Pel's Fishing Owl
Setswana Name: Morubisi
Scientific Name:
Scotopelia peli
The Pel's Fishing Owl is one of the largest African owls and does not have the ear tufts that are characteristic of many of the other owl species. The rusty brown colour feathers with dark brown spots together with this birds rarity have lead it to being nicknamed "The Leopard with Feathers". Sexes are alike although the male is slightly smaller than the female.
By day the Pel's Fishing Owl is usually found roosting on a large branch, deep within the cover of a leafy riverside tree and it will only fly out into the open if disturbed.
By night it emerges to perch boldly in the open, overlooking the water in search of any fish moving near the surface. It plunges into the water to grasp its slippery prey with the long talons and spiky soles of its feet and then returns to a perch to consume the prey or share it with its family.
The Pel’s Fishing Owl is something of an enigma with birders. This large ginger fishing owl is often extremely difficult to see. One of the highlights for birders travelling in Botswana is exploring wooded islands to stalk the rare Pel's Fishing Owl.
Reproduction
Synchronized calling, bowing displays and courtship feeding between the owls, increase prior to the breeding season. Two eggs are laid in a natural cavity in a large tree or the old nest of a Hamerkop. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for about five weeks, during which time the role of the male is to deliver food to his mate. Only one chick survives to fledge. The second-hatched dies of starvation within a few days through not being able to compete with its older sibling. The chick starts out small and sightless with sparse white down, but develops into a juvenile with a fluffy beige second down, some of which it retains over its adult-like wing and body feathers when it fledges after a ten week nesting period. The chick remains in the parental territory for up to a year, dependent on the adults for food that it solicits with eerie, drawn-out calls.
Habitat
Pels Fishing Owls are restricted to areas surrounding major river systems, occurring across sub-Saharan Africa. In Southern Africa, the bulk of its population is in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, but it also has populations thinly scattered across Zimbabwe, Mozambique, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo Province. It usually occupies swamps or large tropical rivers surrounded by riverine forest, but it may rarely move into small pans, waterholes or narrow streams. It is generally localized and uncommon, with only an estimated 100 breeding pairs in the Okavango Delta.
Food
The Pel's Fishing Owl is one of the few owls that feed on fish. It hunts exclusively at night, swooping down on its prey with its huge curved talons.
Owls can lift fish weighing up to 2kg straight out of the water. Baby crocodiles, frogs, crabs, and mussels are also occasional selections. The bird has long talons and spiny soles to deal with slippery fish, such as catfish. As the Pel's Owl is in direct competition with the Fish Eagle it hides in thick cover during the day and moves at night
