Anjouan scops owl

Anjouan scops owl
CITES Appendix II 
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Otus
Species:
O. capnodes
Binomial name
Otus capnodes

The Anjouan scops owl (Otus capnodes) is an owl endemic to the island of Anjouan in the Comoro Islands.

Description

The Anjouan scops owl occurs in chocolate and rufous colour phases and has very small ear-tufts compared to other scops owls. The former has fine buff bars on the head and neck, a dark brown face with fine streaks and brown underparts with very fine brown streaks and vermiculations. The latter has abdomen markings that contrasts more with the plumage. Body length is 15 cm (5.9 in) and the wingspan is 45 cm (18 in).

Voice

The call of the Anjouan scops owl is a distinctive drawn-out whistle, which is repeated often with short interludes. It has been likened to the "pee-oo" call of the grey plover. The local name is "badanga".

Distribution and habitat

The Anjouan scops owl is found only on the island of Anjouan, where it occurs in the remaining fragments of native upland forest, degraded forest and plantations. It appears to be dependent on large trees situated on steep slopes with cavities for nesting and roosting.

Behaviour

Little is known, but it probably nests and roosts in tree cavities and feeds mainly on insects.

Conservation and status

This species was rediscovered in June 1992, after an absence of records dating back to 1886. It has an estimated population of 2,300 – 3,600 mature individuals as of 2017. Upon its rediscovery, it was classified as "Critically Endangered" because its range is restricted to such a small area, which is being rapidly deforested. It was downlisted to Endangered in 2017, after a study indicated that previous population estimates of 100 – 400 individuals were considerable underestimates. Bristol Conservation and The Science Foundation have conducted surveys on the island to determine how many owls remained in 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 BirdLife International (2017). "Otus capnodes". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22688686A119090936. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22688686A119090936.en.
  2. ↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. 1 2 Kemp, Alan; Kemp, Meg (1998). SASOL Birds of Prey of Africa and its Islands. New Holland. pp. 322–323. ISBN 1 85974 100 2.
  4. ↑ "Anjouan Scops-owl Otus capnodes". Birdlife International. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Safford, Roger J. (1993). "Rediscovery, taxonomy and conservation of the Anjouan Scops Owl Otus capnodes (Gurney 1889)". Bird Conservation International. 3 (1): 57–74. doi:10.1017/S0959270900000782. ISSN 0959-2709.
  6. ↑ Green, Kathleen E.; Daniel, Bronwen M.; Lloyd, Samuel P.; Said, Ishaka; Houmadi, Amelaid; Salim, Daniel M.; M’Madi, Soufiani; Doulton, Hugh; Young, Richard P. (2015). "Out of the darkness: the first comprehensive survey of the Critically Endangered Anjouan Scops Owl Otus capnodes". Bird Conservation International. 25 (3): 322–334. doi:10.1017/S0959270914000185. ISSN 0959-2709.
  7. ↑ "Forgotten Species: the haunting whistle of the Anjouan scops-owl". Jeremy Hance. Mongabay.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-14.