The Zoochat Photographic Guide To Owls

Mimizuku


Giant Scops Owl (Mimizuku gurneyi)

The range of this species extends throughout the southern Philippines.

Monotypic.

Photo by @alexkant

 

Bubo


For the purposes of this thread, the following traditional genera are lumped into Bubo following DNA work which suggests that retaining them as distinct renders Bubo sensu lato paraphyletic; to be more precise, Nyctea is sister to the clade formed by B. virginianus and B. magellanicus, Ketupa is polyphyletic and contains members nesting within two distinct clades of Asian Bubo, and Scotopelia is deeply nested within the clade formed by several West African Bubo.

However, for ease of reference I will refer to each at subgenus level in the following posts.

Bubo (subgenus Nyctea) - Snowy Owl

Bubo (subgenus Bubo) - Eagle and Horned Owls

Bubo (subgenus Ketupa) - Fish Owls

Bubo (subgenus Scotopelia) - Fishing Owls

 

Bubo (subgenus Nyctea)


Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)

The range of this species represents a circumpolar distribution, from Greenland and Iceland across northern Eurasia to Sakhalin, Alaska and northern Canada, with southernmost limits to the range lying between 60°N and 55°N. Wintering populations may occur as far south as the northern USA, Scandinavia, central Russia, northern China and Japan.

Monotypic.

Female - photo by @BeardsleyZooFan



Male - photo by @Arek

 

Bubo (subgenus Bubo)


Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

The range of this species extends throughout North America from Alaska to Central America, and South America to Brazil and central Argentina; absent from the Pacific slope and central portions of the Andes from Peru to Chile.

Twelve subspecies recognised:

B. v. virginianus - photo by @savethelephant



B. v. saturatus - photo by @Semioptera



B. v. wapacuthu - photo by @TeaLovingDave



B. v. pacificus
B. v. heterocnemis - photo by @Great Argus



B. v. occidentalis
B. v. pallescens - photo by @ThylacineAlive



B. v. elachistus
B. v. mayensis - photo by @carlos55



B. v. nigrescens - photo by @Nick@Amsterdam



B. v. deserti - photo by @devilfish



B. v. nacurutu - photo by @TeaLovingDave




Magellan Horned Owl (Bubo magellanicus)

The range of this species extends throughout the Andes of central Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, across much of Chile, and throughout Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego to Cape Horn.

Monotypic.

Photo by @TeaLovingDave

 

I have photos of Otus bakkamoena gangeticus and Otus brookii solokensis - I can't remember how bad they are so I'll have to look them up and find out. I know all the Indian Scops Owls of that subspecies which I saw were well-hidden in foliage so the photos may not show much (actually I'm not sure I even bothered taking photos - I guess I'll see when I look for them) and the Rajah Scops Owl was at night so I do know they were pretty dark photos of that one.

 

Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)

The range of this species extends throughout much of continental Eurasia from the Iberian Peninsula and northern Scandinavia in the west, through Siberia, Central Asia and the Middle East , to Sakhalin, eastern Siberia and southern China in the east.

Thirteen subspecies recognised:

B. b. bubo - photo by @Tomek



B. b. hispanus - photo by @Maguari



B. b. ruthemus
B. b. interpositus - photo by @alexkant



B. b. sibiricus - photo by @ThylacineAlive



B. b. yenisseensis - photo by @ThylacineAlive



B. b. jakutensis - photo by @Kudu21



B. b. ussuriensis - photo by @alexkant



B. b. kiautschensis - photo by @baboon



B. b. turcomanus - photo by @ThylacineAlive



B. b. omissus - photo by @Goura



B. b. nikolskii - Photo by @fofo



B. b. hemachalana - photo by @MagicYoung




Pharoah Eagle Owl (Bubo ascalaphus)

The range of this species extends across North Africa and the Middle East, from south of the Atlas Mountains and much of the Sahara in the west, through Egypt and Sudan into the Arabian Peninsula, to western Iraq in the east.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Jackwow




Rock Eagle Owl (Bubo bengalensis)

The range of this species extends throughout the Indian subcontinent, from the western Himalayas in the north and Pakistan in the west, throughout India into Bangladesh and Burma in the east; the species is absent from Sri Lanka.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Chlidonias

 

Cape Eagle Owl (Bubo capensis)

The range of this species extends throughout eastern and southern Africa, from Eritrea and Ethiopia south through Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Mozambique into South Africa and southern Namibia.

Three subspecies recognised:

B. c. capensis - photo by @Nick@Amsterdam



B. c. dilloni - photo by @ThylacineAlive



B. c. mackinderi - photo by @ro6ca66




Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus)

The range of this species extends throughout sub-Saharan Africa from the southern margins of the Congo Basin in the west and Kenya and Uganda in the east, south to the Cape; a disjunct population (possibly distinct at species level) exists in the southern Arabian Peninsula.

Three subspecies are recognised:

B. a. africanus - photo by @Nick@Amsterdam



B. a. tanae
B. a. milesi


Vermiculated Eagle Owl (Bubo cinerascens)

The range of this species extends across central sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and Gambia in the west to Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya in the east.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive




Fraser's Eagle Owl (Bubo poensis)

The range of this species extends across the tropical forests of West Africa, through the Congo Basin and into southwest Uganda and northwest Angola.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Ed Hazebroek




Nduk Eagle Owl (Bubo vosseleri)

This species is endemic to the Usambara and Uluguru Mountains of northeast Tanzania.

Monotypic.

Photo by @gentle lemur




Verreaux's Eagle Owl (Bubo lacteus)

The range of this species extends throughout Africa south of the Sahara, with distribution patchy in central and western Africa; entirely absent from the Congo Basin and arid regions of Namibia.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Maguari




Shelley's Eagle Owl (Bubo shelleyi)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout southern West Africa and the Congo Basin.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Ed Hazebroek




Barred Eagle Owl (Bubo sumatranus)

The range of this species extends from peninsular Thailand south through the Malay Peninsula and into Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Bali.

Three subspecies recognised:

B. s. sumatranus - photo by @LaughingDove



B. s. strepitans - photo by @MagpieGoose



B. s. tenuifasciatus


Forest Eagle Owl (Bubo nipalensis)

The range of this species extends throughout south-east Asia from the lower Himalayas and north-central Burma east into southwest China and south into Indochina; a disjunct population exists in southern India and Sri Lanka.

Two subspecies recognised:

B. n. nipalensis - photo by @Chlidonias



B. n. blighi - photo by @Malayan Tapir




Dusky Eagle Owl (Bubo coromandus)

The range of this species extends throughout the Indian subcontinent from Pakistan south of the Himalayas through Nepal into Assam and Bangladesh, and south into the northern portion of the Indian peninsula; disjunct populations exist in western Burma and southeast China.

Two subspecies recognised:

B. c. coromandus - photo by @Chlidonias



B. c. klossi


Akun Eagle Owl (Bubo leucostictus)

The range of this species extends throughout West Africa from Guinea and Sierra Leone in the west to Nigeria and Cameroon in the east, and from here south through the Congo Basin to northwest Angola.

Monotypic; no photographs of this taxon exist in the Zoochat gallery.


Philippine Eagle Owl (Bubo philippensis)

The range of this species extends throughout the Philippines.

Two subspecies recognised:

B. p. phillipensis - photo by @alexkant



B. p. mindanensis - photo by @alexkant




Blakiston's Eagle Owl (Bubo blakistoni)

The range of this species extends throughout eastern Siberia from the Ussuri and Amur basins, south into Sakhalin, Hokkaido, northern portions of the Korean Peninsula and northwestern Manchuria.

Two subspecies recognised:

B. b. blakistoni - photo by @alexkant



B. b. doerriesi - photo by @alexkant

 

Bubo (subgenus Ketupa)


Brown Fish Owl (Bubo zeylonensis)

The range of this species extends throughout southern Asia, from southern Iraq in the west through Iran and the Indian subcontinent into Burma, southeast China and Indochina in the east; a disjunct population exists in southern Turkey and Syria.

Four subspecies recognised:

B. z. zeylonensis - photo by @Chlidonias



B. z. leschenaultii - photo by @Newzooboy



B. z. semenowi
B. z. orientalis - photo by @aardvark250




Buffy Fish Owl (Bubo ketupu)

The range of this species extends throughout south-east Asia from southern Burma in the north, through Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia into Sumatra, Borneo and Java in the south.

Four subspecies recognised:

B. k. ketupu - photo by @Newzooboy



B. k. aagaardi - photo by @TeaLovingDave



B. k. pageli - photo by @zooboy28



B. k. minor


Tawny Fish Owl (Bubo flavipes)

The range of this species extends throughout eastern Asia from the Himalayan foothills of north India and Nepal in the west, through northern Bangladesh and Bhutan into central and southeast China in the east; from here south into Indochina.

Monotypic; no photographs of this taxon exist in the Zoochat gallery.

 

Bubo (subgenus Scotopelia)


Pel's Fishing Owl (Bubo peli)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with populations scattered across southern West Africa, the Congo Basin and east Africa from Sudan and Somalia southward into Botswana and eastern South Africa.

Monotypic.

Photo by @TeaLovingDave




Rufous Fishing Owl (Bubo ussheri)

The range of this species is limited to patchy populations in southern West Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Ed Hazebroek




Vermiculated Fishing Owl (Bubo bouvieri)

The range of this species extends throughout central Africa and the Congo Basin, from Gabon and Cameroon to northwest Angola.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive

 

I have photos of this species too, but I know these ones are bad. I'll add them onto my list of owl photos to look up. One pair I saw were deep inside a tree crown and I could barely see them so I don't think I would have bothered photographing them. I do know I photographed another one, but it was at dusk and high in a eucalyptus, so the photos were pretty useless. I'll see what I can do with them though.

Basically, if I have photos of a species and I haven't got them in the gallery chances are they were probably not good enough or (in the case of older ones) deleted in The Great Purge.

 

Better than nothing, in any case this is one species for which we might be able to track down photographs in any case, as it was present in UK collections into the 1990's's (in particular Paignton and the World Owl Trust)

As such some of our members might conceivably be able to help....

@Tim May
@gentle lemur
@FBBird
@bongorob
@Gigit

 

Pulsatrix


Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata)

The range of this species extends from northern Mexico through Central America into much of South America, as far south as Bolivia and northern Argentina.

Four subspecies recognised:

P. p. perspicillata - photo by @Maguari



P. p. saturata - photo by @Clothcat



P. p. chapmani - photo by @savethelephant



P. p. boliviana


Short-browed Owl (Pulsatrix pulsatrix)

The range of this species extends throughout eastern Brazil into adjacent northeast Argentina.

Monotypic; no photographs of this taxon exist in the Zoochat gallery.


Tawny-browed Owl (Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana)

The range of this species extends throughout eastern Brazil into adjacent northeast Argentina and eastern Paraguay.

Monotypic.

Photo by @devilfish




Band-bellied Owl (Pulsatrix melanota)

The range of this species extends patchily along the eastern slopes of the Andes from Colombia in the north to Bolivia in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Jackwow

 

The Spotted Owlet photograph might come in handy, depending on what other photographs there are of this species in the gallery feel free to post any other owl photographs you may have, as there are quite a few species which I know to be held in Chinese and Japanese collections which are missing from the gallery.

 

Never mind

Of course, if there are any other odd owls you *have* seen over the years - not merely at Paignton - feel free to upload any photographs you may have.

That goes for anyone else, too