Eastern Grass Owl

by John Gould

Title

Eastern Grass Owl

Artist

John Gould

Medium

Digital Art - Digital Reproduction

Description

The Eastern Grass Owl (Tyto longimembris), or Australian Grass Owl is a species of owl in the Tytonidae family. It is found in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Though some authorities consider this owl to be conspecific with the African Grass Owl, T. capensis, other consider it to be a valid species.

They feed predominantly on small rodents


The Eastern Grass Owl is a medium-sized owl, similar in size to the Barn Owl. Adult males measure 32 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) in length, while the larger female can measure from 35 to 42 cm (14 to 17 in). The wingspan is from 100 to 116 cm (39 to 46 in). The female weighs 460 g (16 oz) while the male weighs 400 g (14 oz). They have dark brown or tan upper parts with pale spots. They have black and tan bars on its wings and a very pale beak, feathered legs, and dark brown eyes. Like all tyto owls, it has a heart-shaped
facial disk with brown buff and a white bordering.


John Gould FRS (14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist and bird artist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates that he produced with the assistance of his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, London.

Uploaded

December 27th, 2013

Colors

Embed

Share

Tags