Horned owl

{{Short description|Genus of birds (Bubo)}} {{redirect|Eagle owl|other uses|Eagle owl (disambiguation)}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Horned owls and eagle-owls | fossil_range = Late Pliocene to present | image = Bengalese Eagle Owl.jpg | image_caption = Indian eagle-owl (''Bubo bengalensis'') | taxon = Bubo | authority = Duméril, 1805 | type_species = ''Strix bubo'' | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text | synonyms = {{plainlist| * ''Huhua'' * ''Nyctea'' <small>Stephens, 1826</small> * ''Ophthalmomegas'' <small>Dejaut, 1911</small><ref>Possibly a junior synonym of ''Ketupa'', if that is a valid genus: Pavia (1999), Mlíkovský (2002, 2003).</ref> and see text }} }}

The American (North and South America) '''horned owls''' and the Old World '''eagle-owls''' make up the genus '''''Bubo''''', at least as traditionally described. The genus name ''Bubo'' is Latin for owl.

This genus contains 10 species that are found in many parts of the world. Some of the largest living Strigiformes are in ''Bubo''. Traditionally, only owls with ear-tufts were included in this genus, but that is no longer the case. [[File:White horned owl portrait.jpg|thumb|A Eurasian eagle-owl with a rat in its beak]]

==Taxonomy== [[File:Eagle(owl)-eye - modified.JPG|thumb|Detail of an eye of an eagle-owl]] The genus ''Bubo'' was introduced in 1805 by the French zoologist André Duméril for the horned owls.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Duméril | first=A. M. Constant | author-link=André Marie Constant Duméril | date=1805 | title=Zoologie analytique : ou, Méthode naturelle de classification des animaux; endue plus facile a l'aide de tableaux synoptiques | language=French | location=Paris | publisher=Allais | page=34 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12052585 }} The book bears the date of 1806 on the title page but was actually published in 1805. See: {{cite journal| last=Gregory | first=Steven M.S. | year=2010 | title=The two 'editions' of Duméril's ''Zoologie analytique'', and the potential confusion caused by Froriep's translation ''Analytische Zoologie'' | journal=Zoological Bibliography | volume=1 | issue=1 | pages=6–8 | url=https://iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Gregory_2010.pdf }}</ref> The type species is the Eurasian eagle-owl.<ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1940 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=4 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=110 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14476581 }}</ref> The word ''bubo'' is Latin for the Eurasian eagle owl and was used as the specific epithet for the species by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page = [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n179 179] }}</ref>

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 found that species in the genera ''Scotopelia'' and ''Ketupa'' were embedded within the clade containing members of the genus ''Bubo'' making the genus ''Bubo'' paraphyletic. To create monophyletic genera, nine species were moved from ''Bubo'' to ''Ketupa''.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Salter | first1=J.F. | last2=Oliveros | first2=C.H. | last3=Hosner | first3=P.A. | last4=Manthey | first4=J.D. | last5=Robbins | first5=M.B. | last6=Moyle | first6=R.G. | last7=Brumfield | first7=R.T. | last8=Faircloth | first8=B.C. | date=2020 | title=Extensive paraphyly in the typical owl family (Strigidae) | journal=The Auk | volume=137 | issue=ukz070 | doi=10.1093/auk/ukz070| doi-access=free | hdl=2346/93048 | hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2023 | title=Owls | work=IOC World Bird List Version 13.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/owls/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=31 January 2022 }}</ref>

===Species=== The genus contains 10 extant species:<ref name=ioc/> * Snowy owl, ''Bubo scandiacus'' – widespread in north North America and north Palearctic * Great horned owl, ''Bubo virginianus'' – widespread in the Americas * Lesser horned owl, ''Bubo magellanicus'' – central Peru to Tierra del Fuego * Eurasian eagle-owl, ''Bubo bubo'' – widespread in the Palearctic * Indian eagle-owl, ''Bubo bengalensis'' – Indian subcontinent * Pharaoh eagle-owl, ''Bubo ascalaphus'' – northwest Africa to Arabian Peninsula * Cape eagle-owl, ''Bubo capensis'' – south, southeast, east Africa * Arabian eagle-owl, ''Bubo milesi'' – southwest Saudi Arabia and southwest Yemen, northeast Yemen and southwest Oman, and north Oman (south Arabian Peninsula) * Greyish eagle-owl, ''Bubo cinerascens'' – Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and north Kenya * Spotted eagle-owl, ''Bubo africanus'' – Africa south of Equator

thumb|Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'')

Sometimes included in this genus: * Verreaux's eagle-owl, ''Ketupa lactea'' * Spot-bellied eagle-owl, ''Ketupa nipalensis'' * Barred eagle-owl, ''Ketupa sumatrana'' * Fraser's eagle-owl,''Ketupa poensis'' * Akun eagle-owl, ''Ketupa leucosticta'' * Philippine eagle-owl, ''Ketupa philippensis'' * Dusky eagle-owl, ''Ketupa coromanda'' * Shelley's eagle-owl, ''Ketupa shelleyi'' * Blakiston's fish owl, ''Ketupa blakistoni'' * Brown fish owl, ''Ketupa zeylonensis'' * Tawny fish owl, ''Ketupa flavipes'' * Buffy fish owl, ''Ketupa ketupu'' * Pel's fishing owl, ''Scotopelia peli'' * Rufous fishing owl, ''Scotopelia ussheri'' * Vermiculated fishing owl, ''Scotopelia bouvieri''

===Fossil record=== Named and distinct ''Bubo'' species are: * ''Bubo florianae'' (Late Miocene{{Verify source|date=November 2008}} of Csákvár, Hungary, tentatively placed here) * ''Bubo leakeyae'' (Early Pleistocene of Tanzania) * ''Bubo binagadensis'' (Late Pleistocene of Binagady, Azerbaijan) * ''Bubo osvaldoi'' (Pleistocene of Cuba)<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Arredondo | first1 = O | last2 = Olson | first2 = SL | title = A New Species of Owl of the Genus ''Bubo'' from the Pleistocene of Cuba (Aves: Strigiformes) | journal = Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. | volume = 107 | issue = 3 | pages = 436–444 | url = http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/1736/3/VZ_259_Cuban_Bubo.pdf | access-date = 2 December 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> * ''Bubo insularis'' (Pleistocene of Sardinia)

Some notable undescribed fossils of prehistoric horned owls, usually quite fragmentary remains, have also been recorded: * ''Bubo'' sp. (Late Pliocene of Senèze, France)<ref>Lambrecht (1933): p. 616</ref> * ''Bubo'' sp. (Late Pliocene of Rębielice Królewskie, Poland; tentatively placed here)<ref>Mlíkovský (2002)</ref> * ''Bubo'' sp. (Late Pleistocene of San Josecito Cavern, Mexico)<ref>A single bone of a large horned owl distinct from ''B. virginianus'': Steadman ''et al.'' (1994)</ref>

Specimen UMMP V31030, a Late Pliocene coracoid from the Rexroad Formation of Kansas (U.S.), cannot be conclusively assigned to either ''Bubo'' or ''Strix''. This fossil is from a taxon similar in size to the great horned owl (''B. virginianus'') or the great grey owl (''S. nebulosa'').<ref>Feduccia (1970)</ref>

The Sinclair owl (''Bubo sinclairi'') from Late Pleistocene California may have been a paleosubspecies of the great horned owl,<ref>Howard (1947)</ref> while the roughly contemporary ''Bubo insularis'' of the central and eastern Mediterranean has been considered a junior synonym of a brown fish owl paleosubspecies.<ref>Mlíkovský (2002, 2003)</ref> Additional paleosubspecies are discussed on the appropriate species page.

Several presumed ''Bubo'' fossils have turned out to be from different birds. The Late Eocene/Early Oligocene eared owls ''"Bubo" incertus'' and ''"Bubo" arvernensis'' are now placed in the fossil barn owl genera ''Nocturnavis'' and ''Necrobyas'', respectively. ''"Bubo" leptosteus'' is now recognized as primitive owl in the genus ''Minerva'' (formerly ''Protostrix''). ''"Bubo" poirreiri'' from the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene of Saint-Gérard-le-Puy in France, is now placed in ''Mioglaux''.

On the other hand, the supposed fossil heron ''"Ardea" lignitum'' from the Late Pliocene of Plaue-Rippersroda (Germany) was apparently an owl and close to ''Bubo'' or more probably actually belongs here. Given its age – about 2 million years ago or so – it is usually included in the Eurasian eagle-owl today.<ref>Olson (1985): p. 167, Mlíkovský (2002)</ref>

==Interactions with humans== Because of their nocturnal habits, most owls do not directly interact with humans. However, in 2015, an eagle owl in Purmerend, Netherlands, attacked some 50 people before it was caught by a hired falconer.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://nltimes.nl/2015/03/13/horror-owl-caught-purmerend-attacked-50-people | title = "Horror owl" caught in Purmerend; had attacked 50 people | date = 13 March 2015 | website = NL Times | access-date = 6 July 2021 }}</ref>

==Footnotes== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References== * {{cite journal|author=Feduccia, J. Alan|year=1970|title= Some birds of prey from the Upper Pliocene of Kansas|journal=Auk|volume=87|issue=4|pages= 795–797|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v087n04/p0795-p0797.pdf|doi=10.2307/4083714|last2=Ford|first2=Norman L.|jstor=4083714}} * {{cite journal|author=Howard, Hildegarde|author-link=Howard, Hildegarde|year=1947|title= A preliminary survey of trends in avian evolution from Pleistocene to recent time|journal=Condor|volume=49|issue=1|pages= 10–13|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v049n01/p0010-p0013.pdf|doi=10.2307/1364422|jstor=1364422}} * König, Claus; Weick, Friedhelm & Becking, Jan-Hendrik (1999): ''Owls: A guide to the owls of the world.'' Yale University Press, New Haven. {{ISBN|978-0-300-07920-3}} * Lambrecht, Kálmán (1933): ''Handbuch der Palaeornithologie'' [Handbook of Paleornithology]. Gebrüder Bornträger, Berlin. [in German] * Mlíkovský, Jiří (2002): [https://web.archive.org/web/20110520101755/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe'']. Ninox Press, Prague. * {{cite journal|author=Mlíkovský, Jiří|year=2003|title=Brown Fish Owl (''Bubo zeylonensis'') in Europe: past distribution and taxonomic status|journal=Buteo|volume=13|pages=61–65|url=http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-13-2003-bubo-zeylonensis.pdf|access-date=2008-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223329/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-13-2003-bubo-zeylonensis.pdf|archive-date=2007-09-27|url-status=dead}} * {{cite journal|author1=Olsen, Jery|author2=Wink, Michael|author3=Sauer-Gürth, Heidi|author4=Trost, Susan|year=2002|title=A new ''Ninox'' owl from Sumba, Indonesia|journal=Emu|volume=102|issue=3|pages=223–231|doi=10.1071/MU02006|bibcode=2002EmuAO.102..223O |s2cid=86526031|url=http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pdf-files/2002%20Pdf.Pubwink/17.2002.pdf|access-date=2006-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930232448/http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pdf-files/2002%20Pdf.Pubwink/17.2002.pdf|archive-date=2009-09-30|url-status=dead}} * Olson, Storrs L. (1985): The fossil record of birds. ''In:'' Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): ''Avian Biology'' '''8''': 79–238. Academic Press, New York. * {{cite journal|author=Pavia, Marco|year=1999|title=Un cranio di ''Bubo insularis'' Mourer-Chauviré & Weesie, 1986 (Aves, Strigidae) nelle brecce ossifere del Pleistocene di Capo Figari (Sardegna, Italia)|trans-title=A cranium of ''B. insularis'' from the Pleistocene ossiferous breccia of Cape Figari (Sardinia, Italy)|journal=Atti della Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, Classe di Scienze Fisiche, Matematiche e Naturali|volume=133|pages=1–10|language=it, en|url=http://www2.nrm.se/ve/birds/sape/GlobalOwlProject/Fossil_owls/Pavia%201999.pdf|access-date=2009-06-23|archive-date=2012-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925034803/http://www2.nrm.se/ve/birds/sape/GlobalOwlProject/Fossil_owls/Pavia%201999.pdf|url-status=dead}} * {{cite journal|author1=Steadman, David William |author2=Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquin |author3=Johnson, Eileen |author4=Guzman, A. Fabiola |year=1994|title= New Information on the Late Pleistocene Birds from San Josecito Cave, Nuevo León, Mexico|journal=Condor|volume=96|issue=3|pages= 577–589|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v096n03/p0577-p0589.pdf|doi=10.2307/1369460|jstor=1369460 }}

==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Bubo}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horned Owl}} Category:Bubo (genus) Category:Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril