Nocturnal birds of prey belong to the order Strigiformes, which is divided into two families, the family strigidae or strigidae, composed by owls, scops owls, little owls, etc. And the family tytonidae or titonidae, the owls.
These birds have nocturnal or twilight customs, sharing time and space with other non-predatory nocturnal birds, such as those belonging to the order Caprimulgiformes, such as nightjars or urutaús, the latter being American birds.
The list of nocturnal birds of prey species is very extensive, so in this article on our site we briefly present the types of nocturnal birds of prey that exist and their main characteristics.
Characteristics of nocturnal birds of prey
Night birds, especially if they are predators, such as birds of prey, must have as their main characteristic a strong ste alth, in addition to other characteristics adapted to predation. Therefore, like diurnal birds of prey, the claws and beaks of these birds are strongly curved and sharp.
These birds also have a series of peculiarities that make them totally adapted to their environment, such as their big eyes, totally able to see in the dark. Their ears are perfectly designed to detect prey, in fact, they are not at the same height in relation to the head and have a different orientation, in order toperceive sounds from all directions In addition, they can turn their heads almost 270 degrees.
During the day, when nocturnal raptors rest, they can do so in tree branches or hollows or even in nest boxes for nocturnal raptors, although in most cases, these nest boxes are only used during the breeding season. The day is the time when these birds are vulnerable, the sun bothers their eyes a lot and they must remain hidden, so their plumage is very cryptic, allowing them to go unnoticed.
As we said at the beginning, nocturnal birds of prey are very ste althy, thanks to the shape of their flight feathers These feathers are the rémiges, the primaries that come out of the hand, the secondaries of the forearm and the tertiaries of the part of the wing closest to the body.
The outer edge of the primaries is ragged, causing the wind to pass in a laminar fashion without creating eddies, reducing noise On the other hand, the inner edge of the remiges has a silky fringe that reduces turbulence and finally, the surface of these feathers has a very smooth appearance, due to the presence of structures called barbicelos
Next, we will see the groups of nocturnal birds of prey and their names:
Night birds of prey names
Nocturnal birds of prey can be divided into various groups according to the genus to which they belong. Thus, we find the eagle owls or great horned owls (genus Bubo), the eared owls (genus Asio), the tawny owls (genus Strix), the surninos or owls (genus Athene, Glaucidium, Micrathene, Xenoglaux and Aegolius) and scops owls or owls (genus Otus). All of the family strigidae. On the other hand, we have the owls, of the family tytonidae.
Eagle owls or great horned owls (genus Bubo)
The eagle owls or great horned owls (genus Bubo) are the largest nocturnal birds of prey, weighing more than 1 kilogram. As usual in raptors, the females are usually larger than the male, this character being the only sexual dimorphism.
There are about 20 species of owls, spread all over the planet except for Antarctica. They are characterized by having plumes of feathers on their heads, although some species such as the snowy owl, Bubo scandiacus, (previously included in another genus) have lost it. They are birds of prey, widely used in falconry, they usually feed on small vertebrates and always hunt at night.
Some of the owl species are:
- Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)
- Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus)
- Ashy Eagle Owl (Bubo cinerascens)
- Malay Eagle Owl (Bubo sumatranus)
- Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
- Cape Eagle Owl (Bubo capensis)
Ear-eared Owls (genus Asio)
The eared owls (genus Asio) are distributed on all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. The species Asio flammeus or short-eared owl is the most widespread. They are medium-sized birds, smaller than eagle owls but larger than other nocturnal birds of prey.
They also have plumes on their heads, but their most striking feature is that they have a disk-shaped face. Although they belong to the group of nocturnal birds of prey, these animals are rather crepuscular.
The species of long-eared owls are:
- Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)
- Abyssinian Owl (Asio abyssinicus)
- Malagasy Owl (Asio madagascariensis)
- Great Barn Owl (Asio capensis)
- Long-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
- Sooty Owl (Asio stygius)
Tawny Owls (genus Strix)
The Tawny Owls (genus Strix) are medium in size. They are characterized by having facial discs, a very rounded head, no head tufts, and most species have the black eyes They are very nocturnal, specializing in hunting in the dark. They live in forests and jungles all over the world.
Like almost all owls, they nest in natural hollows in trees, rocks, cliffs, abandoned nests of large birds, nest boxes and even on the ground, under bushes or trees. They are monogamous and bigamous.
There are more than 20 species of tawny owls, many of them divided into multiple subspecies:
- Tawny Owl (Strix varia)
- Ural owl (Strix uralensis)
- Brown Owl or Striated Owl (Strix virgata)
- Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)
- Guatemalan Owl (Strix fulvescens)
- Greater Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa)
- African owl (Strix woodfordii)
Owls (genus Athene, Glaucidium, Micrathene, Xenoglaux and Aegolius)
The owls or owls (subfamily Surniinae) are small owls that usually measure no more than 28 centimeters in length. They have a rounded body with a stocky appearance. The plumage is usually very mottled brown. They inhabit Eurasia, America and Africa, being absent in Oceania and Antarctica. They feed mainly on insects, although they can also capture small mammals.
Owl species are divided into five genera:
1. Genus Athene:
- Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
- Brahmin owl (Athene brama)
- Eastern Owl (Athene noctua)
two. Genus Glaucidium:
- Alpine owl (Glaucidium passerinum)
- Andean little owl (Glaucidium jardinii)
- Cuckoo Owl (Glaucidium cuculoides)
- Pernambucan Little Owl (Glaucidium mooreorum)
3. Genus Micrathene (a single species):
Saguaro owl (Micrathene whitneyi)
4. Genus Xenoglaux (a single species):
Furry owl2 (Xenoglaux loweryi)
5. Genus Aegolius:
- Great-headed Owl (Aegolius acadicus)
- Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus)
- Cinnamon Owl (Aegolius harrisii)
- Sooty Owl (Aegolius ridgwayi)
Owls or owls (genus Otus)
The Screech-Owls or owls (genus Otus) are extremely cryptic birds, disappearing completely when they are next to a trunk. They have plumes on their heads. They feed on invertebrate animals, rarely hunting mammals.
They are small birds, around 20 centimeters in length and do not usually weigh more than 100 grams, with some exceptions, such as the Mindanao owl (Otus gurneyi), which measures about 30 centimeters. They are monogamous birds. More than 50 species of scops owls are known, distributed throughout the world, except Antarctica and Oceania.
Some of these species are:
- European Scops Owl (Otus scops)
- Chinese Scops Owl (Otus lettia)
- Indian Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena)
- Eastern Scops Owl (Otus sunia)
- White-fronted Scops Owl (Otus sagittatus)
- Persian Scops Owl (Otus brucei)
- African Scops Owl (Otus senegalensis)
Owls (genera Tyto and Phodilus)
The owls (genera Tyto and Phodilus) are medium-large birds. One of its main features is its heart-shaped facial disc. Species of the genus Tyto do not have plumes on their heads, unlike those of the genus Phodilus, they do have.
They usually have white, beige or brown plumage. They are found on all continents, avoiding polar or desert areas. They feed on small vertebrates and can hunt in total darkness. The most studied species of owl is the barn owl or barn owl (Tyto alba).
Other species of owls are:
- Ash-faced Owl (Tyto glaucops)
- Spotted Owl (Tyto multipunctata)
- Scary Owl (Tyto tenebricosa)
- Long-legged Owl (Tyto longimembris)
- Taliabu Owl (Tyto nigrobrunnea)
- Great Horned Owl (Phodilus badius)
- Congo Owl (Phodilus prigoginei)
List of Iberian nocturnal birds of prey
In the Iberian peninsula we can find 8 species of birds nocturnal raptors One of the species belongs to the Tytonidae family and seven to the Strigidae family.
Titonid:
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Strigid:
- European Scops Owl (Otus scops)
- Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)
- Eastern Owl (Athene noctua)
- Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)
- Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)
- Long-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
- Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus)
Discover also on our site the differences between owl and owl.
