Marsh Owl (Asio capensis)

Other Names (World)
Marsh Owl, African Marsh Owl

Family
Strigidae (Typical Owls)

Size
30 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Smith, 1834)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical lowland dry grassland, high altitude grasland. From sea-level - 1,500 m.

Range (Guide)

Algeria (E) (B), Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to C�te dIvoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Portugal, Senegal, Spain.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (16)...)

Marsh Owl (Asio capensis) [XC461770]
by Tony Archer from Ventersdorp, Southern DC, North West, South Africa (call)

Marsh Owl (Asio capensis) [XC181901]
by Thijs Fijen from Merja Zerga NP, Morocco (song)

Subspecies
Sometimes thought to be closely related to Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus), the two replacing each other ecologically. Resemblance, however, rather superficial and probably due to convergence, and voices also very different.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

tingitanus (Loche, 1867) - North-western Morocco.
capensis (Smith, 1834) - Isolated areas in western Africa, from Senegal to Chad and Cameroon. Also from southern Sudan and Ethiopian Highlands, and from southern Congo, south to the Cape.
hova Stresemann, 1922 - Madagascar.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Marsh Owl (Asio capensis) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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