl apparently became remarkably confiding towards the person. The tendency of young eagle-owls to linger into the next breeding season sometimes results in "family groups" roosting together, a very unusual occurrence for an eagle-owl species. One such group consisted of five birds together, including two parents and three owls from the preceding past three years and apparently the younger eagle-owls even helped bring food for the chick once the egg hatched. On average, sexual maturity in Verreaux's eagle-owls appears to be attained at three to four years of age. In most cases, a pair of Verreaux's eagle-owl is able to nest annually; however, in some cases they may nest only every two to three years, in probable situations of extreme food shortages. Annual mortality appears to be fairly low in this large owl species. Few species have been reported to hunt Verreaux's eagle-owls short of the aforementioned jackal attack, even nests have rarely been seen to be predated, although they may on rare occasions run foul of some predators such as larger
felid Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the dom ...
s with the ability to climb. That young birds usually leave the nest before they can fly would appear to endanger them but the threat and distraction display of parent eagle-owls are apparently often successful. Adult eagle-owls can appear nearly fearless, as they have been reported to stand their ground and engage in threat displays when encountered on or near the ground against much larger animals such as
rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
es and
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
s, and in such cases are apparently not approached further by the bigger animals although the eagle-owls could easily be killed by such animals if contact was made. The lifespan in the wild is not known; however, in captivity the species can live for over 15 years, and possibly up to 30 years in some cases.


Status

Verreaux's eagle-owl is a seldom-encountered species, occurring at low densities and needing large territories for hunting and breeding purposes. The threats faced by this species are sadly typical of many large birds of prey from around the world. Not infrequently, they are locally rare due to persecution. The normal cause of persecution is their possible status as predators of small domestic stock, though this is certain to be rare, at least in areas with substantial wild prey populations. An additional threat is the residual effects of pesticides, as poison (usually through rodenticide or poisoned carcasses left out for scavengers such as jackals) consumed through prey may badly affect them. They may be killed by flying into novel man-made objects, including wires and massive dams along reservoirs. Habitat destruction can also affect them, as they require ample trees with large bird nests in order to take residence in a given area. In some areas, however, they've been shown to be able to nest in
peri-urban Peri-urbanisation relates to the processes of scattered and dispersive urban growth that create hybrid landscapes of fragmented and mixed urban and rural characteristics. Origin The expression originates from the French word ' ("peri-urban" ...
or suburban areas, showing greater adaptability to human-based land changes than many other large birds of prey. In
Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
, the species is considered Near Threatened and the species has been recommended for threatened status in southern Africa overall.Jenkins, A. R. (2008). ''A proposed new list of the threatened raptors of southern Africa''. ''Gabar'', 19(1), 27-40. In west Africa and central Africa, the habitat is often marginal for this species, the distribution is sporadic and thus this eagle-owl is only encountered either uncommonly or rarely. The greatest regional stronghold for Verreaux's eagle-owls is seemingly east Africa, in countries such as
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, which may have numbers comparable to pre-colonial times. At the species level, they are widespread and currently not considered to be threatened with extinction.


References

*''Owls of the World'' by Konig, Weick & Becking. Yale University Press (2009),


External links

* (Giant Eagle-Owl =) Verreaux's Eagle-Owl
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q675783
Verreaux's eagle-owl Verreaux's eagle-owl (''Bubo lacteus''), also commonly known as the milky eagle owl or giant eagle owl, is a member of the family Strigidae. This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. A member of the genus ''Bubo'', it is the largest Afri ...
Birds of prey of Sub-Saharan Africa
Verreaux's eagle-owl Verreaux's eagle-owl (''Bubo lacteus''), also commonly known as the milky eagle owl or giant eagle owl, is a member of the family Strigidae. This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. A member of the genus ''Bubo'', it is the largest Afri ...
Birds of East Africa