Predation has not been documented for Madagascar red owls.
Madagascar red owls are small owls, about a third smaller than common barn owls. One individual documented in 1997 weighed 323 g and had a body length of 27.5 cm. They are orange-red in color on the head, back, and stomach, though lighter underneath, and are speckled with black, sooty dots. They also have a short tail and an orangy-white to grey facial disk with blackish eyes. Males and females are similar in appearance, as are the juveniles though young tend to be brighter in color.
Average mass: 323 g.
Average length: 275 mm.
Average wingspan: 209 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
The lifespan of Madagascar red owls is unknown.
Madagascar red owls are known to live and hunt along forest edges, rice paddies, and tavies (areas of deforestation due to slash-and-burn farming techniques). They have been documented to inhabit elevations from sea level to 2000 m.
Diurnal roosting has been documented along rock ledges and cave entrances. It has also been noted that during diurnal roosting, Madagascar red owls were spotted with large leaves covering their heads. It has been suggested that weather may play a role in diurnal roost selection, as the area is known to receive substantial rainfall.
Range elevation: Sea level to 2000 m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest
Other Habitat Features: agricultural ; caves
They emit a screech that has been recorded to last 1.5 seconds. This screech is utilized when leaving their roost and in response to other Madagascar red owls. They also have been heard making a 'wok-wok-wok' sound followed by a single, brief, and loud alarm that differs from the previously emitted wok sound. Like all birds, Madagascar red owls perceive their environment through audio, visual, tactile and chemical stimuli.
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Madagascar red owls are considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a decreasing trend in population. This is due mainly to deforestation that not only destroys their habitat but the habitat of their prey as well. This deforestation is the result of commercial logging and uncontrolled burns associated with farming.
CITES: appendix i; appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
There are no known adverse effects of Madagascar red owls on humans.
There are no known positive effects of Madagascar red owls on humans.
Due to their reclusivity, nothing has been recorded regarding their relationships with other organisms on Madagascar beyond their dietary intake. Many owls play a significant role in population control of prey species.
Madagascar red owls are carnivores. Examination of pellets indicated that their diet consists of native insects, reptiles, and mammals in addition to introduced brown rats (Rattus rattus). 99% of their diet consists of prey ranging in weight from 12.8 g to 102.7 g.
Animal Foods: mammals; amphibians; reptiles; insects
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates)
Madagascar red owls (Tyto soumagnei) are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Previously they were thought to live strictly in the eastern and northeastern parts of the island, however a study in 2002 noted two sightings of Madagascar red owls in Kalambatritra Special Reserve in south central Madagascar. This extends their previously known range by 500 km to the south.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian
Other Geographic Terms: island endemic
There is no known information on mating systems for Madagascar red owls. However, their habits are presumed to be similar to those of barn owls (Tyto alba). They perform chasing courtship flights, in which the male leads the female. The male will show the female nesting sites as well as bring her food. Barn owls form monogamous pairs for life.
Very little is known about the reproductive habits of Madagascar red owls, due mainly to their reclusiveness. Only one nest has been described. It was found in a tree cavity 23 m above ground and contained two recently hatched individuals that appeared to stay in the area for four months. These chicks hatched in September and fledged 10 weeks later. In closely related barn owls (Tyto alba), the breeding season and brood size depends on food availability. In years with abundant resources, they have been known to lay two clutches. In lean years, clutch size decreases or some chicks may starve.
Average fledging age: 10 weeks.
Average time to independence: 4 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
No information is known about parental investment for Madagascar red owls. In closely related barn owls (Tyto alba), the female incubates the eggs and the male will forage and feed her during this time. Owlets are born altricial, with downy feathers and eyes closed. Both male and female barn owls tend the young.
The red owl (Tyto soumagnei) is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar red owl, Madagascar grass-owl and Soumagne's owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1876 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1993. It is currently listed as vulnerable because of habitat loss, but recent studies have determined it may have a wider range than first believed, though further research in distribution and ecology is required. It has possibly been overlooked because of its close resemblance to the closely related barn owl.
The red owl resembles the cosmopolitan barn owl but is smaller (27–30 cm) and has rich orange plumage with small black spots. It is known to live in humid evergreen forest and dry deciduous forest in the east of the island, being found in primary forest and in disturbed secondary forest (possibly even human altered open areas). It feeds on native small-mammals like tenrecs (Tenrecidae) and tufted-tailed rats (as opposed to the barn owl, which feeds on introduced species). It nests and roosts in tree cavities and along cliffs with dense vegetation.
The red owl is an orange-red color with small black spots. Their eyes are typically a sooty-black color, the beak is a pale grey, and the cere (a fleshy patch at the base of the upper mandible of the beak) is flesh-colored. Feet are a smoke-grey color. One individual collected was measured: weight of 323 grams, body length of 275 mm, unflattened wing-length of 209 mm, tail length of 100 mm, tarsus-length of 56.6 mm and width of 6.0 mm, and a beak length from the cere of 11.6 mm.
The call of the red owl is similar to that of the barn owl. They make a 1.5 – 2.0 second long screeching hiss that is an even frequency with a slight downward frequency towards the end. This slight decrease in frequency at the end of the call distinguishes the red owl from the barn owl.
The red owl will produce a call when leaving the roost site, immediately after leaving the roost site, and in response to other red owls throughout the night.
The observed range of the red owl has been evolving frequently with an increase in surveys and observation since its rediscovery in 1993. The first known nest found was in August 1995 near Ambanizana, Madagascar. Initial surveys restricted populations in the north and extreme east of the island. Recent sightings have ranged from northern Madagascar, along the eastern half of the island, and more recently in the extreme southeast lowlands of Tsitongambarika. The sightings cover a fairly wide altitudinal range, from sea level to 2,000 m. Because of this expansion in observed range, it has been proposed that the red owl may be more reclusive rather than extremely rare. This has been disputed, but if the overall number of individuals is low, whether due to patchy distribution and/or low population density, it is still appropriate to consider the species vulnerable or endangered. A conservative estimate of the current population is 3,500 – 15,000 individuals with a decreasing trend. A population towards the lower side of population estimate may be true based on the relatively few number of sightings throughout history despite more extensive survey work.
With wider distribution, the difficulty detecting the species may stem from these factors:
The red owl inhabits dry deciduous forests to humid evergreen forests. They prefer to roost on rock ledges in ravines and cave entrances that are near degraded primary and secondary vegetation. Roost sites are typically at least 3.7 m from the ground. The species appear to prefer areas along the forest edge and slightly to heavily disturbed habitat, including rice paddies and tavies (areas where the forest has been cleared and burned to make way for cultivation). Their home ranges, roost sites, and hunting range typically encompass this type of habitat. An individual red owl has never been recorded to be in a closed canopy forest or a mature forest stand.
The diet of the red owl has been determined from pellets and observation. They feed mostly on small mammals of the families Tenrecidae and Muridae that are native to the island. Prey species include insects, frogs, geckoes, tenrecs, afrosoricidians (Microgale spp., Oryzorictes hova), rodents (Eliurus spp., Rattus rattus), and the eastern rufous mouse lemur (Microcebus rufus). All species are native to Madagascar except the black rat (Rattus rattus). In one sampling of pellets, Tsingy tufted-tailed rats were 50% of the total prey mass of red owls in Ankarana. There is little to no evidence that red owls consume frogs in the wild, as they appear to prefer small mammals, but they will frequently eat frogs in captivity. Most of the prey species inhabit forests or can be found on the forest edge and in disturbed habitats.
There is almost no overlap in preferred diet between the red owl and the barn owl, despite physical similarities. Red owls eat mostly native species, while barn owls eat a greater number of introduced species.
The greatest threat to the red owl has been the increasing rate of deforestation and fragmentation of its forest habitat. Madagascar's forests are among the most biologically rich and unique in the world and close to 90% of the islands species live within or on the edge of these forests and woodlands. In the 1950s, 160,000 km2 of forest cover (as determined from analysis of aerial photographs) was present, 26% of which was dry forest, the prime habitat for red owls. By the 2000s, analysis of aerial photos showed a decrease in forest cover to 89,800 – 101,100 km2 with 90% accuracy. This represents a 41% reduction in dry forest area, with most clearing at the small scale along forest edges. Dry forests were the most fragmented forest type and increased the most in fragmentation from the 1950s – 1990s. This forest degradation presents a threat to red owls as well as the prey species, such as the Tsingy tufted-tailed rats, on which the owl depends.
The red owl (Tyto soumagnei) is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar red owl, Madagascar grass-owl and Soumagne's owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1876 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1993. It is currently listed as vulnerable because of habitat loss, but recent studies have determined it may have a wider range than first believed, though further research in distribution and ecology is required. It has possibly been overlooked because of its close resemblance to the closely related barn owl.
The red owl resembles the cosmopolitan barn owl but is smaller (27–30 cm) and has rich orange plumage with small black spots. It is known to live in humid evergreen forest and dry deciduous forest in the east of the island, being found in primary forest and in disturbed secondary forest (possibly even human altered open areas). It feeds on native small-mammals like tenrecs (Tenrecidae) and tufted-tailed rats (as opposed to the barn owl, which feeds on introduced species). It nests and roosts in tree cavities and along cliffs with dense vegetation.
