- Glaucidium tephronotum
Identification
18 cm.
Does not show ear tufts. In much of range with dusky upperparts lacking a white scapular row on shoulder, grey head, white to buffy underparts with rusty-orange on chest and upper flanks. Wings may be washed with rufous. Instead of false eyes on back of head, this species has double white spots on rear neck with inconspicuous dark are in between. In some areas head is similar to upperparts, not grey. Eyes and cere yellow, bill greenish, toes yellow with dark-tipped claws.
Distribution
Africa
Western Africa: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and DRC.
Eastern Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- G. t. tephronotum:
- Equatorial forests of Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana
- G. t. pycrafti:
- Forests of southern Cameroon
- G. t. medje:
An additional subspecies elgonense is not recognised by most authorities and two others, lukolelae and kivuense, are usually considered invalid[2].
Habitat
Forest, edges, mosaic of forest and scrub, up to 2150 m asl
Behaviour
Food chiefly consists of invertebrates with small mammals and birds less important.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- König, C. and F. Weick 2008. Owls of the World, second edition. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-chested Owlet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-chested_Owlet
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
