ALLOCCO - Allocco, Photos and Habitat Allocco

ALLOCCO

Systematic framework

ALLOCCO

Order
Strigiformes

Family
Strigids

Gender
Circus

ALLOCCO - Distribution

THEowl it is a sedentary species widespread in Europe and Asia from Portugal to Korea and in North Africa. In Italy it is present throughout the peninsula, with the exception of a large part of Puglia, and in Sicily.

ALLOCCO - Where he lives

THEowl it frequents broad-leaved and mixed woods, alternating with large clearings that serve as hunting grounds, agricultural areas with the presence of rows, old trees and ruins, appurtenances of houses, parks and gardens, from the plains to the mountains up to altitudes of 1.400-1.500 m above sea level

ALLOCCO - Power supply

THEowl it feeds on small mammals (shrews, voles, mice, squirrels, dormice, etc.), birds of small and medium size, frogs, toads, fish, molluscs, insects. The wads, together with the undigested parts of the food that is rejected, vary in color from gray to black and may contain remains of soil and vegetables.

ALLOCCO - Behavior

THEowl it has nocturnal and crepuscular habits and during the day it stays on sheltered perches: cavities of rocks, ruins or trees. It is linked throughout the year to its territory, which it delimits with singing. It possesses a silent flight. It adopts rather various hunting techniques: depending on the case, it attacks the prey after having waited on a perch for the right moment or flying over the hunting territory with a zig-zag flight a few meters above the ground. Normally theowl snatches prey on the ground and occasionally in the air.

ALLOCCO - Reproduction

Reproductive period: theowl lays eggs between February and May; one brood a year. Nest: in the hollow of a tree or in a rocky ravine, on the ground in a position well protected by vegetation, in farmhouses and barns.

ALLOCCO - Eggs: usually 2-4

THEOwl hatching: 28-30 days. The incubation is carried out by the female at the laying of the first egg, so that the hatching is asynchronous. Parental care: the chicks are nests and fly off at the age of 5-6 weeks. Typically, only one or two young in the litter manage to complete development and achieve independence at the age of about 4 months.

ALLOCCO - Status and conservation

The species ofowl in Europe it is considered to be in a favorable state of conservation and its populations appear to be in progressive, constant increase in almost the entire distribution area.