African Grass-Owl

About the African Grass-Owl

The African grass owl or simply grass owl (Tyto capensis) is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. The African grass owl resembles the barn owl and has a heart shaped whitish-cream facial disc, with a narrow yellowish-buff rim which is densely spotted dark. The eyes are brownish-black, and the bill is whitish to pale pink. The entire upperparts from the crown to the lower back and wing-coverts are a uniform sooty blackish-brown, with scattered small white spots and greyish flecks. The primary feathers and secondary feathers are pale brownish-grey with dark bars and yellow bases. The short tail has uniform brown central feathers fading to paler, almost white, outer feathers which show about four dark bars. The underparts vary in colour from whitish to buff marked with dark spots. The legs have whitish feathers which extend to the lower third of the tarsi. The lower leg and feet are slightly bristled and coloured pale yellowish-grey.

The body length is 38–42 cm (15–17 in), the wing length 283–345 mm (11.1–13.6 in) and they weigh between 355 and 520 g (12.5 and 18.3 oz). A high degree of sexual dimorphism is present, whereby the body mass and length is... Wikipedia →