Madagascar Scops-Owl
Otus rutilus
Typical scops-owl, with small ear tufts that can be hidden, especially when roosting during the day. Color varies from gray to brown to rufous, with rufous birds more prevalent in the eastern rainforest. Inhabits both moist and dry habitats throughout Madagascar, including rainforest, dry deciduous forest, spiny forest, scrub, and plantations. Often found on day roosts in low tangles. Song varies geographically. In the east, it is a punctuated “tru-tru-tru…”. In the west it is a more rolling “trrr-trrr-trrr…”. Intermediate vocalizations can be heard in transitional zones, such as far northern Madagascar. Much smaller than all of Madagascar’s other owls.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Otus rutilus
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Otus
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Great Crested Tern
Thalasseus bergii
A large elegant tern with a very long lemon-yellow bill. Black cap does not extend down to the bill. Juvenile is scaly-looking with much more black on the back and wings. Similar Lesser Crested Tern is smaller with black cap extending down to the bill in breeding plumage. Occurs along coasts and estuaries; very rarely further inland or on freshwater ponds/lagoons.
Lesser Roadrunner
Geococcyx velox
Slightly smaller version of the familiar cartoon Greater Roadrunner, but usually the two species do not occur in the same places. Favors dry brushy woodland and overgrown weedy fields in tropical lowlands and foothills. Can be very elusive, but at other times runs out in the road or sits quietly sunning itself on a fence post or bush top in the early morning. Note that the center of the throat and breast are plain rich buffy, without the dense dark streaking of Greater Roadrunner.
Basra Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus griseldis
Medium-sized Acrocephalus warbler with cold gray-olive-brown plumage and whitish underparts. Note the long and slender bill and the short eyebrow that reaches just behind the eye. Distinctly larger than Eurasian Reed Warbler and smaller than Great Reed Warbler. Range limited, breeding only in extensive reedbeds along the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq, and adjacent southwest Iran. Non-breeding habitat includes a broader range of wet, vegetated habitats. Call is a harsh "charr." Song is rather quiet and slow, mixed with deep, bulbul-like notes.
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