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Pel's fishing owl (''Scotopelia peli'') is a large species of owl in the family
Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species ...
, found in Africa. It lives near rivers and lakes, and feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The species prefers slow-moving rivers with large, overhanging trees to roost in and forage from. It nests in hollows and the forks of large trees. Though as many as two eggs are laid, often only one chick is raised.


Taxonomy

The species' common and specific name honours Hendrik Severinus Pel, who was governor of the
Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch (et ...
(now
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
) from 1840 till 1850.


Description

Pel's fishing owl is one of the largest owl species in the world. Among the world's owls, it ranks as the fifth-heaviest on average, the seventh-longest in length and measured wing chord, and fourth-longest in mean wingspan, although not all large species have had measured wingspans.Weick, F. (2007). ''Owls (Strigiformes): annotated and illustrated checklist''. Springer. It measures in length, spans around across the wings and weighs up to at least . One male was found to weigh and four females averaged , it may outrival the snowy owl (only around 4% lighter on average in six datasets) as the fifth- or sixth-heaviest living owl on average.Potapov, E., & Sale, R. (2013). ''The Snowy Owl''. Poyser Monographs, A&C Black. Under current classification, it is the heaviest extant owl outside of the genus '' Bubo'', although some authors may also include the fishing owls in ''Bubo''.''Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide'' by Mikkola, H. Firefly Books (2012), Among standard measurements, the wing chord is and the tail is long. They are well adapted to their aquatic lifestyle. Unlike most owls, they have minimal feathering on their toes and the tarsi, thus minimizing the amount of plumage that gets wet while fishing. Like diurnal raptors that specialize in fish, they have spiky scales on the bottoms of their feet that help them grip slippery fish. Since hearing and auditory stealth is not important to its hunting techniques, this owl does not have strong hearing and does not have the soft edges to its flight feathers that most owls share, which makes them almost impossible to hear in flight. Adults are colored a rich ginger- rufous with dense dark bars to the upperparts and scaling to the underparts. The feathers around the head are loose and long, giving the head a shaggy appearance. The tarsi and toes are unfeathered and straw-colored. The white throat is often largely obscured, but can be puffed up in displaying birds during courtship. The flight and tail feathers are barred with lighter and darker feathers. The eyes are distinctly dark, often blackish in color. The two adult sexes are similar looking, but females are generally less rufous in color and have a more indistinct facial disc. Considerable variation exists in coloration and barring in adult birds, with some birds having extensive pale feathers with others having several blackish markings. Juveniles are more uniform buff than adults. Unlike the eagle-owls, the ear tufts of the Pel's fishing owl are barely visible, giving it a very round-headed appearance. The two related fishing owls are smaller and lack the dark barring and scaling (though they do have dark streaks below). The song of the male Pel's fishing owl is a deep, sonorous, horn-like boom, first a single and then a higher pitched ''huhuhu''. The male also utters a ringed hoot, much higher pitched than those of most eagle-owls, followed by a deep, soft grunt: ''whoommmm-wot'' or ''hooomm-hut''. The calls of the male are repeated every 10 to 20 seconds and can be heard from up to away. While singing, the male's throat and breast are often highly inflated. The female's songs are similar, but are higher pitched and even in a double-note, i.e. ''hoot-oot''. Females and young at the nest wail a shrill ''wheeoouu'' while anticipating food.


Distribution and habitat

It is found throughout a large part of
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
, but it is generally rather local, uncommon, and absent from drier regions. It is patchily distributed in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
,
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
,
the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
,
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
,
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
, and in central Africa from the coast to eastern Zaire and discontinuously to
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
,
Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, and
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
and southwards to
Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
,
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
,
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, and eastern
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. Pel's fishing owl is found in forests along rivers and lakes. It can be found in swamps and estuaries at sea level up to an elevation of around . Its favorite habitat is riverine forests with large trees, although large numbers are also found on islands with large, old trees within larger rivers, swamps or lakes, so long as the islands are not too far from the bank. The species is largely residential and has no seasonal movement, although young, nonbreeding birds may wander somewhat before claiming their own territories. Pel's fishing owl may move outside of its own range in pursuit of prey.


Behaviour

In general, this species is nocturnal and is most vocally active on moonlit nights, especially near dawn. However, they are sometimes seen to be active during the day, especially when prey is scarce. During the daytime, they usually roost on a large tree branch. Often, the male and female roost together. At dusk, they leave the roost and instead perch on stumps, branches, and other objects that extend over the water.


Diet and feeding

The main prey of Pel's fishing owls is fish. They can take fish weighing as much as , but most fish caught are much smaller, usually weighing . They are not picky eaters among fish species and any fish that is in a reasonable size range and found close to the water's surface is readily caught and consumed. Compared with the fish owls in the genus ''Bubo'', the three fishing owls are more completely piscivorous and rarely vary their prey selection from fish. They may also take other aquatic animals such as
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
s,
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...
s,
mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
s and large
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s. In one case, a Pel's fishing owl was observed to prey on a baby
Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and ce ...
(''Crocodylus niloticus''). While perched over the water, these owls detect the movement of fish from ripples in the water and swoop down to seize their prey with their powerful talons and then swoop back to their perch for consumption. Unlike many other fish-eating birds, Pel's fishing owls rarely submerge themselves or get particularly wet while hunting. More uncommonly, this species forages by wading into shallow water along sandbanks.


Breeding

Pel's fishing owls nest during the dry season, which has the benefit of lower, clearer water, thus more easily detectable fish. They are monogamous and territorial, claiming a stretch of river or lakeshore for themselves. All activity in the species occurs within striking distance of water. Territories are claimed by hooting at the start of the breeding season. When prey selection is good, populations can be quite dense. At such bountiful times, territories are often quite small with the central activity of breeding pairs sometimes occurring within of each other. In
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, 23 territories were found along 60 km of river, and in
Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...
, up to eight pairs can be found in an 18 km stretch of the Levubu River. The nest is a natural hollow or cavity in an old, shady tree close to the water, quite often around where thick branches emerge from the trunk. The clutch size is typically one or two eggs, which average in length and weigh around . The female lays the eggs when water is at its peak or starting to fall, so that brood feeding coincides with low water and concentrated prey. The female does all incubation for around 32 days, while the male feeds her. If more than one egg is in the nest, hatching occurs at 5-day intervals. The second chick often disappears, probably due to starvation. At hatching, the chick weighs , with their eyes opening 7 days later. Within 20 days, their weight increases to around and then balloons to around by the time they are 68 to 70 days old. The young remain in their parents' territory for 6 to 9 months after fledging and resemble the adult by around 10 months of age. At the first sight of danger to their offspring, both parents may engage in distraction displays. These consists of behaving as if injured, to draw the attention of potential predators, and penetrating screeches. Pel's fishing owls may attack
African fish eagle The African fish eagle (''Icthyophaga vocifer'') or the African sea eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, ...
s (''Haliaeetus vocifer'') that come too close to their nests. The fish eagles and
Verreaux's eagle-owl Verreaux's eagle-owl (''Ketupa lactea''), also commonly known as the milky eagle owl or giant eagle owl, is a member of the family Strigidae. This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. A member of the genus '' Ketupa'', it is the largest A ...
s (''Bubo lacteus'') are perhaps the only predatory threat to this species, though encounters between the two large owls are likely very rare due to significantly different habitat preferences. Due to the relatively late stage at which the young become fully independent, Pel's fishing owls usually only breed in alternate years.


Status

Pel's fishing owl ranges from locally rare and sporadic to quite common, depending on how ideal the local environment is. Due to the dependence on large waterways with abundant fish and mature trees, they are a highly sensitive to destruction of their habitat. Damming rivers, siltification, and removal of water for irrigation may be local issues faced by the species. In some places,
water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...
may pose a further problem, and
overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...
, particularly where human populations are rapidly increasing, can also deplete the owl's food supplies. Changes in water supply can have knock-on effects on the riverine forest in which Pel's fishing owls roost and nest, and in some areas this habitat is being further degraded by wood-cutting and even by tree damage by
large Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...
elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
populations. Even where the species occurs in protected areas, human activities upstream can still impact fish stocks and nesting trees. Overall, the species is widely distributed and populations currently appear to be stable. Thus, the species is classified as
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
by the
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
. The species may come under pressure in Namibia in the future if, as predicted by climate change models, Namibia becomes drier and the growing human population increasingly relies on and impacts the region's river systems.Simmons, R.E. and Brown, C.J. (2006) ''Birds to Watch in Namibia: Red, Rare and Endemic Species''. National Biodiversity Programme, Windhoek, Namibia.


References

*''Owls of the World'' by Konig, Weick & Becking. Yale University Press (2009),


External links

* Pel's Fishing Owl �
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q512097 Pel's fishing owl Birds of prey of Sub-Saharan Africa Pel's fishing owl Pel's fishing owl Taxonomy articles created by Polbot