Alternative Names: English (Rob 6): Grass Owl English (Rob 7): African Grass-Owl English: African Grass Owl German: Graseule French: Effraie du Cap Indigenous: isiKhova(Z),umShwelele(Z),Isikhova(X),Suunsu(K),Makgohlo(NS),Zizi(Sh),Sephooko(SS),Musoho(Ts),Lerubise(Tw),Scientific Explained: capense/capensis: Modern Latin, of the Cape. tyto: Greek tyt(, a kind of owl. Measurements: Length 34-37 cm; wing 325-342; tail 120-130; tarsus 70-78; culmen 19-23. Weight (8) 355-419,3-520 g. Bare Parts: Iris brown; bill white to pale pink; feet yellowish pink. Identification: Size medium; similar to Barn Owl, but dark brown above (Barn Owl light grey and tawny); below whitish with buffy breast (sometimes pale brownish; Marsh Owl always brownish below); upperparts and underparts contrast strongly (more so than in Barn Owl; hardly any contrast in Marsh Owl); white to pale brownish heart-shaped face contrasts with dark eyes (Marsh Owl has round pale brownish face with large dark circles around eyes, making eyes look huge); face narrowly rimmed blackish; bill white (black in Marsh Owl). Immature: Tawny buff on face and underparts. Chick: Downy white at first; later downy buff or golden brown. Voice: Usually silent; high-pitched churring hiss; muted shree toward intruder; repeated clicking interspersed with squeaks and snores while flying around hunting; resonant kroik-kroik near nest. Distribution: Sw Cape to Ethiopia, s Asia, Australia; in s Africa mostly confined to moister s and e parts, but recorded from Molopo Reserve, N Cape, NW of Vorstershoop, 1989. Status: Uncommon to rare; local and irregular; numbers declining because of habitat destruction. Red data book status in S Africa: Vulnerable. Habitat: Long grass, usually near water, vleis, marshes. Habits: Usually in pairs or small loose groups of 4-5 birds. Roosts on ground in rank grass, making well defined form where regurgitated pellets accumulate. Flushes reluctantly; flies up with legs dangling, soon dropping back into grass. Hunts by quartering low over grassland, dropping suddenly onto prey; rarely hunts from perch; mainly nocturnal, but occasionally hunts by day; prey usually eviscerated before being swallowed. Food: Mostly rodents (up to 97% of diet); in Transvaal mostly Vlei Rat Otomys irroratus of about 120 g; also shrews, elephant shrews, bats, young hares, birds, reptiles, frogs, insects; prey weighs up to 100 g. Breeding: Season: November to May in Zimbabwe, October to July in S Africa; mostly February to April. Nest: Flattened pad of grass at end of grassy tunnel in dense tuft; usually connected by other tunnels through grass to separate forms (Marsh Owl has only one form for nest). Clutch: (21) 3-3,9-5 eggs (rarely 6). Eggs: White; measure (44) 41,8 x 33,6 (39-45,3 x 31,3-35,8). Incubation: About 32 days, probably by female only; all eggs may hatch within about 24 hours, or on consecutive days. Nestling: About 35 days; fly at about 42 days; brooded and fed by female only at first, on food brought by male; later both parents hunt; postnestling dependence at least 30 days. Ref. Davidson, I.H. & Biggs, H.C. 1974. Ostrich 45:31. Earlé, R.A. 1978. Ostrich 49:90-91.