Family Typical Owls (Strigidae)

Least Concern

Dusky Eagle-owl (Bubo coromandus)

figure, drawing, illustration of Dusky Eagle-owl (Bubo coromandus)

Taxonomy

French: Grand-duc de Coromandel German: Koromandeluhu Spanish: Búho de Coromandel
Taxonomy:

Strix coromanda

Latham

, 1790,

Coromandel Coast, India

.

No obvious close relatives. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution
  • B. c. coromandus (Latham, 1790) – E Pakistan, N & C India and S Nepal E to Assam and Bangladesh; apparently this race also in E China.
  • B. c. klossi Robinson, 1911 – W & S Myanmar and S Thailand.

    • Descriptive notes

    48–53 cm; no data on body mass. Large, greyish owl with prominent ear tufts rounded at tips. Pale facial disc framed by narrow black lines; above, dark brown with... read more

    Voice

    Song a series of deep, accelerating croaking notes, “wo wo wo wo wo-wo-wowowo”,... read more

    Habitat

    Open, level areas with plenty of woodland, generally near water; riparian forest, old plantations,... read more

    Food and feeding

    Birds, especially crows (Corvus), but ranging from pigeons and doves, parakeets, coucals (Centropus) and coraciiforms to... read more

    Breeding

    Lays late Nov–Apr, mainly Dec–Jan, later in S; fledglings found from early Feb. Typically lays in old stick nest of raptor,... read more

    Movements

    Resident, aside from "straggling" of non-breeding birds. Old records from Peninsular... read more

    Status and conservation

    Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Little information (global population size and population trends unknown). Widespread but uncommon in India, more frequent... read more

    Recommended citation

    Holt, D.W., Berkley, R., Deppe, C., Enríquez Rocha, P., Petersen, J.L., Rangel Salazar, J.L., Segars, K.P., Wood, K.L. & Marks, J.S. (2019). Dusky Eagle-owl (Bubo coromandus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/55020 on 13 December 2019).