Cinereous owl

Cinereous owl
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Strix
Species:
S. sartorii
Binomial name
Strix sartorii
(Ridgway, 1874)

The cinereous owl (Strix sartorii) or Mexican barred owl, is an owl that is endemic to Mexico.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The cinereous owl has variously been considered a subspecies of barred owl (Strix varia) or even a barred owl that included what is now the fulvous owl (Strix fulvescens). However, since 2010, vocal and genetic differences have been shown to warrant its treatment as a species in its own right, according to the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy. However, as of December 2020 the BirdLife International Handbook of the Birds of the World retains it as a subspecies of barred owl.[3][2][4][5]

Description

Very few specimens of cinereous owl have been measured. The limited number of measurements indicate lengths between 430 and 505 cm (14.11 and 16.57 ft), male weights between 469 and 812 g (1.034 and 1.790 lb), and female weights between 610 and 1,051 g (1.345 and 2.317 lb) This large round-headed owl's upperparts are brownish gray with whitish to buff bars. It has grayish white to brownish gray facial disks surrounded by darker brown and buffy bars. Its underparts are pale buff to white with dark streaks.[3]

Distribution

The cinerous owl appears to occur in three disjunct areas. The largest is along the Sierra Madre Oriental between San Luis Potosi in the north and Veracruz in the south. The next largest is a band from Durango south to Michoacán and the third is a relatively small area in Guerrero. It is believed to formerly have occurred in Oaxaca.[3]

Behavior

Feeding

Little is known about the cinereous owl's foraging strategy or diet, but both are assumed to be similar to that of the barred owl. That species is semi-nocturnal to nocturnal and is an opportunistic predator on small mammals and lagomorphs, small birds, reptiles, and invertebrates.[3]

Breeding

The only information about the cinereous owl's breeding phenology comes from the observation of a fledgling of unknown age in Nayarit in early June. It had well-developed flight feathers but downy body plumage.[3]

Vocalization

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to cinereous owl on xeno-canto

The first recordings of the cinereous owl's vocalizations were made in 2015 and very few since then. It has a variety of hoots and other calls.[3]

Status

The IUCN has not assessed the status of the cinereous owl, and "every aspect of the biology of Cinereous Owl is in dire need of more research."[3]

References

  1. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  2. ^ a b Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (July 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.2)". Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Spencer, A. J. (2021). Cinereous Owl (Strix sartorii), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. J. Spencer, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.barowl13.01 retrieved September 7, 2021
  4. ^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021
  5. ^ HBW and BirdLife International (2020) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world Version 5. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v5_Dec20.zip [.xls zipped 1 MB] retrieved May 27, 2021

Further reading

  • König, Weick and Becking. 1999. "Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World". Yale University Press