- Strix leptogrammica
Includes Bartels's Wood-Owl, Himalayan Wood-Owl, Nias Wood Owl, Sunda Wood Owl
Identification
39–55 cm (15¼-21½ in)
- upperparts dark brown
- shoulders spotted white
- underparts buff, brown-streaked
- facial disc white or whitish with brown or rufous rim
- iris dark brown
- neckband white
Sexes similar
Distribution
Asia: found in China, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Taiwan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra
Taxonomy
Reference [5] separates subspecies bartelsi, chaseni, leptogrammica, myrtha, niasensis, nyctiphasma and vaga as "Sunda Wood Owl", S. leptogrammica based on morphological and vocal differences. It notes that niasensis may be elevated separately as "Nias Wood Owl", S. niasensis for the same reasons.
Subspecies
Clements recognises the following subspecies [1]:
- S. l. newarensis: Himalayan Wood-Owl Himalayas (Jammu and Kashmir to north-eastern India)
- S. l. ticehursti: Myanmar to south-eastern China, Thailand, northern Laos and northern Vietnam
- S. l. caligata: Hainan and Taiwan
- S. l. laotiana: Southern Laos and central Vietnam (Annam)
- S. l. indranee: Peninsular India
- S. l. ochrogenys: Sri Lanka
- S. l. maingayi: Southern Myanmar, southern Thailand and Malay Peninsula
- S. l. myrtha: "Sunda Wood Owl". Sumatra
- S. l. nyctiphasma: "Sunda Wood Owl". Banyak Island (off north-western Sumatra)
- S. l. niasensis: "Nias Wood Owl" or "Sunda Wood Owl". Nias Island (off north-western Sumatra)
- S. l. chaseni: "Sunda Wood Owl". Belitung Island (Java Sea off south-eastern Sumatra)
- S. l. vaga: "Sunda Wood Owl". Northern Borneo
- S. l. leptogrammica: "Sunda Wood Owl". Central and southern Borneo
- S. l. bartelsi: "Bartel's Wood-Owl" or "Sunda Wood Owl". Java
Habitat
Dense lowland primary rainforest (broad-leaved and evergreen) and forest edges, up to 2,590m. Avoids human habitated areas.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes small mammals, especially rodents; also reptiles, grasshoppers and birds. A bird in Java is known to have eaten a bat.
Breeding
They nest in a tree cavity. The clutch consists of 2 eggs.
Vocalisation
They make a very low purring sound. Call is 3-4 short hoots.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Feb 2018)
- BirdForum Member observations
- Eaton, JA, B van Balen, NW Brickle, FE Rheindt 2021. Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago (Greater Sundas and Wallacea), Second Edition. Lynx Editions. ISBN978-84-16728-44-2
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brown Wood Owl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown_Wood_Owl
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1