| Rufous fishing owl | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Strigiformes |
| Family: | Strigidae |
| Genus: | Scotopelia |
| Species: | S. ussheri |
| Binomial name | |
| Scotopelia ussheri | |
The rufous fishing owl (Scotopelia ussheri), rufous-backed fishing-owl or Ussher's fishing owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. [3] It is endemic to west Africa, where it is a highly localised resident along forest rivers. [1]
English naturalist Richard Bowdler Sharpe described the rufous fishing owl in 1871. It is one of three species in the genus Scotopelia . [3] It is named after Herbert Taylor Ussher who provided the type specimen Sharpe used in his description. [4] [5]
The rufous fishing owl is a medium-sized owl, measuring 46 to 51 cm (18 to 20 in) in length. This is substantially smaller than the Pel's fishing owl, which also occurs in the region. [6] It lacks ear tufts and has an indistinct, pale cinnamon facial disc. [7] The underparts are pale and are finely streaked due to the dark shafts of the majority of the feathers. The flanks may have a more rufous patch. [6] The adults have barred flight feathers, with the upperparts of the wings (mantle, scapulars and wing-coverts) showing a mixture of rufous, creamy-buff and white. The mantle also has a few blackish marks. [6]
While being substantially smaller, the juveniles have similar markings to the adults, particularly in their wings. The first-generation feathers, however, tend to be paler than those grown after the first moult, particularly on the underparts. Young birds may also appear stumpier, presumably due to their denser, fluffier feathers. [6]
The feet and legs are bare and are yellowish-orange in colour. The bill is bluish grey, contrasting with a yellowish cere. [6]
Their call is a low, deep, moaning [7] or dove-like hoot. [6] It may be repeated at regular intervals (about 15–20 seconds) for at least an hour. [6] Pairs may also duet. [1] A study carried out in Ivory Coast showed that the best responses to playback experiments occur in the small rainy season during the full moon. [8]
The rufous fishing owl is endemic to west Africa. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, where it occurs as a highly localised resident along shady river banks. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. [1]
Although it lives in close proximity to the Pel's fishing owl, it has been suggested that they utilise the habitat differently. While the Pel's fishing owl is primarily found near larger, deeper water bodies, the rufous fishing owl seems to show a preference for smaller, shallower rivers. [9] This may help explain why it has also been found in secondary forest, such as that near Kambama village, [6] as long as there is suitable gallery forest where tree branches overhang the streams to provide fishing posts. It has also been observed to occur in plantations, suggesting that it may be more adaptable than previously believed.[ citation needed ]
The habits of the rufous fishing owl are poorly known. It is believed that, like other fishing owls, this species is probably mainly nocturnal. Diurnal activity has, however, been rarely observed. An individual was imaged in a camera trap in 2009 in Sierra Leone at midday. [1] Daytime hunting, however, has yet to be seen, suggesting that nocturnal behaviours are more common. [6]
It is thought to mainly eat small fish. [6] Catfish were also recorded in the stomach contents of a specimen from Sierra Leone. It may also feed freshwater crabs among other food items. [1]
Eggs have been laid in Sierra Leone in September and October and juveniles moulting out of juvenile into adult plumage, roughly six months after fledging, have been recorded in Liberia in July. It is thought that a single chick is the normal brood size. [7]
It was formerly classified as endangered by the IUCN, however newer research showed that it is not as rare as was once believed. Consequently, it was downlisted to vulnerable in 2011. [1] That being said, this species remains one of the rarest and least known owls species in the world and populations remain fragmented and continue to decline due to habitat loss. [1]
The rufous-tailed scrub robin is a medium-sized member of the family Muscicapidae. Other common names include the rufous scrub robin, rufous bush chat, rufous bush robin and the rufous warbler. It breeds around the Mediterranean and east to Pakistan. It also breeds south of the Sahara from the Sahel region east to Somalia; these African birds are sometimes considered to be a separate species, the African scrub robin. It is partially migratory, wintering in Africa and India. This is a very rare visitor to northern Europe.
The African paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird. The two central tail feathers of the male are extended into streamers that commonly are more than twice as long as the body. The female tail feathers are of moderate length and without streamers. The upper parts of the male body, wings, and tail are boldly coloured in chestnut or rusty shades, but the underparts and the head are variably grey to blue-gray, with the head of the mature male being darker, commonly glossy black with greenish highlights. The beak and other bare areas, including a wattle ring round the eye, match the colour of the surrounding feathers. The female coloration is similar, though not so showy and glossy and with the head paler.
The yellow-billed shrike is a large passerine bird in the shrike family. It is sometimes known as the long-tailed shrike, but this is to be discouraged, since it invites confusion with the long-tailed shrike, Lanius schach, of tropical southern Asia. The yellow-billed shrike is a common resident breeding bird in tropical Africa from Senegal eastwards to Uganda and locally in westernmost Kenya. It frequents forest and other habitats with trees.
The long-tailed hawk is an African bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is the only member of the genus Urotriorchis.
The lesser striped swallow is a large swallow. It breeds in Sub-Saharan Africa from Sierra Leone and southern Sudan south into eastern South Africa. It is partially migratory with South African birds wintering further north. West African birds leave the north of the breeding range in the dry season.
The sandy scops owl, or cinnamon scops owl, is an owl from the family Strigidae found in Africa.
The African hobby is a small species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae.
Shelley's eagle-owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. Despite its large size, it is a very little-known, rarely studied owl that occurs in very small numbers. A specimen was photographed in the wild for the first time on 16 October 2021 in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve in southeastern Ghana.
The maned owl or the Akun scops owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to Africa. It is the only species in genus Jubula.
The São Tomé scops owl is a species of owl in the true owl family, Strigidae. It is endemic to São Tomé Island, part of São Tomé and Príncipe, in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa.
The vermiculated fishing owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found within riverine forest in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria. This species was first described by the British zoologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1875 and named in honour of the French naturalist Eugène Louis Bouvier.
Fishing owls are a group of sub-Saharan African birds in the family Strigidae, the true owls. Fishing owls have traditionally been placed in the genus Scotopelia, but DNA evidence suggests they should be included in genus Bubo with the horned owls and eagle-owls.
Pel's fishing owl is a large species of owl in the family Strigidae. The species is found in Africa and lives near rivers and lakes. It feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The species prefers slow moving rivers with large overhanging trees to roost and forage from. It nests in hollows and the forks of large trees. Though as many as two eggs are laid, often only one chick is raised.
The swamp boubou, also known as the Gabon boubou, is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae or bushshrike family. It is native to western and southern Central Africa. In the north of their range, savannah thickets constitute an important part of their habitat, while in the south they are strongly associated with river systems and marshes, for which they are named. The pair bond appears to be maintained by duetting, which in the south is generally synchronous or overlapping. It is most similar to L. major major, with which it perhaps hybridizes, but the underpart plumage is immaculate white, while the female contributes a ratchet-like note to the duet.
The Gola malimbe or Ballman's malimbe is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.
The crested malimbe is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Ussher's flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The melancholy woodpecker is a species of woodpecker. It is found in West Africa from Sierra Leone east to Nigeria, living in forests, forest edges, clearings and woodlands. It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the Gabon woodpecker. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as a least-concern species.
Herbert Taylor John Ussher was a British colonial administrator who became Governor of the Gold Coast. In private life, he was a keen naturalist and wrote "Notes on the ornithology of the Gold Coast".
