Richard Lim’s images of a spotted Wood Owl (Strix seloputo) sunning (left) raise two questions: do owls sun themselves and in the middle of the day at that.
According to Mark et al. (1999), although owls are considered nocturnal, not all species are active only during the night. There are species that hunt during the day and even nocturnal species will catch a prey if it happens to pass below its perch. However, Strix spp., of which the Spotted Wood Owl is one, are by and large nocturnal.
Mark et al. (1999) further state that owls indulge in the range of comfort activities observed in other groups of birds. Preening, scratching, dusting, stretching and even bathing can take place during the night, although it has been reported that bathing also occurs during the day. As for sunning, this can only take place in the day.
Richard’s observation of the Spotted Wood Owl sunning at noon is a valuable record.
Reference:
Marks, J. S., R. J. Cannings & H. Mikkola, 1999. Family Strigidae (Typical Owls). In: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (eds.), Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 5. Barn-owls to hummingbirds. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Pp. 76-242.
KF
Lovely!
horukuru
Heeee thanks for this 🙂
Twitter Trackbacks for Bird Ecology Study Group » Spotted Wood Owl sunbathing [talfrynature.com] on Topsy.com
[…] Bird Ecology Study Group » Spotted Wood Owl sunbathing besgroup.talfrynature.com/2010/04/20/spotted-wood-owl-sunbathing – view page – cached Richard Lim’s images of a spotted Wood Owl (Strix seloputo) sunning (left) raise two questions: do owls sun themselves and in the middle of the day at Tweets about this link Topsy.Data.Twitter.User[‘gul_ziyenne’] = {“location”:””,”photo”:”http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/286950340/werderente_zuschnitt_normal.jpg”,”name”:”Sonja Patzschke”,”url”:”http://twitter.com/gul_ziyenne”,”nick”:”gul_ziyenne”,”description”:”Reading is vital. So is doing pottery. I love cats and birds, and animals in general. I do as much gardening as my balcony allows- well, wait and see…”,”influence”:””}; gul_ziyenne: “RT @burdr: Cute!!! Spotted Owl Sunbathing via BESG http://bit.ly/a2ehJm #birding ” 20 minutes ago view tweet retweet Topsy.Data.Twitter.User[‘kerrifar’] = {“location”:”Blacksburg, VA”,”photo”:”http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/269225527/Pink_Flowers__069_06-13-09_normal.jpg”,”name”:”KerriFar”,”url”:”http://twitter.com/kerrifar”,”nick”:”kerrifar”,”description”:”Wife, Mom, Nature Lover…..enjoying life…living every minute”,”influence”:””}; kerrifar: “Sweeeeet! RT @burdr Cute!!! Spotted Owl Sunbathing via BESG http://bit.ly/a2ehJm #birding ” 21 minutes ago view tweet retweet Topsy.Data.Twitter.User[‘los_maestros’] = {“location”:”Texas, USA”,”photo”:”http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/780939397/Stephen_Cactus_normal.jpg”,”name”:”Stephen Pollard”,”url”:”http://twitter.com/los_maestros”,”nick”:”los_maestros”,”description”:”I’m Stephen Pollard. I lean to left; passionate about sustainability and wildlife issues; school administrator, weekend cyclist, music lover, hubby and dad. “,”influence”:””}; los_maestros: “@burdr RT Cute!!! Spotted Owl Sunbathing via BESG http://bit.ly/a2ehJm #birding| Everyone needs a little sun now and then. 🙂 ” 24 minutes ago view tweet retweet Topsy.Data.Twitter.User[‘birdnerdnews’] = {“location”:”New Zealand”,”photo”:”http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/773703136/baby_2_normal.jpg”,”name”:”Flit Sparrow”,”url”:”http://twitter.com/birdnerdnews”,”nick”:”birdnerdnews”,”description”:”Iâm just a Bird Nerd at heart. Continually learning, teaching others and bringing bird news to you from NZ and around the world.”,”influence”:””}; birdnerdnews: “RT @burdr: Cute!!! Spotted Owl Sunbathing via BESG http://bit.ly/a2ehJm #birding ” 25 minutes ago view tweet retweet Topsy.Data.Twitter.User[‘docforestal’] = {“location”:”CT, USA”,”photo”:”http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/502577954/icon_normal.JPG”,”name”:”Daniel Huber”,”url”:”http://twitter.com/docforestal”,”nick”:”docforestal”,”description”:”Beginning Birder, Husband/father,Naturalist wannabe, Newbie blogger, horticulturist, fresh and saltwater aquarist, animal lover”,”influence”:”Influential”}; docforestalInfluential: “RT @burdr: Cute!!! Spotted Owl Sunbathing via BESG http://bit.ly/a2ehJm #birding very cute ” 26 minutes ago view tweet retweet Topsy.Data.Twitter.User[‘burdr’] = {“location”:”North America”,”photo”:”http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/121478393/wood_duck_normal.jpg”,”name”:”burdr”,”url”:”http://twitter.com/burdr”,”nick”:”burdr”,”description”:”birds, birdwatching and everything in between”,”influence”:”Highly Influential”}; burdrHighly Influential: “Cute!!! Spotted Owl Sunbathing via BESG http://bit.ly/a2ehJm #birding ” 28 minutes ago view tweet retweet Filter tweets […]
Bird Ecology Study Group » Do owls preen and stretch during the day or night?
[…] earlier post reports a Spotted Wood Owl sunning itself in the middle of the day. Another reports a Buffy Fish […]
Nate
I looked this up because I saw an owl doing this exact thing the other day right outside of my apartment window. It was about 1:30pm and it was laying in a sunny area right on the edge of the woods just like that spotted one except the one I saw had it’s head all the way back so it’s beak was pointing straight up into the air and you really couldn’t see it’s head. My girlfriend took a couple pics of it laying there. I’m pretty sure it was a Barred owl, it’s tail looked kind of like a ruffed grouse tail all spread out.
Bird Ecology Study Group Save MacRitchie Forest: 18. Night birds
[…] The locally threatened Buffy Fish-owl (Ketupa ketupu) can be seen near the water edge of the reservoir (above). It also occurs outside of forests, in wooded parks and gardens. The other resident, the Spotted Wood-owl (Strix seloputo), is found under similar circumstances (below). Although owls are nocturnal by nature, they have been seen drinking and even bathing during the mornings and evenings, as seen HERE and HERE. A Spotted Wood-owl has even been seen sunning itself in the middle of the day HERE. […]