Boreal Owl
Aegolius funereus
Small, chunky owl with a large, flat-topped head. Note extensive white spotting and gray face framed in black. Inhabits boreal, highland, and mixed woodlands; nests in tree cavities. Can be very difficult to find by day. At night, listen for fast tooting song, which can be confused with a displaying snipe; note clearer whistled tone and steadier volume. Populations move in response to winter conditions and prey populations, with large numbers moving south of typical wintering range some winters. Sometimes hunts small rodents around bird feeders. In Eurasia, compare with Eurasian Pygmy-Owl, which is smaller, has a less distinct facial disc, and finer spotting. In North America, distinguished from Northern Saw-whet Owl by its colder gray-brown coloration and spotted (not streaked) forehead.
识别特征
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). 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. 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. The ears are asymmetrical in multiple bones, which affects their hunting success. The sexes are similar in appearance. The plumage of young birds is chocolate brown. The boreal owl's flight is relatively noiseless and straight.<p>Its call is similar in sound to the "winnowing" of the North American Wilson's snipe.
分类信息
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. 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. 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".<p>Seven subspecies are recognised:
- 学名
- Aegolius funereus
- 命名信息
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- 目
- Strigiformes
- 科
- Strigidae
- 属
- Aegolius
分布与栖息地
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.
- 迁徙
- Nomadic
行为
Migration pattern: Nomadic.
保护状况
Population trend: stable.
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Cocoa Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus susurrans
Warm brown bird with buffy streaks on head and breast; hitches up tree trunks. Generally longer tailed and longer billed than a woodpecker. Very similar to many other species of woodcreepers. Focus on bill: long, fairly thick, and almost straight; generally pale grayish with fleshy tones, but darker on top edge. Listen for song, a long series of clear whistled notes fading slightly at the end. Found in wooded habitats, often in more open forest, edge, or second growth.
Snow Mountain Quail
Synoicus monorthonyx
A huge quail of alpine grasslands. Plump, yellow bill and legs, black bars and white streaks on the back. Female has distinctive, black-edged, white arrow marks on the chest whereas the male has a black barred chest with deep rufous throat and underparts. No other quails share the habitat, and the only thing that might cause confusion when flushed would be a woodcock or snipe which have long bills. Flushes in a loud whir of wings while giving a high squealing call.
Black-eared Shrike-Babbler
Pteruthius melanotis
Colorful small bird with a cartoonish large-eyed appearance. Luminous yellow underparts, yellow-green upperparts, and dark rust-colored throat are present in both sexes, but female is slightly paler and not as strongly marked as the male. Overall can be very similar to Clicking and Trilling Shrike-Babblers, but lacks any reddish coloration on the forehead, has a more extensive silvery brow and nape, and is darker overall. Inhabits foothill and montane forests, where it joins mixed-species foraging flocks. Song is high-pitched, rapid, and repetitive: “tweeweeweeweeweeweewee.”
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