Bay owl
| Bay Owl | |
|---|---|
| |
| Oriental bay owls Phodilus badius | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom Information | |
| Domain | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Subkingdom | Bilateria |
| Branch | Deuterostomia |
| Phylum Information | |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Sub-phylum | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum | Gnathostomata |
| Class Information | |
| Superclass | Tetrapoda |
| Class | Aves |
| Sub-class | Neornithes |
| Infra-class | Neoaves |
| Order Information | |
| Order | Strigiformes |
| Family Information | |
| Family | Tytonidae |
| Sub-family | Phodilinae |
| Genus Information | |
| Genus | Phodilus |
| Species Information | |
| Species | P. assimilis P. badius P. prigoginei |
| Population statistics | |
Bay owls refer to three species of owl found in central Africa, Sri Lanka, and southeastern Asia.
Description
Bay owls are small to medium-sized owls, up to 12 inches in total length. Coloration is a light or buff brown above, with lighter tan to white on the chest, marked sparsely-placed black spots or vertical markings. Like their relatives the barn owls, bay owls bear a heart-shaped facial disk, whose distinctive characteristic is the presence of a "forehead" of feathers jutting down to the beak, giving the disk a "V"-shape. The points of the disk are the ear tufts above each eye.
Bay owls are completely nocturnal, spending their days hidden in the trees; by night the birds are active, hunting small rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs, and insects. They nest in tree cavities or hollows, rearing up to five chicks.
All three species are found in tropical and semi-tropical forests and plantations, into mountainous areas up to 6,000 feet. Two species (Congo and Sri Lanka bay owls) are in severe decline due to habitat loss.[1][2]
Species
- Congo bay owl (Phodilus prigoginei)
- Restricted to a small area in the Itombwe Mountains, eastern Congo.
- Oriental bay owl (Phodilus badius)
- Found throughout Bangladesh, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, southeastern China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. A single specimen - lost in World War II - marked the only evidence that this species existed on Samar Island, Philippines.
- Sri Lanka bay owl (Phodilus assimilis)
- Found on the island of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean.
