African Grass Owl
Africa Graseule (Tyto capensis )
The Africa Graseule (Tyto capensis ), also called Cape Graseule, is a species in the family of barn owls. Its distribution area is limited to Africa. There are four subspecies of this type.
Features
The Africa Graseule is a 38 to 42 centimeter owl. It weighs 335-520 grams. It is a very long-legged owl. The body top is sooty-brown with fine white spots. The wings are very long, while the tail is relatively short. The body underside is creamy white with small dark spots.
Area of distribution and habitat
The range of this Schleiereulenart is limited. The northernmost deposits are located in the highlands of Ethiopia, the southernmost in the Cape Province Republic of South Africa; from west to east their distribution ranges from the south of the Congo to the north of Angola. An isolated population also occurs in Cameroon. It is believed to be resident birds.
The habitat of Africa Graseule are moist grasslands and open savannas at altitudes of 3,200 meters above sea level. She prefers wetter habitats than the Cape horned owl, but is also found on drier grasslands and occurs also at higher altitudes than this. In wetlands at Mount Kenya example, it occurs in East Africa.
Way of life
The Africa Graseule is mainly nocturnal. Only when food is scarce, it is occasionally also be observed in the early morning and late evening hours when hunting. You usually meets on the ground in the tall grass, where they are usually the grass down occurs slightly. In this way, it builds sometimes several meters long tunnel through the grass. Occasionally, over several days African grass owls to each other in closer proximity. The food spectrum consists mostly of small mammals, weighing up to 100 grams, which are mostly caught on the ground. For food portfolio also includes bats, insects and small birds, which it proposes both on the ground and in the air.
The breeding season falls in the months from December to August with a peak from February to April. The size of the territory depends on food availability and population size. The owl nests on the ground and utilizes mainly the grass tunnel created by it as Nistbauplatz. The nest consists of two to four white eggs. It breeds only the female. The incubation period is 32-42 days. The first ten days of the nestlings are fed only by the female, the male prey approach carries and transfers it to the female. Then the males involved, increasingly, directly to the feeding of the young birds. The first flight tests take the young birds at an age of about seven weeks. They remain in the family group for about another three weeks until they are self-employed.