Barn-owls (Tytonidae)
Eastern Grass-owl (Tyto longimembris) - HBW 5, p. 74
French: Effraie de prairie
German: Graseule
Spanish: Lechuza Patilarga
Other common names: Grass Owl(!), Australasian Grass-owl
Taxonomy: S[trix] Longimembris Jerdon, 1839, the Nilgiris, near Coonoor, India.
Forms superspecies with T. capensis, with which often considered conspecific. Variation within species poorly understood, owing to rarity of specimens from whole range. Several other forms previously separated racially (walleri, oustaleti, maculosa) now included in nominate longimembris, although Australian walleri perhaps warrants recognition due to plumage differences and sexual dimorphism; Guangxi Zhuang and Guangdong population (melli) merged with chinensis; chinensis itself sometimes included in pithecops, but probably.. View all taxonomy...
Forms superspecies with T. capensis, with which often considered conspecific. Variation within species poorly understood, owing to rarity of specimens from whole range. Several other forms previously separated racially (walleri, oustaleti, maculosa) now included in nominate longimembris, although Australian walleri perhaps warrants recognition due to plumage differences and sexual dimorphism; Guangxi Zhuang and Guangdong population (melli) merged with chinensis; chinensis itself sometimes included in pithecops, but probably better retained as separate race. Six subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- longimembris (Jerdon, 1839) - India, S Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar; Sulawesi, Tukangbesi Is (Kaledupa), Flores, Sumba and N, C & E Australia.
- chinensis Hartert, 1929 - SE China (SE Yunnan to Jiangsu) and Vietnam.
- pithecops (Swinhoe, 1866) - Taiwan.
- longimembris (Jerdon, 1839) - India, S Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar; Sulawesi, Tukangbesi Is (Kaledupa), Flores, Sumba and N, C & E Australia.
- chinensis Hartert, 1929 - SE China (SE Yunnan to Jiangsu) and Vietnam.
- pithecops (Swinhoe, 1866) - Taiwan.
- amauronota (Cabanis, 1872) - Philippines.
- baliem Ripley, 1964 - W New Guinea (Baliem Valley, Snow Mts).
- papuensis Hartert, 1929 - E New Guinea (C & SE ranges, Huon Peninsula).
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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3 birds in a row on a perch in a cage Locality Manila, Luzon, Philippines
Desmond Allen 12 February 2008 3 years ago 26 sec 3.1
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Eastern Grass-Owl, one of a pair that took up residence in the Magic Wood area, Laoting, some distance north of the species usua
Locality Hebei, China (Northern) (ssp chinensis)
Mark Andrews 12 May 2006 3 years ago 3.6 -
An individual standing on a field, among the grass.
Locality Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, Sulawesi (ssp longimembris)
Pete Morris 1 September 2007 20 weeks ago 3.3
- No sound recordings available yet
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