Typical Owls (Strigidae)

Buffy Fish-owl (Ketupa ketupu) - HBW 5, p. 194

French: Kétoupa malais German: Sundafischuhu Spanish: Búho Pescador Malayo
Other common names: Javan/Malay/Malaysian Fish-owl

Taxonomy: Strix Ketupu Horsfield, 1821, Java.
Genus Ketupa sometimes merged with Bubo, or treated as a subgenus; separated on basis of slight differences in skull morphology. Probably forms superspecies with K. flavipes, the two replacing each other geographically. Race minor sometimes incorrectly referred to as “buettikoferi”. Race aagaardi intergrades with nominate ketupu. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • aagaardi (Neumann, 1935) - S Assam to S Thailand and Vietnam.
  • ketupu (Horsfield, 1821) - Malay Peninsula, Riau Archipelago, Sumatra, Bangka, Belitung, Java, Bali, and Borneo (except NW).
  • minor Büttikofer, 1896 - Nias I, off W Sumatra.
  • pageli (Neumann, 1935) - NW Borneo.