# Vermiculated fishing owl

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Species of owl

Vermiculated fishing owl Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] CITES Appendix II [2] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae Genus: Scotopelia Species: S. bouvieri Binomial name Scotopelia bouvieri Sharpe, 1875

The **vermiculated fishing owl** (***Scotopelia bouvieri***, syn. **Bubo bouvieri**) is a species of [owl](/source/Owl) in the family [Strigidae](/source/Strigidae). It is found within riverine forest in [Angola](/source/Angola), [Cameroon](/source/Cameroon), [Central African Republic](/source/Central_African_Republic), [Republic of the Congo](/source/Republic_of_the_Congo), [Democratic Republic of the Congo](/source/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo), [Gabon](/source/Gabon), and [Nigeria](/source/Nigeria). This species was [first described](/source/Species_description) by British zoologist [Richard Bowdler Sharpe](/source/Richard_Bowdler_Sharpe) in 1875 and named in honour of French naturalist [Eugène Louis Bouvier](/source/Eug%C3%A8ne_Louis_Bouvier).

## Description

The vermiculated fishing owl is a large, earless owl with a total length of 46 to 51 cm (18 to 20 in). The facial disc is a pale reddish-brown with an inconspicuous darker brown rim. The eyes are dark brown and the bill yellowish-brown with a darker tip. The crown is streaked with dark brown. The upper parts are cinnamon-brown finely marked with dark brown vermiculations. Across the shoulders, the outer webs of the feathers are whitish making a pale horizontal streak. The flight feathers and the tail feathers are barred. The underparts are whitish, heavily marked with dark streaks. The underwing and undertail coverts and the thighs are whitish and unstreaked. The legs and feet are yellow and unfeathered.[3]

## Distribution and habitat

The vermiculated fishing owl is [endemic](/source/Endemic) to a large area of tropical west-central Africa extending from southern Nigeria in the west to South Sudan in the east and northern Angola to the south. This bird is not migratory.[4] Its habitat is [gallery forests](/source/Gallery_forest) along rivers that are at least 10 m (33 ft) wide, and pools and flooded areas in forests; it sometimes occurs away from water.[3]

## Behaviour

The vermiculated fishing owl is nocturnal and fishes from a perch on a low branch beside a large river, snatching fish from the water and also feeding on frogs, crabs, small mammals, and birds.[3] In many places, crustaceans may be the most frequently eaten food. It roosts during the day in a tree near a river.[3][5] In southern Nigeria its favourite food appears to be *[Clarias](/source/Clarias)* catfish which have primitive lungs and rise to the surface periodically to breathe.[6]

Its voice is a low, croaking hoot, followed by four to eight [staccato](/source/Staccato) notes. A pair of owls often sing in duet, and being a fairly common species, several pairs of owls can sometimes be heard from the same locality.[3][5]

Breeding takes place from May to at least October and possibly later. The courtship involves much vocal duetting and the nesting site may be a pre-existing large stick nest. Little is known of the bird's breeding biology, but is probably similar to that of [Pel's fishing owl](/source/Pel's_fishing_owl) (*Scotopelia peli*). The young are slow to mature.[3]

## Status

The vermiculated fishing owl has a very wide range in tropical west-central Africa amounting to a total area of about 3,333,000 km2 (1,287,000 sq mi). Within this range, the bird seems relatively common and the population trend stable, so the [international Union for Conservation of Nature](/source/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature) lists its conservation status as being of "[least concern](/source/Least_concern)".[4]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-iucn_status_12_November_2021_1-0)** BirdLife International (2018). ["*Scotopelia bouvieri*"](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689048/130158713). *[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List)*. **2018** e.T22689048A130158713. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22689048A130158713.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22689048A130158713.en). Retrieved 12 November 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Appendices | CITES"](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php). *cites.org*. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Konig2010_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Konig2010_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Konig2010_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Konig2010_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Konig2010_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Konig2010_3-5) König, Claus; Weick, Friedhelm; Becking, Jan-Hendrik (2010). [*Owls of the World*](https://books.google.com/books?id=o_fUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA349). Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 349. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4081-3578-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4081-3578-5).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BI_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BI_4-1) ["Vermiculated Fishing-owl *Scotopelia bouvieri*"](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=2235). BirdLife International. Retrieved 2015-03-10.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-HBW_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-HBW_5-1) ["Vermiculated Fishing-owl (*Scotopelia bouvieri*)"](http://www.hbw.com/node/55030). *Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive*. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Retrieved 2015-03-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Turk, Anthony (2000). ["Fishing Owls at Agenbode, Nigeria"](https://web.archive.org/web/20211203130623/https://www.africanbirdclub.org/bulletins/abc-bulletin-72-september-2000/fishing-owls-agenbode-nigeria). *African Bird Club Bulletin*. September (2): 107–108. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5962/p.309608](https://doi.org/10.5962%2Fp.309608). Archived from [the original](http://www.africanbirdclub.org/bulletins/abc-bulletin-72-september-2000/fishing-owls-agenbode-nigeria) on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2015-03-10.

Taxon identifiers Scotopelia bouvieri Wikidata: Q22235158 Wikispecies: Scotopelia bouvieri ADW: Scotopelia_bouvieri Avibase: E0D3E4C1BE311227 BioLib: 22514 BirdLife: 22689048 BOW: vefowl1 CoL: 4VY2J eBird: vefowl1 EoL: 1178315 EURING: 34830 GBIF: 2497871 iNaturalist: 19972 IRMNG: 10217760 ITIS: 555424 IUCN: 22689048 Observation.org: 72192 Open Tree of Life: 3595784 Species+: 8176 Xeno-canto: Scotopelia-bouvieri

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vermiculated fishing owl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculated_fishing_owl) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculated_fishing_owl?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.