Sjöstedt's barred owlet (''Glaucidium sjostedti''), also known as Sjöstedt's owlet, is a species of
owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
in the family
Strigidae
The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species ...
from west central Africa.
Description
Sjöstedt's barred owlet is a small owl, which has a brown head, neck and upper back densely marked with thin, white bars, while the remainder of the upperparts are deep reddish brown. There is extensive barring on the breast, where many dark brown bars are set against the light cinnamon-brown background; the barring becomes more diffuse towards the lower belly and vent. It has a distinctive face, with bold, white eyebrows above bright yellow eyes. Juveniles resemble the adults, but are generally paler, with a yellow-brown cast to the underparts and faint barring on the upper breast, darkening to become chestnut around the throat.
Voice
Sjöstedt's barred owlet has a distinctive call which can be rendered as "''kroo-kroo-kroo''", which is most often made around dawn and dusk.
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Distribution and habitat
Sjöstedt's barred owlet occurs in western Central Africa, from south-eastern Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
east through Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
to the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
, and southwards to Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
, Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
, northern Congo and north-western and central Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
.[ and the forest edges. It occurs at high altitude on ]Mount Cameroon
Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous ...
.[
]
Behaviour
Sjöstedt's barred owlet is a nocturnal species, hunting during the night in the forest understorey. Its diet consists of insects such as grasshoppers, but also spiders, crabs, mice, small snakes and nestling birds. When an owlet is disturbed from its daytime roost, it often results in mobbing behaviour by small birds, e.g. passerines
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 generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
. The breeding season of Sjöstedt's barred owlet is little known, although it lays in July in Gabon and young have been found in nests throughout much of the year in Cameroon. The males are territorial, calling loudly in order to attract females and to warn off potentially rival males. The nest is in a cavity or natural tree hollow, where the female lays a clutch of at least two eggs, with an incubation period of around one month.[
]
Etymology
The species is named after Swedish naturalist Bror Yngve Sjöstedt
Bror Yngve Sjöstedt (August 3, 1866, Hjo – 1948) was a Swedish naturalist.
Sjöstedt gained his degree and his doctorate in 1896 at the University of Uppsala. He worked as an assistant in Statens Entomologiska Anstalt from 1897 to 1902, bec ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1271633
Glaucidium (owl)
Birds of Central Africa
Owls of Sub-Saharan Africa
Birds described in 1893
Taxa named by Anton Reichenow
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot