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Tawny Owl portrait
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
This is another photo of the same owl as I posted the last time. The Tawny Owl or Strix aluco.
The information is a supplement to the information on my previous photo.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name. The binomial derives from Greek strix "owl" and Italian allocco, "Tawny Owl" (from Latin ulucus "screech-owl").
The Tawny Owl is a member of the wood-owl genus Strix, part of the typical owl family Strigidae, which contains all species of owl other than the barn owls. Within its genus, the Tawny's closest relatives are Hume's Owl, Strix butleri, (formerly considered to be conspecific), its larger northern neighbour, the Ural Owl, S. uralensis, and the North American Barred Owl, S. varia. The Early–Middle Pleistocene Strix intermedia is sometimes considered a paleosubspecies of the Tawny Owl, which would make it that species' immediate ancestor.
The Tawny Owl subspecies are often poorly differentiated, and may be at a flexible stage of subspecies formation with features related to the ambient temperature, the colour tone of the local habitat, and the size of available prey. Consequently, various authors have described between 10 and 15 subspecies. The currently recognised subspecies are listed below.
Subspecies Range Described by
S. a. aluco N & C Europe from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and Black Sea, (Linnaeus, 1758(
S. a. sylvatica W Europe including Great Britain,
(Shaw, 1809)
S. a. nivicola Nepal to SE China, south to N Burma and Thailand, (Blyth, 1845)
S. a. biddulphi NW India and Pakistan, (Scully, 1881)
S. a. willkonskii Palestine to N Iran and the Caucasus, (Menzbier, 1896)
S. a. mauritanica NW Africa from Morocco to Tunisia and Mauritania, (Witherby, 1905)
S. a. sanctinicolai W Iran, NE Iraq, (Zarudny, 1905)
S. a. ma NE China & Korea, (H.L.Clark, 1907)
S. a. harmsi Turkmenistan, (Zarudny, 1911)
S. a. siberiae C Russia from Urals to W Siberia, (Dementiev, 1933)
S. a. yamadae Taiwan, (Yamashina, 1936)
Distribution and habitat
The Tawny Owl has a distribution stretching discontinuously across temperate Eurasia from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to Korea, and south to Iran and the Himalayas. The subspecies S. a. mauritanica extends the range into northwest Africa. This essentially non-migratory owl is absent from Ireland, and only a rare vagrant to the Balearic and Canary Islands.
This species is found in deciduous and mixed forests, and sometimes mature conifer plantations, preferring locations with access to water. Cemeteries, gardens and parks have allowed it to spread into urban areas, including central London. The Tawny Owl is mainly a lowland bird in the colder parts of its range, but breeds to 550 m (1,800 ft) in Scotland, 1,600 m (5,250 ft) in the Alps, 2,350 m (7,700 ft) in Turkey, and up to 2,800 m (9,180 ft) in Burma.
The Tawny Owl has a geographical range of at least 10 million km² (3.8 million mi²) and a large population including an estimated 970,000–2,000,000 individuals in Europe alone. Population trends have not been quantified, but there is evidence of an overall increase. This owl is not believed to meet the IUCN Red List criterion of declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations and is therefore evaluated as Least Concern. This species has expanded its range in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Ukraine, and populations are stable or increasing in most European countries. Declines have occurred in Finland, Estonia, Italy and Albania. In the Netherlands there are 4.500 – 5.500 breeding pairs.
BEHAVIOUR
Breeding
Tawny Owls pair off from the age of one year, and stay together in a usually monogamous relationship for life. An established pair's territory is defended year-round and maintained with little, if any, boundary change from year to year. The pair sit in cover on a branch close to a tree trunk during the day, and usually roost separately from July to October. Roosting owls may be discovered and "mobbed" by small birds during the day, but they normally ignore the disturbance.
The Tawny Owl typically nests in a hole in a tree, but will also use old European Magpie nests, squirrel dreys or holes in buildings, and readily takes to nest boxes. It nests from February onwards in the south of its range, but rarely before mid-March in Scandinavia. The glossy white eggs are 48 x 39 mm (1.89 x 1.54 in) in size and weigh 39.0 g (1.4 oz) of which 7% is shell. The typical clutch of two or three eggs is incubated by the female alone for 30 days to hatching, and the altricial, downy chicks fledge in a further 35–39 days. The young usually leave the nest up to ten days before fledging, and hide on nearby branches.
This species is fearless in defence of its nest and young, and, like other Strix owls, strikes for the intruder's head with its sharp talons. Because its flight is silent, it may not be detected until it is too late to avoid the danger. Dogs, cats and humans may be assaulted, sometimes without provocation. Perhaps the best-known victim of the Tawny Owl's fierce attack was the renowned bird photographer Eric Hosking, who lost an eye when struck by a bird he was attempting to photograph near its nest. He later called his autobiography An Eye for a Bird.
The parents care for young birds for two or three months after they fledge, but from August to November the juveniles disperse to find a territory of their own to occupy. If they fail to find a vacant territory, they usually starve. The juvenile survival rate is unknown, but the annual survival rate for adults is 76.8%. The typical lifespan is 5 years, but an age of over 18 years has been recorded for a wild Tawny Owl, and of over 27 years for a captive bird.
Predators of the Tawny Owl include large birds such as Ural and Eagle Owls, Northern Goshawks and Common Buzzards. Pine Martens may raid nests, especially where artificial nest boxes make the owls easy to find, and several instances have been recorded of Eurasian Jackdaws building nests on top of a brooding female Tawny Owl leading to the death of the adult and chicks. A Danish study showed that predation by mammals, especially Red Foxes, was a important cause of mortality in newly fledged young, with 36% dying between fledging and independence. The mortality risk increased with fledging date from 14% in April to more than 58% in June, and increasing predation of late broods may be an important selective agent for early breeding in this species.
Feeding
The Tawny Owl hunts almost entirely at night, watching from a perch before dropping or gliding silently down to its victim, but very occasionally it will hunt in daylight when it has young to feed. This species takes a wide range of prey, mainly woodland rodents, but also other mammals up to the size of a young rabbit, and birds, earthworms and beetles. In urban areas, birds make up a larger proportion of the diet, and species as unlikely as Mallard and Kittiwake have been killed and eaten.
Prey is typically swallowed whole, with indigestible parts regurgitated as pellets. These are medium-sized and grey, consisting mainly of rodent fur and often with bones protruding, and are found in groups under trees used for roosting or nesting.
Less powerful woodland owls such as the Little Owl and the Long-eared Owl cannot usually co-exist with the stronger Tawny, which may take them as food items, and are found in different habitats. Similarly, where the Tawny Owl has moved into built-up areas, it tends to displace Barn Owls from their traditional nesting sites in buildings. |
zetu, KOMSIS, siggi, PaulH, nglen, uleko, jaycee, CeltickRanger, boreocypriensis, goldyrs, maurydv, Noisette, valy67, Alex99 has marked this note useful
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| Discussions |
| Thread | Thread Starter |
Messages |
Updated |
| To pvs: Alpha 900 | PeterZ |
1 |
05-27 12:43 |
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- zetu
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 655 W: 15 N: 1629]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(6333) - [2009-05-27 9:04]
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Hello Peter
Wonderful portrait. Well done.
Regards
Razvan
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- pvs
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1168 W: 261 N: 3035]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(13835) - [2009-05-27 9:18]
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Ha Peter,
Een mooi portret,ik zie dat de kleuren ook natuurlijker over komen als de voorgaande,zojuist zelf weer een nieuw speeltje ontvangen,de alpha 900,dus zal vanavond nog even naar buiten gaan en wat te testen en wat opnames proberen te maken,wie weet kom ik ook weer eens een uil tegen,
groetjes,
Paul
Ciao Peter, superb portrait with fantastic details and splendid sharpness, perfect focus, very well done, ciao Silvio
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- KOMSIS
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 238 W: 0 N: 588]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(2001) - [2009-05-27 9:28]
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Hi Peter,
Have very good posture, a wonderful portrait ...
Bird's eyes are very clear and detailed.
Best wishes,
Seyfi
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- Argus
(35111)
- [2009-05-27 10:15]
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Hello Peter,
A very nice close-up of the Tawny Owl with a fine frontal view of the head that shows the fine plumage in great detail. The use of flash is shown as catchlight reflections in the eyes.
Thanks and best regards,
Ivan
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- siggi
(16394)
- [2009-05-27 10:44]
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Hello Peter,
great portrait. Love the starring eyes. Excellent details and well exposed natural colours. Well done and TFS.
Best regards Siggi
hallo Peter
Dit is echt een mooie opname
zo mooi van kleur , die gedraaide kop en die veren op zijn schouder komen erg goed uit
super shot
groetjes lou
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- PaulH
(13089)
- [2009-05-27 11:44]
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Hi Peter,
wow thats a large note you gave us to read! The eyes here are captivating and the details and the colours in the feathers are beautiful. Nice work, well done.
Paul
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- nglen
(32266)
- [2009-05-27 11:45]
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Hi Peter. As always from you very inetersting notes . It the eyes in this close up of the owl. Looking straight at you. With fine detail and natural colours in the feathers. I see it has a small bill for a large bird. Well done TFs.
Nick..
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- uleko
(2897)
- [2009-05-27 12:23]
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Hello Peter,
WHat a wonderful close-up of the Tawny Owl! I love the 'kind' eyes and the fine details of the plumage. Lovely colours too!
TFS and regards, Ulla
Hi Peter,
Nice close up.
This Owl seems to have such a small beak for its size.I guess it knows how to use it though ;)
Cheers & TFS
Steve
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- jaycee
(21912)
- [2009-05-27 16:14]
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Hi Peter,
I'm still wondering how you got soooo close to this Owl! A magnificent portrait showing off his amazing eyes - even if they are not yellow. Wonderful colors, details and textures of his features and feathers.
Jane
hello Peter
excellent portrait photo of the Tawny Owl,
fine frontal POV, superb focus with excellent
sharpness and details, and wonderful eye-contact,
TFS
Asbed
Hi Peter,
An awesome portrait capture of this cute owl with excellent details, nice POV/DOF and fine composition.
TFS and cheers,
Bayram
hello Peter
ideal bird for portrait, very good focus and detail,very fine photo
TFS
Nasos
Excellent shot, Paul...
Very sharp, excellent POV and thus the eye contact!
Very well done!
Goldy
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- lousat
(19673)
- [2009-05-28 9:06]
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Hi Peter,really a fantastic portrait,this pic no need comment.....it talk alone whit this wonderful quality of sharpness and colors....just my best compliments,have a nice day,LUCIANO
Hello Peter,
a great portrait of the Tawny Owl,very good sharpness, a beautiful visual impression with a fantastic eye contact, well composed.
TFS
Best regards
Maurizio
Hello Peter
What a great portrait with impressive eye contact and sharp look !
I like also the crisp clear details and the beautiful colors of the plumage
very well done
Jacqueline
Hi Peter. This is just a great portrait. Amazing colurs and good sharp.
Roberto
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- foozi
(9117)
- [2009-05-28 23:48]
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Hi Peter,
your owl collections are really beautiful and interesting. I found it very difficult to get a shot of an owl over here.
nice colours and textures and the portrait is brilliantly composed.
regards,
Foozi
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- valy67
(8733)
- [2009-05-29 0:10]
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Hello Peter !
What a gorgeous portrait of this Owl ! You really managed to capture awesome details on her face and feathers, and I love her big, black eyes. Tight composition works very nicely, also. Very well done !
Valérie.
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- Alex99
(18607)
- [2009-05-29 20:32]
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Hi Peter.
Nice portrait of a very cute owl. May be cropping on the top is strong a bit. However, I am impressed with precise reproduction of all charming features and details of the bird. Especially I like touching expression of the eyes. Bravo. Well done.
Alexei.
