Introduction
The Little Sumba Hawk Owl is a small owl with no ear-tufts. It is also known as the Little Sumba Boobook or the Least Boobook.
Photo Gallery (2 pictures)
Information
Description: The face is Grey with white eye-brows, while the crown is greyish with fine barring.
The bill goes from horn to yellow at the tip. Eyes are yellow.
The throat is rufous with dark stripes and the lower breast is white with dark stripes. Upper parts are light brown with fine, widely spaced dark brown
stripes. Scapulars are white.
The underside of the flight feathers are barred rufous and cream, and the upperside is barred rufous and dark brown. The tail has 12-13 dark brown bars
on a light rufous-brown background.
The legs are feathered on the front down to the toes, but almost bare on the back. The toes have bristly feathers on the top. Feet are yellow, as are the
claws, which have have a grey-black tip.
Size: One specimen: Body Length 23cm. Wing length 176mm. Tail Length 100mm. Weight 90g.
Voice: Single, low, whistled "who" repeated every 3 seconds.
Hunting & Food: Unknown.
Breeding: Unknown.
Habitat: Primary and Secondary forest of around 600m elevation.
Distribution: Endemic to the island of Sumba in the Lesser Sundas, Indonesia.
Range of the Little Sumba Hawk Owl Ninox sumbaensis
Status: Listed as Endangered by Birdlife International.
Original Description: Olsen, Wink, Sauer-Gurth & Trost. 2002. Emu, 102, p. 223-231.
