Greyish Eagle-Owl

The Greyish Eagle-Owl or Vermiculated Eagle-owl (Bubo cinerascens) is a rather large owl of Africa.

It is closely related to the Spotted Eagle-Owl, of which is it sometimes considered the northern subspecies, B. africanus cinerascens.

It is found in the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa from Mauretania and Liberia east to Sudan and Somalia. Its habitats include dry rocky deserts and open savannah, as well as lowland forests in Somalia.

This species is about 43 cm (17 inches) long and weighs about 500 g (1.1 lb). Like the Spotted Eagle-Owl, the Greyish Eagle-Owl has mottled dark brown, buff, and white upperparts and finely barred (vermiculated) underparts giving a greyish-brown appearance. It differs from the Spotted Eagle-Owl in having dark brown (not yellow) eyes and a brownish facial disk marked with a heavy brown circle around each eye. It also has morphological differences, such as being lighter though about the same length and having shorter tarsi. In the area of overlap, the Spotted Eagle-Owl and the present species are not known to interbreed.