Alternative name: Vermiculated Eagle-Owl
- Bubo cinerascens
Identification
43 cm (17 in)
Quite similar to Spotted Eagle-Owl but differs in having dark brown eyes, red edges to the eye-lids, brownish-grey cere, bill lead-gray, and feet greyish. Ear-tufts are shorter than in Spotted Eagle-Owl, and the back is more vermiculated dark, less spotted.
Distribution
Senegal, Gambia, and Cameroon to eastern Africa in a relatively narrow, sub-Saharan belt
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
There is discussion if the form kollmannspergeri is a subspecies or just a pale variant, it is not recognized in König et al: Owls of the World.
The Greyish Eagle-Owl has previously been considered a subspecies of Spotted Eagle-Owl
Habitat
Rocky semi-desert, savannahs, hilly areas, always quite dry and always avoiding denser forest.
Behaviour
Nocturnal, spending the day in a roost.
Diet
Their varied diet consists of insects, arthropods, small mammals, birds and reptiles such as frogs.
They hunt from a perch, often at a roadside.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- König et al: Owls of the World
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Greyish Eagle-Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Greyish_Eagle-Owl
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
