Camiguin_hawk-owl

Camiguin boobook

Camiguin boobook

Species of owl

The Camiguin boobook or Camiguin hawk-owl (Ninox leventisi) is an owl species resident to the Camiguin island in the Philippines. It is the only owl in the country with greenish-yellow or grayish eyes. It was previously known as a subspecies of the Philippine hawk-owl, but was reclassified in 2012, as voice and other evidence suggested it a distinct species.[3] Its native name is kugkug

Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...

Description

EBird describes the bird as "A rare medium-sized owl of remnant broadleaf forest on Camiguin Island. Uniformly barred, with a brown head and upperparts, a pale bar behind the shoulder, warmer brown underparts, long whiskers around the face, and pale yellow eyes. Note the white throat patch. Song is a rapid series of fairly low 'woop' notes, sometimes given in duet. White throat particularly noticeable when calling."[4]

Among the species complex, this owl is unique in that its eyes are striking greenish-yellow versus the standard yellow or reddish-brown eyes of the rest of its related species.

Along with the Romblon boobook and Cebu boobook, it is the largest in the Philippine hawk-owl species complex reaching sizes of 25cm tall versus the much smaller Luzon boobook, Mindanao boobook, Mindoro boobook and Sulu boobook, which range in size from 15 to 20cm tall. [5]

Habitat and conservation status

Its habitat is in tropical moist lowland primary and secondary forests up to 700 meters above sea level. It is also occasionally seen on forest edge, clearings and plantations.[5]

The IUCN Red List classifies this bird as vulnerable with population estimates of 250 to 999 mature individuals. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of legal and illegal logging, mining and conversion into farmlands through Slash-and-burn and urbanization mostly due to an influx of tourists which have forced these birds to the uplands.

There are no species specific conservation programs going on at the moment but conservation actions proposed include more species surveys to better understand habitat and population. initiate education and awareness campaigns to raise the species's profile and instill pride in locals. Lobby for protection of remaining forest.

References

  1. [1]
    BirdLife International (2022). "Ninox leventisi". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022. IUCN: e.T22725512A94894527. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. [3]
    New Owl Species: Camiguin Hawk-Owl, Cebu Hawk-Owl Discovered In Philippines
  4. [4]
    "Camiguin Hawk-owl". Ebird. Archived from the original on 2020-03-30.
  5. [5]
    Allen, Desmond (2020). Birds of the Philippines. Barcelona: Lynx and Birdlife International Guides. pp. 172–177.
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Camiguin_hawk-owl, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.