Scientific name: Bubo africanus
The spotted eagle-owl (Bubo africanus) is a medium-sized species of owl, one of the smallest of the eagle owls. The facial disk is off white to pale ochre and the eyes are yellow. It has prominent ear tufts, and the upper body is dusky brown, the lower parts off-white with brown bars. Prior to 1999 the spotted eagle-owl was considered conspecific with the greyish eagle-owl, but now it is classed as a separate species.
Occurs across sub-Equatorial Africa in most habitats, excluding sandy deserts and high grassland. It is most prolific in open scrub and low grassland, so long as it has suitable roost sites. It has also adapted to living with humans, occurring in many towns and cities in southern Africa, roosting in buildings and trees and using streetlights as perches.
It has an extremely varied diet - over 60 species have been recorded as prey. It mainly hunts at night, only rarely coming out in the day to follow Honey badgers to bee's nests. The type of food it eats varies greatly between different areas and habitats, although rodents, small birds and shrews typically form the bulk of it's diet. The following prey items have been recorded in its diet.
