Asian Barred Owlet Glaucidium cuculoides Scientific name definitions

22–25 cm; male 150–176 g, female 240 g (n = 1) (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Fairly large owlet with no “false eyes” on nape; head grey-brown, barred buff; whitish eyebrows; upperparts dark brown, barred buff to fulvous; scapulars edged buff-white, forming row of spots down sides of back; tail and wings dark brown, barred; below, white patches on throat and middle breast, rest of underparts barred dark and light; iris yellow; bill yellow-green, darker on cere; feet greyish-yellow or dull horn-green. Distinguished from Athene brama by barred instead of spotted upperparts; from G. radiatum by larger size and darker coloration. Juvenile has breast streaked, not barred, and is more rufous on crown and mantle. E races more rufous , with lower underparts and flanks broadly streaked rufous on white.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

This and some other Old World owlet species placed in genus Taenioglaux by some recent authors (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 2 Mikkola, H. (2012). Owls of the World. A Photographic Guide. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Possibly closest to G. castanopterum; sometimes considered to include latter and G. castanotum as races. Subspecies name whiteleyi often misspelt as whitelyi. Some authors synonymize austerum with rufescens, deignani with bruegeli, and delacouri with whiteleyi (3 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (1999). Owls. A Guide to the Owls of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ). Eight subspecies recognized.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Open forest of pine and oak, subtropical evergreen jungle, scrub; sometimes in gardens and cultivated areas near human habitation (4 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volumes 1 and 2. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Uses variety of woodland types from lowland plains to submontane zone at c. 2100 m, occasionally up to 2700 m in Himalayas of N Pakistan (4 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volumes 1 and 2. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close , 1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Mainly resident. Makes elevational movements on S Himalayan slopes; may also make vertical movements in W Chinese mountains, descending to lowlands of Sichuan and river bottoms of W Hubei; possibly more extensive movements in NC China, where winter climate severe.

Eclectic diet; takes mainly insects, including beetles, grasshoppers and cicadas, but also frogs, lizards, rodents and small birds. Mostly diurnal. Hunts from perch , with undulating flight; catches birds such as Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) in air and insects in flight or on ground.

Male song a trill   lasting 7–14 seconds; also gives a series of squawks  . During breeding season, more musical, bubbling whistle, “wowowowowowowowo”; territorial song varied series of barking high notes; loud, clear “hooloo hoolo hoolo”, broadening to violent “kok kok”, ending with short, shrill “chiurr”.

Lays Apr–Jun in Nepal, Apr–May elsewhere; pair observed together throughout Mar–Aug; fledgling found in early Jul. Nest in unlined tree cavity; reported to kill barbets (Capitonidae) and woodpeckers (Picidae) to obtain nest cavity. Clutch size 4 eggs (3–5); mean size of 30 eggs 35·8 mm × 30·4 mm (1 König, C., F. Weick, and J.-H. Becking (2008). Owls of the World. Second Edition. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Both sexes said to incubate eggs and to feed young, but incubation by males unproven and highly unlikely.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Common over most of range. Tolerates human proximity; nests in fruit gardens near Bangkok, Thailand, and in coconut plantations; in China, occurs close to farmhouses and footpaths in rice fields. No estimate of global population size; well more than 10,000 pairs thought to occur in China (5 Brazil, M. (2009). Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia: Eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Opening of forests may actually improve conditions for species, and numbers are thought to be increasing as a result. Occurs in protected areas, e.g. Ailao Shan Nature Reserve, Yunnan, China (6 Wang, Z., C. Carpenter, and S. S. Young (2000). Bird distribution and conservation in the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan, China. Biological Conservation 92(1):45–57. Close ).