Fraser's Eagle-Owl

About the Fraser's Eagle-Owl

Fraser's eagle-owl (Ketupa poensis) is a species of African owl in the family Strigidae. It is named after the British zoologist Louis Fraser. Fraser's eagle-owl was formally described in 1854 by British zoologist and collector Louis Fraser based on a specimen collected on the island of Bioko (formerly Fernando Po) off the coast of West Africa. Fraser placed the owl in the genus Bubo and coined the binomial name Bubo poensis. The specific name poensis is from the locality Fernando Po. Fraser's eagle-owl is now one of twelve species placed in the genus Ketupa that was introduced in 1831 by the French naturalist René Lesson.

Two subspecies are recognised: K. p. poensis (Fraser, 1854) – Sierra Leone to Uganda central DR Congo and north Angola K. p. vosseleri (Reichenow, 1908) – northeast Tanzania The subspecies K. p. vosseleri has sometimes been treated as a separate species, the Usambara eagle-owl.

Fraser's eagle-owl is a relatively small species of eagle-owl that has rather "fluffy" ear-tufts and a facial disc with a distinct dark rim. The upperparts are rufous and buffy brown, barred with darker bars, the pale scapulars have dark-edged outer webs which... Wikipedia →