Part 76

Yamashina (1938:1) gave the Palau Scops Owl the generic name, Pyrroglaux. Mayr (1944b:3) has reviewed this treatment and presents evidence to show that the name Pyrroglaux should not be recognized and that the bird correctly belongs in the genus Otus. He presents a detailed discussion to show its relationship to O. spilocephalus, and that the characters possessed by O. podarginus are no more different or unusual than those found in other members of this widespread genus. It is pointed out that the reduction of the feathering is probably caused by the change in habitat--from a colder one in Asia to a warmer, tropical one in the Palaus. The bird is probably derived from O. spilocephalus of Asia and Malaysia.

=Asio flammeus flammeus= (Pontoppidan)

Short-eared Owl

Strix Flammea Pontoppidan, Danske, Atlas, 1, 1763, p. 617, pl. 25. (Type locality, Sweden.)

Strix stridula Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, pp. 680, 696 (Mariannes); idem, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris, 6, 1825, p. 149 (Mariannes).

Otus brachyotus Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 18 (Mariannen?).

Asio accipitrinus Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 3 (Marianne); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 168 (Mariannes); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 51 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 44 (Mariannes); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); idem, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 263 (Tinian); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Tinian); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 88 (Marianen).

Asi accipitrimus Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 12 (Guam).

Asio flammeus sandwichensis Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 182 (Marianas).

Asio flammeus ponapensis Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Pagan).

Asio flammeus flammeus Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Marianas).

Geographic range.--Breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. Winters to tropics. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Tinian.

Remarks.--The Short-eared Owl was taken at Tinian by Quoy and Gaimard (1824:680, 696) and in recent years has been recorded at Pagan. The committee which prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka et al., 1942:202) writes that the bird taken at Pagan has a short wing (288) and indicates that it belongs to A. f. ponapensis. In the present work this bird is considered to be A. f. flammeus, a migrant from Asia; possibly, however, there is an unrecorded resident population of the Short-eared Owl in the northern Marianas, which may be closely related to A. f. ponapensis of Ponapé. Owls may have at one time been resident in the southern Marianas. At Guam, for instance, owls are well known to the native peoples, and there is suitable habitat for the owl in the extensive grassland areas of the island. Perhaps an owl was resident at Guam and at other islands but has been eliminated partly by the overgrazing and burning of the grassy habitats preferred by the owl.

=Asio flammeus ponapensis= Mayr

Short-eared Owl

Asio flammeus ponapensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 609, 1933, p. 1. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

Otus brachyotus Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 18 (Ponapé); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 283 (Ponapé); idem, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 47 (Ponapé); idem, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14 ser., 1900, p. 659 (Ponapé).

Asio brachyotus Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, 114 (Ponapé).

Asio accipitrinus Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 4, 1882, p. 367 (Strong's Island = Kusaie); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 3 (Ponapé); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 169 (Ponapi).

Asio flammeus sandwichensis Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 182 (Ponapé).

Asio flammeus ponapensis Kelso, Oölogist, 1938, p. 183 (Kusaie); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 170 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 291 (Ponapé).

Geographic range.--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé, Kusaie?

Characters.--Adult: a large, short-eared owl, dark brown above streaked with buff and lighter below streaked with dark brown. An adult female has upper parts dark brown, outer webs of feathers buffy to give a streaked appearance; rump pale buff, feathers edged subterminally with darker brown; scapulars like head and back; wing-coverts dark brown tipped and edged with splotches of buffy to buffy-rufous; primaries and secondaries brown with large spots of pale rufous; tail brown barred with whitish buff spots, webs with dark centers; forehead whitish tinged with buff; region below and behind eye dark; chin pale with rufous tinged sides; throat and breast rufous-buff with heavy streaks of brown, becoming narrower on abdomen and under tail; under wing-coverts buffy streaked with dark brown; auxilaries buffy; feathering of tibia and tarsus pale buff; bill dark slate; feet grey-brown; iris yellow.

Resembles A. f. flammeus, but wing shorter and color darker.

Measurements.--Mayr (1933:2) lists the following measurements for two adult females: wing, 295, 307; tail, 135, 139; culmen, 17, 17.5; and tarsus, 48, 51.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 2 females, from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Dec.).

Nesting.--Coultas (field notes) writes that the Short-eared Owl at Ponapé builds its nest in the grass on the ground. He did not observe the nest but received reports of it from the natives.

Remarks.--The owl at Ponapé has been known since the time of Kubary. Coultas, visiting the island in 1930, was the first naturalist to record very much concerning the habits. According to him (field notes) the bird inhabits the open grasslands of Ponapé and apparently has somewhat the same habits as other members of the species. He estimated the population in 1930 as two dozen or more. He found the birds extremely secretive during the daylight hours. They were observed flying over the patches of grassland at twilight and on moonlight nights. He comments that the catlike call of this owl is heard occasionally in the night. Richards writes (in litt.) that twice in late December, 1947, he saw this owl in a forested area near the summit of Jokaj Island (900 feet).