The Owl Pages

Andaman Hawk Owl ~ Ninox affinis

Introduction

The Andaman Hawk Owl is a small to medium-sized brown owl with a rounded head and no ear-tufts. It is also known as the Andaman Boobook.

Photo Gallery (4 pictures)

  • Andaman Hawk Owl
  • Andaman Hawk Owl
  • Andaman Hawk Owl
  • Andaman Hawk Owl

Sound Gallery

Typical call - South Andaman. © Dave Farrow.

Information

Description: The facial disc is greyish. Eyes are yellow, cere is dull green and the bill is yellowish-horn, paler on the upper ridge and tip. The crown and mantle are plain brown with indistinct fine ochre vermiculations. The mantle has a rufous tint.
Upperparts are brown, with the outer webs of the scapulars having larger pale cinnamon-buffish areas. Flight and tail feathers are barred brown and buff, with the secondaries having a rufous tinge.
Underparts are pale brownish-buff, streaked chestnut-brown over the entire underside - these streaks appearing as long stripes from the neck to the belly. Tarsi are feathered to the base of the toes, which a bare or sparsely bristled, and coloured yellowish. Claws are blackish-horn.

Size: Length 25-28cm. Wing length 167-170mm. No weight data available.

Habits: Little known, probably similar to the Brown Hawk Owl.

Voice: A short, hollow, guttural, downslurred croak repeated at intervals of several seconds - crauwu.

Hunting & Food: The Andaman Hawk Owl feeds mainly on insects. This owl has been observed hawking moths and beetles in flight.

Breeding: The breeding biology of this owl is virtually unknown.

Habitat: Mainly lowland forest. Has been observed hunting in low secondary forest.

Distribution: The Andaman Hawk Owl is endemic to the Andaman Islands.

Range of Andaman Hawk Owl (Ninox affinis)
Range of the Andaman Hawk Owl Ninox affinis

Status: Listed as 'Least Concern' by BirdLife International.

Original Description: Beavan, Robert Cecil. 1867. Ibis, New Series, vol. 3, p. 316.

References: (may contain affiliate links)
BirdLife International. 2020. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN.
Boyer and Hume. 1991. "Owls of the World". BookSales Inc.
del Hoyo, Elliott & Sargatal. 1999. "Handbook of the Birds of the World: Barn Owls to Hummingbirds". Buteo Books.
International Ornithological Congress. 2023. "IOC World Bird List - Owls".
König, Claus & Weick, Friedhelm. 2008. "Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World (Second Edition)". Yale University Press.
König, Weick and Becking. 1999. "Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World". Yale University Press.
Voous, Karel H.. 1988. "Owls of the Northern Hemisphere". The MIT Press.
Ninox affinis at Xeno-canto.

See also: Other owls from Asia, Genus: Ninox.

Page by Deane Lewis. Last updated 2021-04-26. Copyright Information.