Order Strigiformes Genus Glaucidium | Phylum Chordata Family Strigidae Scientific name Glaucidium castaneum Rank Species | |
Similar Albertine owlet, Sjöstedt's barred owlet, Yungas pygmy owl, Solomons boobook, Red‑chested owlet | ||
The chestnut owlet (Glaucidium castaneum) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in west and central Africa in two allopatric populations which may be species in themselves.
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Description
The chestnut owlet is a small owlet which is rather similar to the African barred owlet, which is larger. The adult chestnut owlet has a brown facial disk which is marked with dark bars and flecks and whitish eyebrows. The upperparts are chestnut with a white spotted crown and a white shoulder line formed by the outer wens of the scapulars. The paler underparts are marked with dense barring on the breast, with spots on the rest of the underparts. The eyes are yellow, the cere and bill are greenish yellow, the legs are feathered and the toes are dirty yellow but rather bristly. They are 20–21.5 cm (7.9–8.5 in) in length.
Distribution and subspecies
There are two currently recognised subspecies, which may be full species considering their allopatric distribution. The subspecies an their distributions are:
This species is closely related to the African barred owlet and the subspecies G.c. etchecopari is sometimes regarded as a subspecies of that species.
Habits and habitat
The chestnut owlet occurs in humid lowland rainforest and montane forest, at 1,000–1,700 m (3,300–5,600 ft) in altitude.
The biology of the chestnut owlet is little known but like the related African barred owlet it is partly diurnal. Like other owls it will be mobbed by small passerines if discovered at its roost. Its prey is small vertebrates and arthropods, which are either caught from a perch or gleaned from the foliage.