Spotted Eagle-Owl ( Bubo africanus, family: strigidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Spotted Eagle Owl

spott edeagle owl Kruger National Park birds The Spotted Eagle-Owl (Latin name Bubo africanus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 401 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 257 also a picture of the Spotted Eagle-Owl on page 272. The Spotted Eagle-Owl belongs to the family of birds classified as strigidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Spotted Eagle-Owl was called the Spotted Eagle Owl

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Spotted Eagle-Owl is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Spotted Eagle-Owl in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Spotted Eagle-Owl : see above distribution map.

Kruger Park Spotted Eagle OwlIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Spotted Eagle-Owl is a bird about the size of a grey hornbill. The height of the Spotted Eagle-Owl is about 47 cms and its weight is about 700 gms

You will find that the male Spotted Eagle-Owl plumage and colours are different to that of the female Spotted Eagle-Owl

  • Head is grey, brown.
  • Eye is yellow.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is grey, brown.
  • Legs are white.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Spotted Eagle-Owl feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Smaller animals

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Spotted Eagle-Owl is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Bubo africanus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Spotted Eagle-Owl is to create the nest in branches of a tree or a hole in a tree trunk or on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1 to 6

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Spotted Eagle-Owl are: woodlands and grasslands . The Spotted Eagle-Owl is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You will normally see the Spotted Eagle-Owl by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ifubesi/Isihulu-hulu

Zulu ... isiKhovampondo

Afrikaans ...Gevlekte Ooruil

German ... Fleckenuhu, Berguhu

Portuguese ... Bufo-malhado

French ... Grand-duc africain

Dutch ... Afrikaanse Oehoe

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 401

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za