Blakiston's Fish-owl

Taxobox
name = Blakiston's Fish Owl
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Strigiformes
familia = Strigidae
genus = "Bubo" (but see text)
species = "B. blakistoni"
binomial = "Bubo blakistoni"
binomial_authority = (Seebohm, 1884)

Blakiston's Fish Owl, "Bubo blakistoni", is an owl. This species is a part of the family known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. Blakiston's Fish Owl and three related species were previously placed in the genus "Ketupa"; mtDNA cytochrome "b" sequence data is equivocal on which genus name is applied for this species (Olsen "et al." 2002).

This owl is a resident breeder in Russia, China, Japan. Its habitat is riparian forest, with large, old trees for nest-sites, near lakes, rivers, springs and shoals which don't freeze in winter.

It feeds on a variety of aquatic prey, including fish and amphibians, but also takes mammals and birds. This owl is sometimes competitive with eagles, though large eagles will almost always kill the owl.

Blakiston's Fish Owl is a massive owl at 60-75cm (24-30 in) and is possibly the largest species of owl. A recent field study of the species showed males weighing from 3 to 3.75 kg (6.6-8.3 lbs), with the female, at up to 4.5 kg (10 lbs), being about 25% larger. [http://www.fishowls.com/] The upperparts are buff-brown and heavily streaked. The underparts are pale buffish-brown. The throat is white. The iris is orange-yellow, and it has long, broad, horizontal ear-tufts. Sexes are similar, with females notably larger. The call varies by subspecies; in some places the call is a short, deep "boo-bo-voo" or a "shoo-boo".

This bird is endangered due to the widespread loss of riverine forest, increasing development along rivers and dam construction. The current population in Japan is approximately 100 birds (20 breeding pairs and unpaired individuals), whereas on mainland Asia the population is much higher, perhaps several thousand individuals.

Henry Seebohm named this bird after the English naturalist Thomas Blakiston, who collected the original specimen in Hakodate on Hokkaidō, Japan in 1883.

References

* Olsen, Jery; Wink, Michael; Sauer-Gürth, Heidi & Trost, Susan (2002): A new "Ninox" owl from Sumba, Indonesia. "Emu" 102(3): 223-231. DOI|10.1071/MU02006 [http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pdf-files/2002%20Pdf.Pubwink/17.2002.pdf PDF fulltext]

External links

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/search/species_search.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=2229&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://www.fishowls.com/ Current Blakiston's Fish Owl Research]
* [http://www.fishowls.com/history.html Blakiston's Fish Owl Natural History Summary]
*ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Ketupa_blakistoni/ images and movies of the Blakiston's fish owl "(Ketupa blakistoni)"]