Madagascar red owl

Description

The red owl (Tyto soumagnei) is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae.It is also known as the Madagascar red owl,Madagascar grass-owl and Soumange's owl.It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1876 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1993.It is currently listed as vulnerable because of habitat loss,but recent studies have determined it may have a wider range than believed,though further research in distribution and ecology is required.It has possibly been overlooked because of its close resemblance to the closely related barn owl.The red owl resembles the cosmopolitan barn owl but is smaller (27–30 cm) and has rich orange plumage with small black spots.It is known to live in humid evergreen forest and dry deciduous forest in the east of the island,being found in primary forest and in disturbed secondary forest (possibly even human altered open areas).It feeds on native small-mammals like tenrecs (Tenrecidae) and tuft-tailed rats (as opposed to the barn owl,which feeds on introduced species).It nests and roosts in tree cavities and along cliffs with dense vegetation.The red owl is an orange-red color with small black spots and a dark grey/brown facial disk.Eyes are typically a sooty black color,the beak is a pale grey,and the cere (a fleshy patch at the base of the upper mandible of the beak) is flesh colored.Feet are a smoke grey color.One individual collected was measured: weight of 323 grams,body length of 275 mm,unflattened wing-length of 209 mm,tail length of 100 mm,tarsus-length of 56.6 mm and width of 6.0 mm,and a beak length from the cere of 11.6 mm.