Strigidae

Barking owl Ninox connivens, copyright Dash Huang.

Belongs within: Strigiformes.
Contains: Ninox novaeseelandiae, Athene, Glaucidium, Otus, Asio, Strix, Bubo, Megascops.

The Strigidae, typical owls, include all the living owls except the barn and grass owls. Members of this family have a round facial disc and relatively larger eyes than the barn owls, and lack a grooming claw on the middle toe. Historically, the typical owls have been divided between two sufamilies. The Striginae were characterised by a well-defined facial disc, and ear openings at least half the height of the skull, with a marginal dermal flap and a ligamentous or muscular bridge crossing the opening. The Buboninae, in contrast, lacked a strong facial disc and had smaller, simple ear openings. Recent phylogenies, however, have not supported this division, with the 'Striginae' being polyphyletic within the 'Buboninae'. Instead, the hawk-owls of the genus Ninox may diverge basally within the Strigidae; these relatively long-winged and -tailed owls are found in Asia and Australasia. Other genera include the boreal and saw-whet owls of the genus Aegolius, small, short-tailed and broad-winged owls with well-developed facial discs found in cooler regions of the Holarctic. Athene, the little owls, are also small, short-tailed species, but with less marked facial discs, found in Eurasia, north Africa and the Americas.

<==Strigidae [Bubonidae, Bubonina, Buboninae, Striginae]
    |--Ninox Hodgson 1837 JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |  i. s.: N. affinis JT12
    |    |         N. burhani JT12
    |    |         N. ios JT12
    |    |         N. jacquinoti JT12
    |    |         N. meeki JT12
    |    |         N. natalis JT12 [=N. squamipila natalis M03]
    |    |         N. ochracea JT12
    |    |         N. odiosa JT12
    |    |         N. punctulata JT12
    |    |         N. sumbaensis JT12
    |    |         N. superciliaris JT12
    |    |         N. theomacha JT12
    |    |         N. variegata JT12
    |    |--N. philippensis BKB15
    |    `--+--N. scutulata BKB15
    |       |    |--N. s. scutulata CC10
    |       |    |--N. s. japonica M03
    |       |    `--N. s. lugubris [incl. *N. nipalensis] CC10
    |       `--+--+--N. rufa BKB15
    |          |  |    |--N. r. rufa CC10
    |          |  |    |--N. r. humeralis [=Athene humeralis, *Rhabdoglaux humeralis] CC10
    |          |  |    |--N. r. meesi M03
    |          |  |    `--N. r. queenslandica M03
    |          |  `--N. strenua JT12 [=Athene strenua CC10, *Berneyornis strenua CC10]
    |          `--+--+--N. boobook (Latham 1802) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |             |  `--N. rudolfi BKB15
    |             `--+--N. connivens (Latham 1801) BKB15, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
    |                |    |--N. c. connivens (see below for synonymy) WS48
    |                |    `--N. c. peninsularis M03
    |                `--+--N. novaeseelandiae BKB15
    |                   `--N. squamipila JT12
    `--+--+--Micrathene whitneyi JT12
       |  `--+--Aegolius Kaup 1829 JT12, M02 [incl. Nyctale Brehm 1831 B94; Nyctalinae]
       |     |    |  i. s.: A. ridgwayi JT12
       |     |    |--A. funereus (Linnaeus 1758) JT12, M02 (see below for synonymy)
       |     |    |    |--A. f. funereus I92
       |     |    |    `--A. f. pallens (Schalow 1908) I92
       |     |    `--+--A. acadicus JT12
       |     |       `--A. harrisii JT12
       |     `--+--Athene JT12
       |        `--+--‘Glaucidium’ capense JT12
       |           `--+--Glaucidium JT12
       |              `--Surnia Duméril 1806 BKB15, M02 [Surniinae]
       |                   |--S. capeki Jánossy 1977 M02
       |                   |--s. doliata (Pall. 1811) [=Strix doliata] M01
       |                   |--S. robusta Jánossy 1977 M02
       |                   `--S. ulula JT12
       `--+--Otus JT12
          `--+--+--Asio JT12
             |  `--Ptilopsis BKB15
             |       |--P. granti JT12
             |       `--P. leucotis BKB15 [=Otus leucotis JT12]
             `--+--Strix BKB15
                `--+--Bubo BKB15
                   `--+--+--Megascops BKB15
                      |  `--+--Psiloscops flammeolus DW16 [=Otus flammeolus JT12]
                      |     `--‘Megascops’ nudipes DW16
                      `--+--Lophostrix cristata JT12
                         `--Pulsatrix BKB15
                              |--P. koeniswaldiana JT12
                              |--P. melanota JT12
                              `--P. perspicillata JT12
                                   |--P. p. perspicillata S55
                                   `--P. p. saturata S55

Strigidae incertae sedis:
  Mioglaux Mlíkovský 1998 M02
    |--*M. debellatrix Mlíkovský 1998 M02
    `--M. poirrieri (Milne-Edwards 1863) [=Bubo poirrieri] M02
  Intulula Mlíkovský 1998 M02
    |--*I. tinnipara Mlíkovský 1998 M02
    `--I. brevis (Ballmann 1969) [=Strix brevis] M02
  Alasio Mlíkovský 1998 M02
    `--*A. collongensis (Ballmann 1972) [=Strix collongensis] M02
  Speotyto cunicularia RN72, A61
  Rhinoptynx clamator S18
  Ciccaba S18
    |--C. albogularis S55
    |--C. huhula S55
    |--C. nigrolineata S55
    |--C. virgata S55
    |    |--C. v. virgata FS55
    |    `--C. v. centralis FS55
    `--C. woodfordi S55
         |--C. w. woodfordi S55
         `--C. w. umbrina S55
  Sceloglaux Kaup 1848 CC10
    `--*S. albifacies (Gray 1844) [=Athene albifacies, Ieraglaux albifacies, A. albifrons Taylor 1870] CC10
         |--S. a. albifacies [incl. Athene ejulans Potts 1871, Strix haasti Buller 1865, Strix haastii] CC10
         `--S. a. rufifacies Buller 1904 CC10
  Margarobyas lawrencii DW16
  Nesasio solomonensis FP64
  Scotopelia JT12
    |--S. bouvieri JT12
    |--S. peli A61
    `--S. ussheri JT12
  Badiostes Ameghino 1894 A94
    `--*B. patagonicus Ameghino 1894 A94
  Uroglaux dimorpha JT12
  Xenoglaux loweryi JT12
  Heteroglaux blewitti JT12
  Jubula lettii JT12
  Gymnoglaux lawrencii JT12

Aegolius funereus (Linnaeus 1758) JT12, M02 [=Strix funerea M02; incl. Athene noctua veta Jánossy 1974 M02]

Ninox Hodgson 1837 JT12, CC10 [incl. Berneyornis Mathews 1916 CC10, Hieracoglaux Kaup 1848 CC10, Ieraglaux Kaup in Jardine 1852 CC10, Rhabdoglaux Bonaparte 1854 CC10, Spiloglaux Kaup 1848 CC10; Ieraglaucinae]

Ninox boobook (Latham 1802) BKB15, CC10 [=Strix boobook CC10, N. novaeseelandiae boobook CC10, *Spiloglaux boobook CC10]

Ninox connivens (Latham 1801) BKB15, WS48 [=Falco connivens CC10, *Hieracoglaux connivens CC10, *Ieraglaux connivens CC10]

Ninox connivens connivens (Latham 1801) [incl. N. connivens addenda Mathews 1912, N. connivens occidentalis Ramsay 1886] WS48

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A94] Ameghino, F. 1894. Sur les oiseaux fossiles de Patagonie et la aune mammalogique des couches a Pyrotherium. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino 15 (11–12): 501–602.

[A61] Austin, O. L., Jr. 1961. Birds of the World: A survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families. Paul Hamlyn: London.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[DW16] Dantas, S. M., J. D. Weckstein, J. M. Bates, N. K. Krabbe, C. D. Cadena, M. B. Robbins, E. Valderrama & A. Aleixo. 2016. Molecular systematics of the New World screech-owls (Megascops: Aves, Strigidae): biogeographic and taxonomic implications. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 94: 626–634.

[FS55] Felten, H., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Zur Vogelfauna von El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (1–2): 9–19.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[M01] Madarász, J. 1901. Madarak [Vögel]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 21–39. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[M03] Morcombe, M. 2003. Field Guide to Australian Birds 2^nd ed. Steve Parish Publishing.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 2. Blandford Press: London.

[S55] Steinbacher, J. 1955. Über die Schwanzmauser der Eulen (Strigidae) und Nachtschwalben (Caprimulgidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 36: 235–240.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Strix

Brown wood owl Strix leptogrammica, copyright Prateik Kulkarni.

Belongs within: Strigidae.

Strix is a genus of medium-sized to very large owls lacking external ear-tufts, found widely in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.

<==Strix Linnaeus 1758 M02 (see below for synonymy)
    |--+--+--S. occidentalis JT12
    |  |  `--S. virgata JT12
    |  `--+--S. rufipes JT12
    |     `--S. varia JT12
    `--+--+--S. butleri BKB15
       |  `--S. woodfordii BKB15
       `--+--+--S. leptogrammica JT12
          |  `--S. nebulosa BKB15
          `--+--S. aluco Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
             |    |--S. a. aluco RN72
             |    |--S. a. sylvatica RN72
             |    `--S. a. wilkonskii RN72
             `--+--S. davidi JT12
                `--S. uralensis JT12

Strix incertae sedis:
  S. albitarsis JT12
  S. asio Linnaeus 1758 L58
  S. atricapilla P89
  S. chacoensis JT12
  S. dakota FP64
  S. edwardsi Ennouchi 1930 [=Tyto edwardsi] M02
  S. fulvescens JT12
  S. huhula JT12
  S. hylophila JT12
  S. ignota Milne-Edwards 1871 [=Tyto ignota, Asio ignotus] M02
  S. nigrolineata JT12
  S. nyctea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  S. ocellata JT12
  S. otus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  S. seloputo JT12
  S. ulula Linnaeus 1758 L58
  S. wintershofensis (Ballmann 1969) [=Otus wintershofensis] M02

Strix Linnaeus 1758 M02 [incl. Ptynx Blyth 1840 B94, Syrnium Savigny 1809 B94, Ulula Cuvier 1816 B94; Syrniinae, Ululinae]

Strix aluco Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 [=Syrnium aluco CC10, Smyrnium (l. c.) aluco CC10; incl. Strix intermedia Jánossy 1972 M02, *Strix stridula Linnaeus 1758 B94]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[P89] Parona, C. 1889. Sopra alcuni elminti di Vertebrati birmani raccolti da Leonardo Fea. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2^a, 7: 765–780.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 2. Blandford Press: London.

Ninox novaeseelandiae

Morepork Ninox novaeseelandiae, copyright Jake Osborne.

Belongs within: Strigidae.

Ninox novaeseelandiae, the morepork, is a small owl found between eastern Indonesia and New Zealand, named for its two-toned call. Overall coloration is dark brown more or less spotted and barred white and/or rufous; the eyes are surrounded by a dark mask with pale rims.

<==Ninox novaeseelandiae (Gmelin 1788) (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |--N. n. novaeseelandiae (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |--N. n. albaria Ramsay 1888 HR96, CC10 [=N. boobook albaria CC10]
    |--N. n. arida Mayr 1943 WS48
    |--N. n. cinnamomina Hartert 1906 CC10
    |--N. n. fusca (Vieillot 1817) CC10
    |--N. n. halmaturina Mathews 1912 CC10
    |--N. n. leucopsis (Gould 1838) CC10
    |--N. n. lurida De Vis 1887 CC10 [=N. boobook var. lurida DV87]
    |--N. n. marmorata (Gould 1846) [=Athene marmorata] WS48
    |--N. n. mixta Mathews 1912 [=N. boobook mixta] WS48
    |--N. n. moae Mayr 1914 CC10
    |--N. n. ocellata (Bonaparte 1850) CC10
    |--N. n. plesseni Stressemann 1929 CC10
    |--N. n. pusilla Mayr & Rand 1935 CC10
    |--N. n. remigialis Stresemann 1930 CC10
    |--N. n. rotiensis Johnstone & Darnell 1997 CC10
    `--N. n. undulata (Latham 1802) (see below for synonymy) CC10

Ninox novaeseelandiae (Gmelin 1788) [=Strix novaeseelandiae, Athene novaeseelandiae, A. novazealandiae, Ieraglaux novaezealandiae, Ninox novaezealandiae, Spiloglaux novaeseelandiae, S. novaezealandiae] CC10

Ninox novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae (Gmelin 1788) [incl. Strix fulva Latham 1790, Strix novaeseelandiae maculata Kerr 1792, Noctua venatica Peale 1848, Spiloglaux novaeseelandiae venatica, Noctua zelandica Quoy & Gaimard in Dumont d’Urville 1830] CC10

Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata (Latham 1802) [=Strix undulata, N. boobook undulata; incl. N. boobook royana Mathews 1912, Spiloglaux novaeseelandiae royana] CC10

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[DV87] De Vis, C. W. 1887. On new or rare vertebrates from the Herbert River, north Queensland. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1129–1137.

[HR96] Heather, B. D., & H. A. Robertson. 1996. The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Viking: Auckland.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Strigiformes

Oriental bay owl Phodilus badius, photographed by Mark Andrews.

Belongs within: Anomalogonatae.
Contains: Tyto, Striginae.

The Strigiformes contain the owls. Living owls are mostly nocturnal, carnivorous birds with large, forward-facing eyes, soft plumage and hooked beaks (Austin 1961).The stem group of the Strigiformes is represented in the Palaeogene of Europe and North America by the families Protostrigidae and Sophiornithidae; crown-group owls differ from the stem group in the presence of a medial tubercle on the proximal tarsometatarsus, and a particularly slender humerus (Mayr 2005). The Protostrigidae are characterised by a greatly widened median condyle on the tibiotarsus, and had the first and second toes strongly developed (Mayr 2005).

<==Strigiformes [Nocturni, Striges]
    |  i. s.: Ornimegalonyx oteroi WH02
    |         Mascarenotus HSS13
    |           |--M. grucheti HSS13
    |           |--M. murivorus HSS13
    |           `--M. sauzieri HSS13
    |--Protostrigidae M05
    |    |--Protostrix mimica FP64
    |    |--Oligostrix Fischer 1983 M05
    |    |    `--*O. rupelensis Fischer 1983 [=O. rupeliensis] M02
    |    `--Eostrix Harrison 1980 M05
    |         |--*E. minima (Wetmore 1938) [=Protostrix minima] M02
    |         `--E. vincenti Harrison 1980 M02
    |--Sophiornithidae M05
    |    |--Sophiornis Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M05
    |    |    `--*S. quercynus Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M02
    |    |--Berruornis Mourer-Chauviré 1994 M05
    |    |    `--*B. orbisantiqui Mourer-Chauviré 1994 M02
    |    |--Palaeotyto Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M05
    |    |    `--*P. cadurcensis Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M02
    |    `--Palaeobyas Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M05
    |         `--*P. cracrafti Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M02
    `--+--Tytonidae [Tytoninae] M05
       |    |--Tyto MMJ03
       |    |--Basityto Mlíkovský 1998 M02
       |    |    `--*B. rummeli Mlíkovský 1998 M02
       |    |--Necrobyas Milne-Edwards 1892 [incl. Paratyto Brodkorb 1970; Necrobyinae] M02
       |    |    |--*N. harpax Milne-Edwards 1892 [incl. N. rossignoli Milne-Edwards 1892] M02
       |    |    `--N. arvernensis (Milne-Edwards 1863) (see below for synonymy) M02
       |    |--Prosybris Brodkorb 1970 M02
       |    |    |--*P. antiqua (Milne-Edwards 1869) [=Strix antiqua; incl. Necrobyas minimus Mourer-Chauviré 1987] M02
       |    |    `--P. media (Mourer-Chauviré 1987) [=Necrobyas medius] M02
       |    `--Phodilus Geoffroy St.-Hilaire 1830 [=Photodilus (l. c.); Phodilinae, Photodilinae] B94
       |         |--P. badius RN72
       |         |    |--P. b. badius RN72
       |         |    |--P. b. arixuthus RN72
       |         |    |--P. b. assimiles RN72
       |         |    |--P. b. parvus RN72
       |         |    `--P. b. saturatus RN72
       |         `--P. prigoginei DL94
       `--Strigidae [Selenornithinae] M05
            |  i. s.: Sceloglaux albifacies (Gray 1844) W04
            |           |--S. a. albifacies HR96
            |           `--S. a. rufifacies HR96
            |         Rhynoptynx MMJ03
            |         Nesasio solomonensis FP64
            |         Ciccaba S55
            |           |--C. albogularis S55
            |           |--C. huhula S55
            |           |--C. nigrolineata S55
            |           |--C. virgata S55
            |           |    |--C. v. virgata FS55
            |           |    `--C. v. centralis FS55
            |           `--C. woodfordi S55
            |                |--C. w. woodfordi S55
            |                `--C. w. umbrina S55
            |         Scotopelia JT12
            |           |--S. bouvieri JT12
            |           |--S. peli A61
            |           `--S. ussheri JT12
            |         Selenornis Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M02
            |           `--*S. henrici (Milne-Edwards 1892) [=Otus henrici, Asio henrici] M02
            |         Nocturnavis Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M02
            |           `--*N. incerta (Milne-Edwards 1892) [=Bubo incertus] M02
            |         Badiostes Ameghino 1894 A94
            |           `--*B. patagonicus Ameghino 1894 A94
            |         Uroglaux dimorpha JT12
            |         Xenoglaux loweryi JT12
            |         Heteroglaux blewitti JT12
            |         Jubula lettii JT12
            |         Gymnoglaux lawrencii JT12
            |--Striginae M02
            `--Palaeoglaux Mourer-Chauviré 1987 [Palaeoglaucinae] M02
                 |--*P. perrierensis Mourer-Chauviré 1987 M02
                 `--P. artophoron Peters 1992 M02

Necrobyas arvernensis (Milne-Edwards 1863) [=Bubo arvernensis, Buteo (l. c.) arvernensis, *Paratyto arvernensis; incl. Necrobyas edwardsi Gaillard 1939] M02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A94] Ameghino, F. 1894. Sur les oiseaux fossiles de Patagonie et la aune mammalogique des couches a Pyrotherium. Boletín del Instituto Geográfico Argentino 15 (11-12): 501-602.

[A61] Austin, O. L., Jr. 1961. Birds of the World: A survey of the twenty-seven orders and one hundred and fifty-five families. Paul Hamlyn: London.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1-281.

[DL94] Dinesen, L., T. Lehmberg, J. O. Svendsen, L. A. Hansen & J. Fjeldså. 1994. A new genus and species of perdicine bird (Phasianidae, Perdicini) from Tanzania, a relict form with Indo-Malayan affinities. Ibis 136: 2-11.

[FS55] Felten, H., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Zur Vogelfauna von El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (1-2): 9-19.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[HR96] Heather, B. D., & H. A. Robertson. 1996. The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Viking: Auckland.

[HSS13] Hirschfeld, E., A. Swash & R. Still. 2013. The World's Rarest Birds. Princeton University Press: Princeton (New Jersey).

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444-448.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515-542.

[MMJ03] Mayr, G., A. Manegold & U. S. Johansson. 2003. Monophyletic groups within ‘higher land birds’ – comparison of morphological and molecular data. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 41: 233-248.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 2. Blandford Press: London.

[S55] Steinbacher, J. 1955. Über die Schwanzmauser der Eulen (Strigidae) und Nachtschwalben (Caprimulgidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 36: 235-240.

[W04] Worthy, T. H. 2004. The Holocene fossil waterfowl fauna of Lake Poukawa, North Island, New Zealand. Tuhinga 15: 77-120.

[WH02] Worthy, T. H., & R. N. Holdaway. 2002. The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press: Bloomington (Indiana).

Tyto

Barn owl Tyto alba, photographed by Luc Viatour.

Belongs within: Strigiformes.

Tyto is a cosmopolitan genus containing the barn owls and grass owls. Tyto species have a heart-shaped facial disc and legs longer than their tail, with feathers down to the feet, short thigh feathers and a serrated comb on the claw of the middle toe. The barn owl Tyto alba has been treated as one of the most widespread of all birds, with populations on all continents except Antarctica, but some classifications divide barn owls between a number of species, such as the Australian barn owl T. delicatula and the American barn owl T. furcata. The name 'barn owl' derives from their common usage of barns as nesting sites. The grass owls include the African grass owl Tyto capensis and the eastern grass owl T. longimembris; these are long-legged species adapted for hunting in high grasslands. The masked owls T. novaehollandiae and T. castanops of Australia are similar in appearance to the barn owls but larger and more heavily built (Morcombe 2003).

<==Tyto Billberg 1828 (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |--+--*T. alba (Scopoli 1769) CC10, JT12, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |  |    |--T. a. alba CC10
    |  |    |--T. a. affinis L81
    |  |    |--T. a. guatemalae FS55 [=T. perlata guatemalae S18]
    |  |    |--T. a. guttata RN72
    |  |    |--T. a. insularis MS55
    |  |    |--T. a. lulu FST81 [=Strix flammea lulu S13]
    |  |    |--T. a. pratincola L81
    |  |    `--T. a. tuidara [incl. Strix perlata, *Glyphidiura perlata, *Strigymnnhemipus perlatus] CC10
    |  `--+--T. delicatula (Gould 1837) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |     `--+--T. bargei BKB15
    |        `--T. furcata BKB15
    `--+--+--T. capensis JT12
       |  `--T. longimembris (Jerdon 1839) JT12, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
       |       |--T. l. longimembris G45
       |       `--T. l. walleri G45
       `--+--+--T. castanops BKB15 (see below for synonymy)
          |  `--T. novaehollandiae (Stephens 1826) JT12, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
          |       |--T. n. novaehollandiae M03
          |       `--T. n. melvillensis M03
          `--+--T. multipunctata BKB15
             `--T. tenebricosa JT12

Tyto incertae sedis:
  T. aurantia JT12
  T. balearica Mourer-Chauviré, Alcover et al. 1980 M02
  T. cavatica SWK87
  T. gigantea Ballmann 1973 [incl. T. robusta Ballmann 1973] M02
  T. glaucops JT12
  T. inexspectata JT12
  T. javanica (Gmelin 1788) CC10
  T. manusi JT12
  T. nigrobrunnea JT12
  T. ostolaga BP87
  T. rosenbergii JT12
  T. sanctialbani (Lydekker 1893) [=Strix sanctialbani; incl. T. campiterrae Jánossy 1991] M02
  T. sororcula JT12
  T. soumagnei JT12

Tyto Billberg 1828 [=Hybris Nitzsch 1833; incl. Aluco Fleming 1822 non Link 1807, Dactylostrix Kaup 1852, Eustrinx Webb, Berthelot & Moquin-Tandon 1841, Flammea Fournel 1836, Glaucostrix Gray 1855, Glaux Blyth 1851 non Rylands 1836, Glyphidiura Reichenbach 1840, Scelostrix Kaup 1852, Stridula Selys-Longchamps 1842, Strigymnhemipus Des Murs 1853, Strix Savigny 1809 non Linnaeus 1758, Ulula Nitzsch 1829 non Cuvier 1816; Aluconinae, Flammeinae, Hybreinae] CC10

*Tyto alba (Scopoli 1769) CC10, JT12, CC10 [=Strix alba CC10, *Hybris alba CC10; incl. *Aluco flammea Linné 1766 CC10, B94, *Eustrinx flammea CC10, *Stridula flammea, *Strix flammea non Pontoppidan 1763 CC10, *Ulula flammea CC10, Strix melitensis Lydekker 1891 M02, Tyto melitensis M02, Strix vulgaris CC10, *Flammea vulgaris CC10]

Tyto castanops BKB15 [=Strix castanops CC10, *Dactylostrix castanops CC10, Tyto novaehollandiae castanops CC10]

Tyto delicatula (Gould 1837) BKB15, CC10 [=Strix delicatulus CC10, Aluco delicatula CC10, S. flammea delicatula S13, Tyto alba delicatula CC10; incl. T. alba alexandrae Mathews 1912 CC10]

Tyto longimembris (Jerdon 1839) JT12, WS48 [=Strix longimembris WS48, T. capensis longimembris CC10; incl. S. candida CC10, *Glaucostrix candida CC10, *Glaux candida CC10, *Scelostrix candida CC10, Tyto longimembris maculosa Glauert 1945 WS48]

Tyto novaehollandiae (Stephens 1826) JT12, WS48 [=Strix novaehollandiae WS48; incl. T. novaehollandiae kimberli Mathews 1912 WS48, T. novaehollandiae perplexa Mathews 1912 WS48]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[BP87] Burton, J. A., & B. Pearson. 1987. Collins Guide to the Rare Mammals of the World. Collins: London.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[FST81] Falla, R. A., R. B. Sibson & E. G. Turbott. 1981. Collins Guide to the Birds of New Zealand and Outlying Islands 2^nd ed. with addenda. Collins: Auckland.

[FS55] Felten, H., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Zur Vogelfauna von El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (1–2): 9–19.

[G45] Glauert, L. 1945. A Western Australian grass owl. Emu 44: 229–230.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[MS55] Mertens, R., & J. Steinbacher. 1955. Die im Senckenberg-Museum vorhandenen Arten ausgestorbener, aussterbender oder seltener Vögel. Senckenbergiana Biologica 36 (3–4): 241–265.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[M03] Morcombe, M. 2003. Field Guide to Australian Birds 2^nd ed. Steve Parish Publishing.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 2. Blandford Press: London.

[S13] Sarasin, F. 1913. Die Vögel Neu-Caledoniens und der Loyalty-Inseln. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 1 pp. 1–78, pls 1–3. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[SWK87] Snyder, N. F. R., J. W. Wiley & C. B. Kepler. 1987. The Parrots of Luquillo: Natural history and conservation of the Puerto Rican parrot. Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology: Los Angeles.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 10 August 2019.