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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
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| Genera | ||||||||||
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some 25, see text |
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Striginae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist |
True owls or 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 (see Cypselomorphae for details), 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 - Bare-legged Owl or Cuban Screech-owl
- Genus Ptilopsis - white-faced owls, 2 species
- Northern White-faced Owl, Ptilopsis leucotis
- Southern White-faced Owl, Ptilopsis granti
- Genus Mimizuku - Giant Scops-owl or 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
- Genus Lophostrix - Crested Owl
- Genus Jubula - Maned Owl
- Genus Pulsatrix - spectacled owls, 3 species
- 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-owl
- 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; all 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.
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
External links
- ITIS - Strigidae Taxonomy
- Typical owl videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Strigidae sounds from the Neotropics on xeno-canto.org
- The Owl Pages about owls - photos, calls, books, art, mythology and more.
