Bubo cinerascens
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The greyish eagle-owl or vermiculated eagle-owl (Bubo cinerascens) is a rather large owl of the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa. It was previously regarded as the northern subspecies of the spotted eagle-owl (Bubo africanus).
This species is about 43 cm (17 in) long and weighs about 500 g (18 oz). Like the spotted eagle-owl, the greyish eagle-owl has mottled dark brown, buff, and white upperparts and finely barred (vermiculated) underparts giving a greyish-brown appearance. It differs from the spotted eagle-owl in having dark brown (not yellow) eyes and a brownish facial disk marked with a heavy brown circle around each eye. It also has morphological differences, such as being lighter though about the same length and having shorter tarsi.
As the greyish eagle-owl was considered the northern form of the spotted eagle-owl until recently their vocalisations have not been well studied. The call of the male recorded in West Africa consisted of two clear syllables and has been rendered as "koo-whoo" where the "koo" part is rather explosive and the "whoo" is somewhat downward inflected, lower pitched and extended. This call is made every few seconds and is... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espace Rambouillet | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Kano Zoo | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 3 | Small Breeds Farm Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Audu Bako Zoo | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 5 | International Centre for Birds of Prey | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Le centre de soins des rapaces Espace Rambouillet | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Grayish Eagle-Owl sighting in Serrekunda on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 204th most-seen of the 213 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Grayish Eagle-Owl in Serrekunda on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grayish Eagle-Owl sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Serrekunda, in our data
Serrekunda is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Grayish Eagle-Owl sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Strigidae
The closest relatives of the Grayish Eagle-Owl that you can see in Serrekunda (family Strigidae, Typical Owls) are Northern White-faced Owl (about 10%) and Pearl-spotted Owlet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grayish Eagle-Owl is recorded against all the birds logged in Serrekunda (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
