About the Vermiculated Fishing Owl
The vermiculated fishing owl is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found within riverine forest in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria. This species was first described by British zoologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1875 and named in honour of French naturalist Eugène Louis Bouvier.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The vermiculated fishing owl is a large, earless owl with a total length of 46 to 51 cm (18 to 20 in). The facial disc is a pale reddish-brown with an inconspicuous darker brown rim. The eyes are dark brown and the bill yellowish-brown with a darker tip. The crown is streaked with dark brown. The upper parts are cinnamon-brown finely marked with dark brown vermiculations. Across the shoulders, the outer webs of the feathers are whitish making a pale horizontal streak. The flight feathers and the tail feathers are barred. The underparts are whitish, heavily marked with dark streaks.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Vermiculated Fishing Owl lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Benin.
When to see the Vermiculated Fishing Owl
Peak activity in October · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
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