Barred eagle-owl facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Barred eagle-owl |
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| Barred eagle-owl, Malaysia | |
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| Genus: |
Ketupa
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| Species: |
sumatrana
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| Global map of eBird reports Year-Round Range Summer Range Winter Range | |
The barred eagle-owl (Ketupa sumatrana), also known as the Malay eagle-owl, is a type of eagle owl. These owls belong to the Strigidae family, which includes most owls. It is part of the large Ketupa group of owls. You can find this owl in parts of Southeast Asia, from the southern Malay Peninsula to Borneo. It looks quite similar to the spot-bellied eagle-owl, but they live in different areas.
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Where Barred Eagle-Owls Live
The barred eagle-owl lives in countries like Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. They prefer warm, wet lowland forests. You'll often find them near streams or pools in evergreen forests. They can also live in big gardens with tall trees, like the Bogor Botanical Gardens in West Java. Sometimes, they even live near people in wooded areas. These owls usually live from sea level up to about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) high. But they can sometimes be found higher, around 1,600 meters (5,200 feet) or more.
What Barred Eagle-Owls Look Like
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The barred eagle-owl is a fairly large owl, but it's one of the smaller eagle-owls. They are usually about 40 to 48 centimeters (16 to 19 inches) long. Males and females are almost the same size. This is unusual for eagle-owls.
They are easy to spot because of their unique look. They have stripes on their belly and large ear tufts that point sideways. A white stripe runs from their eyebrows, past their ear tufts. Their chest has more markings than their belly. Their face is a grayish-white. Their eyes are usually dark brown, but some have yellow eyes. Their beak is pale yellow.
Their upper body is grey-brown with zigzag stripes of reddish-brown. Their tail is dark brown with about six whitish stripes. Their legs are feathered down to their toes. Young barred eagle-owls are pure white when they are born. As they grow, they become a dirty white with brown bands on their wings and tail. Their ear tufts are also shorter than adult owls.
How to Identify Them
It's unlikely to confuse the barred eagle-owl with the brown wood owl. The brown wood owl also has stripes, but it doesn't have the barred eagle-owl's ear tufts. The brown wood owl is also more reddish-brown and has more feathers on its feet.
Fish owls are different because they don't have feathers on their legs. They are also more reddish-brown and don't have the white stripe on their head or ear tufts. The dusky eagle-owl lives in the northern part of the barred eagle-owl's range. But it's sandy brown, has vertical stripes, and yellow eyes.
The spot-bellied eagle owl looks very similar. However, it is much larger and has bolder spots on its belly. These two owls do not live in the same areas.
What Barred Eagle-Owls Sound Like
The barred eagle-owl's main call is a deep hoot, like hoo or hoo-hoo. Sometimes it sounds like whooa-who, whooa-who. The hoots get a bit lower in sound at the end. If it's a double hoot, there's about a two-second pause between them.
They also make other sounds, like noisy cackles and fearful shrieks. These are usually heard in the early evening. In Borneo, their flight call is described as several hoots followed by a groan. Some local stories in Java say their calls sound like demons.
Different Types of Barred Eagle-Owls
There are three known types, or subspecies, of barred eagle-owls:
- K. sumatrana sumatrana: This type is found on Sumatra, Bangka, and the Malay Peninsula. It's relatively small. Its belly stripes are not as dark or as far apart as the owls in Java. Their wing length is about 323 to 358 mm (12.7 to 14.1 inches). Their tail is about 183 to 190 mm (7.2 to 7.5 inches). One owl of this type weighed about 620 grams (1.37 pounds).
- K. sumatrana strepitans: This type lives on Java and Bali. It's much larger than the first type. It has wider and denser stripes on its belly. Their wing length is about 370 to 417 mm (14.6 to 16.4 inches). Owls of this type can weigh from 1,427 to 1,606 grams (3.15 to 3.54 pounds). The average weight is about 1,525 grams (3.36 pounds).
- B. sumatrana tenuifasciata: This type is only found on the island of Borneo. It's similar in size to the first type. But its stripes are much thinner and closer together. Their wing length is about 323 to 350 mm (12.7 to 13.8 inches).
Barred Eagle-Owl Life and Habits
What Barred Eagle-Owls Eat
We don't know a lot about what barred eagle-owls eat, but they seem to eat many different things. Like other eagle-owls, they have strong feet with large, curved talons. This means they can catch a variety of prey, even large animals.
They are known to eat big insects like grasshoppers and beetles. They also eat birds, small mammals (especially rodents like mice and rats), and reptiles, mostly snakes. In one case, a barred eagle-owl caught a young crab-eating macaque. Even young macaques can be as big or bigger than the owl!
When kept in zoos, these owls are not picky eaters. They will eat fresh meat from fish, birds, and mammals. In one amazing story, an owl in a cage with a changeable hawk-eagle killed and ate the hawk-eagle. This shows how fierce and strong these owls can be, just like other eagle-owls.
How Barred Eagle-Owls Have Babies
Barred eagle-owls likely stay with the same partner for their whole lives. They also seem to really like their nesting spots. If no one bothers them, they will use the same area for many years. If one parent dies, the other will stay in the same territory with a new mate.
These owls build their nests in large tree holes. In Java and Sumatra, they also nest on top of big ferns called Asplenium nidus. Another known nesting spot is at the base of a large plant that grows on trees, forming a sheltered hollow.
They usually lay only one egg. The egg is white and oval-shaped, about 59.8 by 47.9 mm (2.35 by 1.89 inches). In Java, eggs have been found from February to April. Nests with young owls have been seen from May to June. In Sumatra, young owls have been seen from March to May. In Borneo, young owls have been seen in February and March.
How Many Barred Eagle-Owls Are There?
These owls live in small numbers across large areas. This is normal for most big birds of prey. However, they are not rare. They are less common than the buffy fish owl in Java and Sumatra.
