Chinese name: vulture owl

Alias: annoying fox

Scientific name: Bubo? Inguinal lymphadenitis

English name: eagle? owl

Chinese common name: big owl? Xiri-Shaobu? Old rabbit? Owl? Night owl? Elvis Presley

Taxonomic status: ornithoptera, stenoptera.

Distribution: Except Hainan Province and Taiwan Province Province, most provinces and regions in China have residents.

Protection level: national second-class protected animals

Morphological characteristics: body length 55-90cm (about the height of a baby), weight 15000-40000g (about 3-8 bales of rice).

Sensory ability: visual acuity 95; Smell10; Hearing 95

Specialty: night vision.

Protection level: national second-class protected animals?

Endangered reason:

1, humans hunt for birds' eggs.

2. Put rodenticide on the grassland to poison it. ?

Snipers, snipe birds. The scientific name is Bubo? Bubo. He is very big, 70 centimeters (about 2.3 feet) long, with two bunches of feathers (ear feathers) on his head. Big eyes, orange; The body feathers are brown with brown spots, and the lower body is lighter in color. Habitat and breed in caves and tree holes. After dusk, they live on branches and mainly feed on rodents (rabbits) and large birds. Carved owls, or Eurasian carved owls, inhabit Europe, Asia and North Africa, and most of the birds seen in Britain are lost. With the great American vulture (b? Virginianus) is related (see [〔horned? Owl). Several other buffaloes are also called buffaloes, such as the spotted buffalo in sub-Saharan Africa (B? Africa) and forest owls in Southeast Asia (B? Nipalancis).

[Edit this paragraph] Morphological characteristics

Identification method: the head has a prominent panel, which is light brown. There are black spots above the eyes, a black-brown wrinkled collar on the neck, and well-developed ear feathers protruding from both sides of the head. Feathers are mainly yellowish brown with black spots and longitudinal stripes.

The vulture owl is the largest owl in China, with a body length of 56-89 cm and a weight of 1400-3950 g. Its face is obvious, light brown with brown spots. The eyes are densely covered with white bristles, and each feather has black terminal spots. There is a big black spot above the eyes. The wrinkled collar is dark brown. The top of the head is dark brown, and the feather edge is brown and white, mixed with black wavy spots. Ear feathers are particularly developed, protruding on both sides of the head, with black on the outside and brown on the inside. Feathers are mostly yellowish brown with black spots and longitudinal stripes. The throat is white, with light black longitudinal stripes on the chest and sides, and small black transverse spots on the abdomen. The iris is golden yellow or orange. Feet and toes have dense plumage and lead-gray black.

[Edit this paragraph] Ecological habits

Residence: mountain forest, plain, wilderness, forest edge shrub, sparse forest, mountain, cliff, etc.

Good: Night activities. Good at flying in the forest in the night sky.

Rest: hide in the branches of the forest.

Food: Eating meat. They mainly eat mice, but also other mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles.

Personality: fierce and independent. Breeding: The breeding period is from April to July. Nest in tree holes, under cliffs, or lay eggs directly on the ground. There are no bedding in the nest, or only sparse feathers. Each nest lays 2-5 eggs, which are hatched by females for 35 days. Growth: chicks need to be fed by their parents after hatching.

[Edit this paragraph] Population distribution

There are 7 subspecies of vultures in China. Northern Xinjiang subspecies are only found in Altai Mountain in northern Xinjiang, Junggar subspecies are only found in Junggar Basin and Alatao Mountain in northwestern Xinjiang, Tianshan subspecies are distributed in western Inner Mongolia, western Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and western Xinjiang, and Tarim subspecies are only found in Hami, Tarim Basin, Lop Nur and Niya River in Xinjiang, which is extremely rare. Tibet subspecies is endemic to China, distributed in northwest Sichuan, northwest Yunnan, south Tibet and south-central Qinghai. Northeast Asian species are common in Northeast China and North China. South China subspecies are distributed in a vast area from southern Gansu, southwestern Shaanxi, southern Henan to southern Shandong, and are also relatively common.

[Edit this paragraph] Living habits

The largest carved owl among owls.

Carved owls inhabit forests, plains, wilderness, forest-edge shrubs, sparse forests, exposed mountains and cliffs. In Xinjiang and Tibet, the altitude of habitat can reach about 3000 ~ 4500 meters. They usually live in remote places that are inaccessible, and they often live alone except in the breeding season. During the day, it often hides in the dense forest and perches on the tree with its neck closed, motionless, but its hearing is very keen and it will make a slight noise. He immediately craned his neck, opened his eyes, turned his body, observed the movement around him, and flew away immediately if there was danger. Fly slowly and silently, usually close to the ground. The vulture owl mainly feeds on mice, but its diet is extensive, including almost all the animals that can be caught, including stubborn beasts such as foxes, porcupines and wild cats, and raptors such as goshawk, osprey and peregrine falcon, among which mammals account for about 55%, birds account for 33%, and fish and amphibians account for 65,438+065,438+0%.

Because the vulture owl is active at night, it is generally believed that it does not catch snakes. In fact, when it found the snake slowly crawling out of the grass, it immediately became excited, its eyes shone brightly, it turned its round face as if to estimate the strength contrast between the two sides, then aimed at the snake's head and swooped down from the tree. But it does prey on snakes less, so the first attack is often unsuccessful, and it often fails to grasp the key of snakes. At this time, the snake will wriggle angrily and turn around to wrap the vulture. The eagle owl will spread its two wide wings to resist the entanglement of the snake, pierce the scales of the snake with sharp claws, enter the body, then look for flaws, and suddenly bite the part behind the snake head that is equivalent to the heart with its mouth. After a fierce struggle, the painful snake gradually gave up and finally put down its body, which became a delicious meal for vultures.

The breeding period varies from April to July in the northeast to 65438+February in the southwest. At this time, male and female birds live together, chasing each other at dawn or dusk, and calling each other from time to time. Before mating, they tidy their feathers with their mouths and make a kiss. The male keeps making "goo, goo, goo, goo" calls, and the female keeps making "west, west, west, west" sounds, and this is repeated for about 5 minutes. Then the male bird jumps on the female bird's back and makes a cheerful cry together. About a week after mating, females begin to build nests. They usually nest in tree holes, in depressions under cliffs, or directly lay eggs on the ground in depressions. There is no bedding in the nest, and sometimes it is covered with sparse down feathers after it is finished. Each nest lays 2 ~ 5 eggs, with 3 eggs more common. Eggs are white and oval in color. Hatching is carried out by female birds. The incubation period is 35 days.

There are a certain number of carved owls in China, but they are decreasing. In China, the list of national key protected wild animals is listed as second-class protected animals and listed in the Red Book of Endangered Animals in China. Birds are classified as rare species.