The Sri Lanka bay owl (''Phodilus assimilis'') is a species of

bay owl The bay owls (''Phodilus'') are a genus of Old World barn-owls. The defining characteristics of bay owls are their smaller bodies, in comparison to other barn owls, and their U- or V-shaped faces. These owls can be found in South to Southeast Asi ...

in the family Tytonidae. It is endemic to the island of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and the Western Ghats in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, South Western India. It was considered a subspecies of the Oriental bay owl (''Phodilus badius'') but is now treated as a full species due to its distinctive call, plumage and disjunct distribution. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s and subtropical or tropical high-altitude

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Taxonomy

The Sri Lanka bay owl was described by the English politician and naturalist Allan Octavian Hume in 1873 but it was only in 1877 that he introduced the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Phodilus assimilis''. The genus name ''Phodilus'' is from the Ancient Greek ''phōs'' for "light" or "daylight" and ''deilos'' for "timid" or "cowardly". The specific epithet '' assimilis'' is the Latin for "similar" or "like". It was earlier considered a subspecies of the Oriental bay owl ''Phodilus badius'', but now treated as a separate species based on differences in call and plumage. Two subspecies are recognised: * ''P. a. ripleyi'' Hussain & Reza Khan, 1978 - Western Ghats * ''P. a. assimilis'' A. O. Hume, 1877 – Central & southern

The Indian subspecies is found along the Western Ghats mostly south of Goa but as they are secretive, records are rare and their presence has often been detected only upon the discovery of injured individuals. The breeding season is in winter when the distinctive song consisting of multiple whistles with inflections can be heard.

Gallery

File:Sri Lanka bay owl KMTR 19 June 1998 trsr.jpg, ''Phodilus assimilis'' in Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve File:Ceylon Bay Owl2 Abhilash Arjunan.jpg, Sri Lanka bay owl at Arippa forest, Trivandrum, Kerala, India File:Oriental bay owl.jpg, In Top Slip, Anamalai Hills, Tamil Nadu

References

External links

EBird Species Spot MapsCalls on Xeno-CantoHandbook of the Birds of the World

Sri Lanka bay owl The Sri Lanka bay owl (''Phodilus assimilis'') is a species of bay owl in the family Tytonidae. It is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats in Kerala, South Western India. It was considered a subspecies of the Oriental bay ow ...

Birds of Sri Lanka Birds of South India

Taxa named by Allan Octavian Hume {{strigiformes-stub