The Hairy-legged Fishing Owl is the largest owl in the world in terms of size, and it is an owl that mainly hunts fish. Formerly part of the genus ketupa , DNA studies after 2000 showed a closer relationship to the eagle owl , classifying it as a condor , hence its name , the Brinell eagle owl.
Realm: Animal kingdom Animalia
Phylum: Phylum Chordata
Order: Ornithischia Aves
Order: Owl Strigiformes
Family: Grebe family Strigidae
Genus: Bubo
Species: B. blakistoni
The hair-legged fishing owl is 71-77 cm long and has a wingspan of about 2 m.
Males weigh from 2.95 to 3.6 kg, while females weigh 2.95 to 4.6 kg.
Hairy-legged fishing owl in human proportions
On the surface, the hairy-legged fishing owl is a bit like a common eagle owl, but the color is grayer, the facial feathers are loose, and the ear clusters are broader, but they appear messy. The longitudinal stripes on the thorax and abdomen are light brown and lighter, with thick black longitudinal stripes on the back and a white throat. The iris is yellow.
The cries of the hairy-legged fishing owl come from the animal world
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The muffled cries that follow the audio are those of the woolly-legged owl.
It inhabits streams and river valleys in low-mountain broad-leaved forests, mixed forests and foot forest margins and shrublands, and also occurs in coastal and forest ponds, especially near forests and rivers in forest areas rich in aquatic animals and with good hiding conditions. Often perched on the trees by the river,
In the cold northern winter, it needs a wide enough unsealed river channel to feed and survive the long winter.
The woolly-legged fishing owl feeds mainly on a variety of aquatic organisms. The main type of prey is fish, and common prey includes barracuda, catfish, trout, and salmon. It is even possible to catch some large fish that weigh 2-3 times their own weight, and it has been observed that the hairy-legged fishing owl grabs a large prey with one foot and takes it to the shore.
During the season of abundant food, the diet of male hairy-legged fishing owl also contains shrimp, river crabs, frogs, small lizards, small fish, etc., while females usually prefer to prey on larger fish due to their large physical advantage.
During the cold winter months , its main prey objects are lamprey and salmon , and their juveniles.
The most common hunting method for the woolly-legged fishing owl is to wade through the shoals and wait on the banks of the river for the arrival of prey in the water. The maximum waiting time recorded can be more than 4 hours.
When attacking prey, the hairy-legged fishing owl either falls directly into shallow water to hunt, drags the prey to the shore to feed or grabs the prey to fly a short distance on the surface of the water. At the same time it does not reject ready-made carrion.
Although rarely preying on birds, there are examples of hairy-legged fishing owl preying on hazelnuts and various waterfowl in the relevant observation records. In Japan, hairy-legged fishing owl chasing night herons have even been observed.
The woolly-legged fishing owl is mainly active in the morning and evening hours, which is also different from the sea eagles that mainly hunt during the day and also fish for a living.
Nest of the hairy-legged fishing owl
Chicks of the woolly-legged fishing owl
But during the brooding season, the woolly-legged fishing owl is more observed hunting or brooding during the day. They even search for prey on the ground, and have been observed that they occasionally search for prey on the ground leaving a series of footprints.