Boreal owl | |
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Amherst Island, Ontario, Canada | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Strigiformes |
Family: | Strigidae |
Genus: | Aegolius |
Species: | A. funereus |
Binomial name | |
Aegolius funereus | |
Subspecies | |
7, see text | |
Range of A. funereus Resident Non-breeding | |
Synonyms [3] | |
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The boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) or Tengmalm's owl is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl in North America and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm or, more rarely, Richardson's owl after Sir John Richardson. [3] [4]
Due to the boreal owl's shyness and evasive reaction to human activities, nocturnal habits and preferred inaccessible taiga forest habitat, it is rarely seen by humans.
The boreal owl was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae . Linnaeus placed it with all the other owls in the genus Strix and coined the binomial name Strix funerea. [5] The Eurasian scops owl is now placed in the genus Aegolius that was introduced in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup with the boreal owl as the type species. [6] [7] The genus name is Latin for a screech owl, the word came from the Ancient Greek aigōlios meaning "a bird of ill omen". The specific epithet funereus is Latin meaning "funereal". [8]
Seven subspecies are recognised: [7]
The boreal owl is 22–27 cm (8.7–10.6 in) in length and has a wingspan of 50–62 cm (20–24 in). [9] A female is heavier than a male bird and weighs 131–179 g (4.6–6.3 oz) compared with an average of 107 g (3.8 oz) for a male bird. [10] The plumage is brown above, with white flecking on the shoulders and whitish underparts with rust-colored streaks. The head is large with yellow eyes and a dull white facial disc that is sometimes described as giving the owl a "surprised" expression. The beak is a light yellow, rather than dark like its relative the northern saw-whet owl. [11] The sexes are similar in appearance. The plumage of young birds is chocolate brown. The boreal owl's flight is relatively noiseless and straight. [9]
Its call is similar in sound to the "winnowing" of the North American Wilson's snipe. [12] [13]
The boreal owl breeds in dense coniferous forests across northern North America and the Palearctic, and in mountain ranges such as the Alps and the Rockies. This species is not normally migratory, but in some autumns significant numbers move further south. It is rarely any great distance south of its breeding range, although this is partly due to the problems of detecting this nocturnal owl outside the breeding season when it is not calling.
They first breed when one year of age. The nest is usually a hole in a tree often that made by a woodpecker, but the birds also readily use nest-boxes. The clutch is usually 3–7 eggs which are laid at 2-day intervals. They are glossy white and measure 33 mm × 26 mm (1.3 in × 1.0 in) and weigh around 12.5 g (0.44 oz). The eggs are incubated only by the female beginning with the second egg. They hatch asynchronously after 25–32 days. The young are cared for by the female who broods the nestlings for an average of 21 days. The young fledge when aged around 28–33 days and become independent at 5 to 6 weeks. [14]
This small owl eats mainly voles and other mammals (such as mice, chipmunks, other squirrels, gophers, moles, shrews and bats), [15] [16] but also birds as well as small amphibians, [17] insects (such as beetles) [18] and other invertebrates. In North America, they have been observed preying on southern red-backed voles, western heather voles, jumping mice, northern pocket gophers and northern flying squirrels. [19] Birds preyed upon include dark-eyed juncos, American robins and common redpolls. [20] It is largely nocturnal, though in the northernmost parts of its range, it has to hunt during daylight because of the very short nights in summer.
Banded boreal owls have been known to live up to 16 years. Due to the owl's small stature it is often eaten by other owls and large raptors thus decreasing its average lifespan.
The lesser spotted woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus Dendrocopos. Some taxonomic authorities continue to list the species there.
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The Eurasian coot, also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-black body, a glossy black head and a white bill with a white frontal shield. The sexes are similar. Similar looking coot species are found throughout the world, with the largest variety of coot species living in South America.
The Eurasian oystercatcher also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurosiberia, Kamchatka, China, and the western coast of Korea. No other oystercatcher occurs within this area. The extinct Canary Islands oystercatcher, formerly considered a distinct species, may have actually been an isolated subspecies or distinct population of the Eurasian oystercatcher.
The greater yellowlegs is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
The long-eared owl, also known as the northern long-eared owl or, more informally, as the lesser horned owl or cat owl, is a medium-sized species of owl with an extensive breeding range. The scientific name is from Latin. The genus name Asio is a type of eared owl, and otus also refers to a small, eared owl. The species breeds in many areas through Europe and the Palearctic, as well as in North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, of the family Strigidae, which contains most extant species of owl.
The northern hawk-owl or northern hawk owl is a medium-sized true owl of the northern latitudes. It is non-migratory and usually stays within its breeding range, though it sometimes irrupts southward. It is one of the few owls that is neither nocturnal nor crepuscular, being active only during the day. This is the only living species in the genus Surnia of the family Strigidae, the "typical" owls. The species is sometimes called simply the hawk owl; however, many species of owls in the genus Ninox are also called "hawk owls".
The Eurasian pygmy owl is the smallest owl in Europe. It is a dark reddish to greyish-brown, with spotted sides and half of a white ring around the back of the neck. This species is found in the boreal forests of Northern and Central Europe to Siberia.
The Eurasian stone-curlew, Eurasian thick-knee, or simply stone-curlew is a northern species of the Burhinidae (stone-curlew) bird family.
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The northern saw-whet owl is a species of small owl in the family Strigidae. The species is native to North America. Saw-whet owls of the genus Aegolius are some of the smallest owl species in North America. They can be found in dense thickets, often at eye level, although they can also be found some 20 ft (6.1 m) up. Saw-whets are often in danger of being preyed upon by larger birds of prey. The northern saw-whet owl is a migratory bird without any strict pattern.
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The Eurasian scops owl, also known as the European scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Himalayas. It is migratory, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara.
Peter Gustaf Tengmalm was a Swedish physician and naturalist.
Aegolius is a genus of small true owls. The genus name is from Latin, aegolius, is a type of screech owl that was thought to be a bird of ill omen.
Strix is a genus of owls in the typical owl family (Strigidae), one of the two generally accepted living families of owls, with the other being the barn-owl (Tytonidae). Common names are earless owls or wood owls, though they are not the only owls without ear tufts, and "wood owl" is also used as a more generic name for forest-dwelling owls. Neotropical birds in the genus Ciccaba are sometimes included in Strix.
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