Little Sumba Hawk-Owl (Ninox sumbaensis)

Little Sumba Hawk-Owl

[order] STRIGIFORMES | [family] Strigidae | [latin] Ninox sumbaensis | [authority] Olsen, Wink, Sauer-Gurth and Trost, 2002 | [UK] Little Sumba Hawk-Owl | [FR] Ninoxe mineure | [DE] Not yet named | [ES] Not yet named | [NL] Kleine soemba-valkuil

Subspecies

Monotypic species

Genus

Members of the genus Ninox are hawk owls, ranging from small to large, with rounded heads without ear-tufts. They have long, pointed wings and a long tail. The nostrils are forward facing on an enlarged cere in an indistinct facial disk. There are at least 20 species in this genus, from Siberia through much of the Pacific rim, South-east Asia and Australasia.

Physical charateristics

The face is Grey with white eye-brows, while the crown is greyish with fine barring. The bill goes from horn to yellow at the tip. Eyes are yellow.
The throat is rufous with dark stripes and the lower breast is white with dark stripes. Upper parts are light brown with fine, widely spaced dark brown stripes. Scapulars are white. The underside of the flight feathers are barred rufous and cream, and the upperside is barred rufous and dark brown. The tail has 12-13 dark brown bars on a light rufous-brown background. The legs are feathered on the front down to the toes, but almost bare on the back. The toes have bristly feathers on the top. Feet are yellow, as are the claws, which have have a grey-black tip (owlpages.com).


wingspan min.: 51 cm wingspan max.: 53 cm
size min.: 23 cm size max.: 24 cm
incubation min.: 0 days incubation max.: 0 days
fledging min.: 0 days fledging max.: 0 days
broods: 0   eggs min.: 0  
      eggs max.: 0  

Range

Australasia : Sumba

Habitat

It appears to be limited to patches of primary, disturbed primary and secondary forest from 600-950 m on Sumba.

Reproduction

No data

Feeding habits

No data

Conservation

This poorly known species is treated as Near Threatened as it is thought to have a moderately small population which has almost certainly declined through forest clearance within its range. Further research is a priority for improving this assessment of its status.
Ninox sumbaensis was recently formally described, although the taxa has been known to ornithologists since the late 1980s. It is currently very poorly known and has only been recorded from three localities on Sumba, Indonesia.
Little Sumba Hawk-Owl status Near Threatened

Migration

Presumed sedentary

Distribution map

Little Sumba Hawk-Owl distribution range map

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