Ciccaba
virgata,
Strix virgata
Mottley joined our team in May 2009, and came as a ball of beige
coloured fluff, with large, blinking, black eyes. Irresistible
as a youngster, and appears to be of a very sweet and gentle disposition,
rather similar to our Tawny Owl. We await his maturity with interest,
as we discover his flying habits in the big Owl Barn.
Mottled
owls are found from Central America, south into South America,
inhabiting dry areas and forests up to 7500ft. Its habitat is
very extensive and diverse ranging from dry thorn forests to humid
evergreen jungles.
The
Mottled Owl is midsize, 13 - 15 inches in length and strictly
nocturnal. It has a varied diet consisting of large insects and
beetles, small mammals and birds, snakes, lizards, salamanders
and frogs. It is considered an opportunistic feeder, hunting mainly
from a perch, often along a forest edge, or through a clearing,
probably largely occupying the middle storey of the rainforest.
The Mottled Owl usually lays 1 to 2 eggs between February and
May. It generally nests in a hole in a tree or in the top of a
broken off palm and sometimes even in vacant nests of other birds.
These owlets grow rapidly, and are soon leaving their nest and
exploring the surrounding areas by 4-5 weeks old.
Mottley
is proving to be a fun little flier, very fast, and with instant
response. He glides long and fast through the barn, culminating
with a fast little flutter at the end of his flight. We so enjoy
his flying.
