Fishing owl

Not to be confused with fish owl.

Fishing owl
Pel's fishing owl
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Scotopelia Bonaparte, 1850
Species
See text

Fishing owls form the genus, Scotopelia, of sub-Saharan African birds in the family Strigidae, the true owls. The genus is closely related to the genus Ketupa, and may be embedded within it.[1][2]

The genus contains three species:[3]

Genus Scotopelia – Bonaparte, 1850 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Vermiculated fishing owl	Scotopelia bouvieri Sharpe, 1875	Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Pel's fishing owl	Scotopelia peli Bonaparte, 1850	Nigeria, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Zaire, South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania and southwards to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and eastern South Africa.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Rufous fishing owl	Scotopelia ussheri Sharpe, 1871	Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone,	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU

References

1. Salter, J.F.; Oliveros, C.H.; Hosner, P.A.; Manthey, J.D.; Robbins, M.B.; Moyle, R.G.; Brumfield, R.T.; Faircloth, B.C. (2020). "Extensive paraphyly in the typical owl family (Strigidae)". The Auk. 137 (ukz070). doi:10.1093/auk/ukz070. hdl:2346/93048.
2. Wink, Michael; Sauer-Gürth, Heidi (2021). "Molecular taxonomy and systematics of owls (Strigiformes) - An update" (PDF). Airo. 29: 487–500.
3. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Owls". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 31 January 2022.