Typical owl
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Striginae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist |
Typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Striginae. This is unsupported by more recent research[citation needed], but the relationships of the owls in general are still unresolved.
The nearly 200 species are assigned to a number of genera, which are in taxonomic order:
- Genus Otus - scops owls; includes Megascops, some 65 species
- Genus Pyrroglaux - Palau Owl
- Genus Gymnoglaux - Cuban Screech Owl
- Genus Ptilopsis - white-faced owls, 2 species
- Northern White-faced Owl, Ptilopsis leucotis
- Southern White-faced Owl, Ptilopsis granti
- Genus Mimizuku - Mindanao Eagle Owl
- Genus Bubo - horned owls, eagle owls and fish owls; includes Nyctea, Ketupa and Scotopelia but possibly polyphyletic, some 25 species
- Genus Strix - earless owls, some 15 species
- Genus Ciccaba - 4 species
- Mottled Owl, Ciccaba virgata
- Black-and-white Owl, Ciccaba nigrolineata
- Black-banded Owl, Ciccaba huhula
- Rufous-banded Owl, Ciccaba albitarsis
- Genus Lophostrix - Crested Owl
- Genus Jubula - Maned Owl
- Genus Pulsatrix - spectacled owls, 3 species
- Spectacled Owl, Pulsatrix perspicillata
- Tawny-browed Owl, Pulsatrix koeniswaldiana
- Band-bellied Owl, Pulsatrix melanota
- Pulsatrix arredondoi - fossil (Late Pleistocene of Cueva de Paredones, Cuba)
- Genus Surnia - Northern Hawk Owl
- Genus Glaucidium: pygmy owls, about 30-35 species
- Genus Xenoglaux - Long-whiskered Owlet
- Genus Micrathene - Elf Owl
- Genus Athene - 2-4 species (depending on whether Speotyto and Heteroglaux are included or not)
- Genus Aegolius - saw-whet owls, 4 species
- Genus Ninox - Australasian hawk-owls, some 20 species
- Genus Uroglaux - Papuan Hawk
- Genus Pseudoscops - Jamaican Owl and possibly Striped Owl
- Genus Asio - eared owls, 6-7 species
- Genus Nesasio - Fearful Owl
- Genus Mascarenotus - Mascarene owls, 3 species; extinct (c.1850)
- Genus Sceloglaux - Laughing Owl; extinct (1914?)
- Genus Grallistrix - Stilt-owls, 4 species; prehistoric
- Kaua‘i Stilt-owl, Grallistrix auceps
- Maui Stilt-owl, Grallistrix erdmani
- Moloka‘i Stilt-owl, Grallistrix geleches
- O‘ahu Stilt-owl, Grallistrix orion
- Genus Ornimegalonyx - Caribbean giant owls, 1-2 species; prehistoric
- Cuban Giant Owl, Ornimegalonxy oteroi
- Ornimegalonyx sp. - probably subspecies of O. oteroi
Fossil strigids:
- Mioglaux (Late Oligocene? - Early Miocene of WC Europe) - includes "Bubo" poirreiri
- Intutula (Early/Middle Miocene of WC Europe) - includes "Strix/Ninox" brevis
- Alasio (Middle Miocene of Vieux-Collonges, France)
Placement unresolved
- "Otus" wintershofensis - fossil (Early/Middle Miocene of Wintershof West, Germany) - may be close to extant genus Ninox (Olson 1985:131)
- "Strix" edwardsi - fossil (Late Miocene of La Grive St. Alban, France)
- "Asio" pygmaeus - fossil (Early Pliocene of Odessa, Ukraine)
- Strigidae gen. et sp. indet. UMMP V31030 (Rexroad Late Pliocene of Kansas, USA) - Strix/Bubo? (Feduccia 1970)
- Ibiza Owl, Strigidae gen. et sp. indet. - prehistoric (Late Pleistocene/Holocene of Es Pouàs, Ibiza) - see Sánchez Marco 2004
The supposed fossil heron "Ardea" lignitum (Late Pliocene of Germany) was apparently a strigid owl, possibly close to Bubo (Olson 1985:167). The Early - Middle Eocene genus Palaeoglaux from west-central Europe is sometimes placed here, but given its age it is probably better considered an own family for the time being.
[edit] References
- Feduccia, J. Alan (1970): Some birds of prey from the Upper Pliocene of Kansas. Auk 87(4): 795-797. PDF fulltext
- Olson, Storrs L. (1985): The fossil record of birds. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 79-238. Academic Press, New York.
- Sánchez Marco, Antonio (2004): Avian zoogeographical patterns during the Quaternary in the Mediterranean region and paleoclimatic interpretation. Ardeola 51(1): 91-132. PDF fulltext
[edit] External links
- ITIS - Strigidae Taxonomy
- Typical owl videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Strigidae sounds from the Neotropics on xeno-canto.org
