Owls in Our Region Owls in Our Region

IN APRIL I GAVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE DAYTIME AVIAN HUNTERS THAT YOU MIGHT SEE IN OUR AREA OF FRANCE, THIS MONTH, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE NIGHT-TIME PREDATORS

Of course, that is because we just don’t see them most of the time. We are all safely tucked up in bed when they come out to hunt, and we awaken long after they have nested down for the day. Still, they are out there, and we should know about them.

Last year (in October to be precise) I told you about owls. This was chiefly nonspecific; a sort of general look at owls, how they work, what good eyesight and hearing they have, how they hunt and so forth. There were some jolly pictures of assorted owls, but nothing to tell you what species you might see.

The first thing to note is that, in France, there are two divisions of owls, while England only has the one. In school you learned that an owl was “l’hibou”. Well, it is, but that is an owl with ear-tufts, such as the Long-eared and Short-eared Owls. These are, of course, not ears at all; they just look as if they might be. In fact, they are feather-tufts that the owl uses chiefly to signal what sort of mood it’s in. In some cases (such as the Short-eared Owl) they are almost invisible.

The other sort of owl is in fact the sort that most of us know, with no ear-tufts and a nice rounded head. This is “la chouette”. Mostly we hear this as an exclamation of joy – “Chouette, Léon! C'est mon mari! Y a plus besoin d'nous cacher”, as the young lady said to her paramour when she saw that le fiacre had given her aged husband his quietus! How we get from that to an owl I don’t know.

All but one of the owls that we shall be looking at are classed as Strigidae (which just means “Owls”). One, the Barn Owl, is classed with the Tytonidae, which means “Barn Owls”. The differences are not striking; details of skeletal form and claw-shape. But for the English-speaking non-ornithologist, they are all “Owls”. I shall deal with those you are most likely to see.

The Barn Owl

ByMikeGeorge

In France, there are two divisions of owls, while England only has the one

Mike George is our regular contributor on wildlife and the countryside in France. He is a geologist and naturalist, living in the Jurassic area of the Charente

Let us look at the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) (Fr: Chouette effraie, Effraie des clochers) first, because it is the one we are likeliest to notice. While they normally feed at night, these birds may well be seen at dusk or even earlier, especially when the demands of a hungry brood are paramount. Their flight, like that of all owls, is totally silent; a whisper of sound might betray their approach to an alert prey, and would interfere with their sound location systems. Owls hunt by sound far more than by vision. Indeed, they can locate and hunt in total darkness. This makes it all the more eerie when a Barn Owl suddenly lets out its alarm call. It is an eldritch shriek, raucous and frightening. This gives them their alternative English name, the Screech Owl, and may account for the “effraie” part of the French name. Even for an experienced naturalist, this sound can put

Strangely, I was used to seeing these birds quite frequently in Devon, and hearing their calls, but I have not encountered any since I came to France, although they are described as “Relatively common”.

Little Owl

The Little Owl Athene noctua (Fr: Chevêche d'Athéna) is a small bird, about the size of a blackbird, with a wingspan of slightly over half a metre. It has a slightly flattened top to its domed head, but has no ear-tufts. It is greyish with a slight suggestion of brown, and a light facial disc. It looks perpetually annoyed. They are also very aggressive. I hand-reared an almost-fledged chick for about a week, until it could be released, and every time I put my hand into its cage to feed it, it reared back on its tail (the creature was smaller than my fist) and threatened me with raised talons.

Little Owls are more crepuscular (twilightloving) than most owls, and will even hunt in the daylight. Their call is a repeated short, sharp mew, but quite loud. Their prey includes insects, earthworms, small mammals and birds, but they have been known to tackle a mink or stoat.

This bird, as its Linnaean and French names suggest, was sacred to the goddess Athena in ancient Athens, and used to feature on the city’s silver coinage. Athena was the goddess of wisdom, so this is the original wise old owl.

The Short-eared Owl the wind up you very effectively, especially if you happen to be in a graveyard or among lonely ruins! They are capable of other sounds, too – 18 have been identified – but these are mainly whistles, snarls, snores, grumbles etc, used during the nesting season.

The Barn Owl is a largish bird, with a wingspan of just under 1 metre. Its chef impression is of ghostly whiteness, though it is beautifully marked with pale brown flecks. It nests quite commonly alongside Mankind, in barns and lofts. I myself play host to a Barn Owl who hides in the roof of the barn in which I garage my car, upon which the owl obsessively defecates. Obscurely, I take some pride in this.

Barn Owls prey on small mammals and birds up to Starling size.

The Tawny Owl

This is the owl which we most often recognise from its call. It should be said that no single owl in the entire world makes the sound “Too-whit-too-whoo”, despite what Shakespeare says (Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act V, scene 2): Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-Whit, Tu-Whoo, a cheery note However, the Tawny Owl Strix aluco (Fr: Chouette hulotte) does produce such a sound, but only as a pair! The male utters a tremulous, drawn-out “Hoo-hou”, while the female replies with a sharp “Kee-wick”. It is in the nature of a contact call and response. There you have it: “Kee-wick –Hoo-hou”.

A Short-eared owl flew into the illuminated zone and entertained her with a series of pirouettes and swoops quite beyond what most owls can perform

The Tawny Owl is very slightly larger than the Barn Owl, but as its name suggests, it is brown in colour, with a brown facial disc. It mostly hunts at night, but may occasionally be seen sitting on a tree branch during the day. It preys on small mammals and birds, but may aspire to a squirrel or young rabbit.

The Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus (Fr: Hibou des marais) is roughly the same size as the Tawny Owl, and quite hard to distinguish from it. There is slightly more white about the facial disc. But, you may say, surely the ears distinguish it? Sadly, this owl only shows its “ears”, which really are quite short, when it’s agitated. Apart from that they are more or less invisible. One way to tell the two owls apart is that the Short-eared Owl is more tolerant of daylight. If you see a Tawny owl hunting in daylight, it may well be a Short-eared! Also its flight is far more inventive and athletic than the Tawny’s. My wife was in the garden in the early hours one morning (our dog had an upset tummy) with the outside light on. A Short-eared owl flew into the illuminated zone and entertained her with a series of pirouettes and swoops quite beyond what most owls can perform. Also, they can hover, rather like a kestrel, when hunting.

This owl generally doesn’t make any noise. It may emit a sort of cavernous-sounding “bou-bou-bou”, and has been known to bark. It feeds on small mammals and birds up to sparrow size, but may aspire to a young rabbit.

The Long-eared Owl

The Long-eared Owl Asio otus (Fr: Hibou moyen-duc) is very definitely eared. Again mid-brown in colour, but with a slightly heart-shaped facial disc, the ears are the defining characteristic. The ears are fully erect when the owl is excited or worried, held obliquely like cows’ horns when it is calm, and can be drooped horizontal (but still visible) when the bird is afraid. This owl is about the same size as a Tawny owl. The only similar prominently-eared brown owl is the Eagle Owl Bubo bubo (Fr: Hibou grand-duc), which is twice the size of the Long-eared Owl, and hardly ever seen in our part of France.

They are becoming increasingly urban, finding themselves the targets for Goshawks and Hiboux grands-ducs when living a rural life

The call of the male Long-eared Owl has been likened to the sound of wind blowing across the open top of an empty bottle. The female’s vocalisation has been likened to the sound of a kazoo. Reportedly the chicks can sound like a non-ceasing car alarm. Not the sort of residents one would want nesting in one’s garden. In fact, they are becoming increasingly urban, finding themselves the targets for Goshawks and Hiboux grands-ducs when living a rural life.

Their own prey is insects, small mammals, and birds up to finch size.

The Scops Owl

The Scops Owl Otus scops (Fr: Petit-duc scops) is normally regarded as an eastern Mediterranean and middle-eastern bird. In our part of France it is regarded as a moderately rare nester - indeed it is right at the western end of its nesting range here. It is noted for its repeated, short, fluting call, which can be mistaken for the call of the Midwife Toad, and for its bizarre ear-tufts, which stand up like huge horns on top of its head, but which it can retract until they are almost invisible. It is tiny, even marginally smaller than the Little Owl, and preys on insects, earthworms, spiders and the very smallest mammals and birds.

These are all the owls listed as nesting in our part of France. One textbook persists in including the Eagle Owl as a nester, but I am very wary of that. Most list it as an occasional (and rare) migrant. If you see any other of the recognised European owls (Tengmalm’s Owl, the Pygmy Owl, the Hawk Owl and especially the Snowy Owl), please don’t tell me. My nocturnal owlwatching days are over!

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