African Wood-Owl ( Strix woodfordii, family: strigidae)

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

african wood owl kruger national park birds The African Wood-Owl (Latin name Strix woodfordii) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 394 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 260 also a picture of the African Wood-Owl on page 272. The African Wood-Owl belongs to the family of birds classified as strigidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the African Wood-Owl was called the Wood 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 African Wood-Owl is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

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

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The African Wood-Owl is a bird a little bit bigger than a starling. The height of the African Wood-Owl is about 36 cms and its weight is about 250 gms

The male and female African Wood-Owl have the same plumage and colours

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The African Wood-Owl feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Smaller animals

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The African Wood-Owl is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Strix woodfordii will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of African Wood-Owl is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 1to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for African Wood-Owl are: woodlands

You will normally see the African Wood-Owl in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ibengwana

Zulu ... uMabhengwane/uNobathekeli

Afrikaans ...Bosuil

German ... Woodfordkauz

Portuguese ... Coruja-da-floresta

French ... Chouette africaine

Dutch ... Afrikaanse Bosuil

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 394

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