Asian Barred Owlet

Subspecies G. c. bruegeli
Photo © by robby thai
Singburi, Thailand, January 2015

Glaucidium cuculoides

Identification

22-25 cm (8½-9¾ in).
As opposed to most Glaucidium owls, this species has no false eyes at the rear of the head.
Barred in brown and white both above and below, and has a white marking on the throat. Lower parts of underside broadly streaked in white and brown.
Tail dark with few whitish bars. Eyes lemon to yellow.

Similar species

Nominate subspecies
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Bhimtal, Alt. 4900 ft. ( 1467 M ), Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, Oct-2010

Compare with smaller Jungle Owlet which replaces this species in most of India and Sri Lanka, and with Collared Owlet which has spotted crown and false eyes on back of head.

Distribution

Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Taxonomy

Javan Owlet has been split from Asian Barred Owlet.

Some authorities place this species in genus Taenioglaux.

Subspecies

Juvenile
Photo © by HongKongPixels
Hong Kong, May 2012

Eight subspecies are recognized^[1]:

• G. c. cuculoides:

• Himalayas (north-eastern Pakistan and Kashmir to western Sikkim)

• G. c. austerum:

• Eastern Sikkim to Bhutan, north-eastern Assam and north-western Myanmar

• G. c. rufescens:

• North-eastern India, Bangladesh and northern Myanmar

• G. c. bruegeli:

• Southern Myanmar and southern Thailand

• G. c. delacouri:

• Northern Indochina

• G. c. deignani:

• South-eastern Thailand and southern Indochina

• G. c. whiteleyi:

• Sichuan, Yunnan and south-eastern China south of Yangtze to north-eastern Vietnam

• G. c. persimile:

• Hainan (southern China)

Habitat

Forests mostly in foothills and mountains, but locally also in lowland rainforest.

Behaviour

Active during the day, most vocal in the morning. Flight is undulating.

Diet

They have a rather varied diet, consisting mostly of insects, including beetles, grasshoppers and cicadas. They will also eat rodents, frogs and lizards.

Vocalisation

Recording by china guy

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. König, C. and F. Weick 2008. Owls of the World, second edition. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 978-0-7136-6548-2
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Asian Barred Owlet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Asian_Barred_Owlet

External Links

• Arthur Grosset's Birds

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