African Spotted Eagle Owl

The African spotted eagle owl is the most common eagle owl in southern Africa.


They have a very large range across most of the continent.
They can catch prey on the wing as well as hunting from a perch which is more typical of this species.

  • Least Concern
  • Near Threatened
  • Vulnerable
  • Endangered
  • Critically Endangered
  • Extinct in the Wild
  • Extinct

Meet Scally!


Scally came from a private collection and is the eldest owl here at Hertfordshire Zoo. Scally is a charmer and a very chilled owl, who loves meeting and flying to guest during experiences. Everything scally does is with calm and ease and is very patient with her guests. Scally loves nothing more than sitting up high in her aviary watching people walk past and does a wonderful head wobble side to side when she sees her keepers. Her preferred food is chicks and mice, however African Spotted Owls may even eat reptiles in the wild.  Her colourings consist of dark brown with white spots covering her body, bright, big yellow coloured eyes with small feather tufts above them.

Key Facts

Family:
Strigidae
Diet:
Primarily small mammals, and occasionally birds, reptiles and amphibians
Height:
45cm
Life Span:
10 years wild | 30 years captivity
Number of Young:
2 - 4 eggs
Distribution:
Southern Africa, almost all of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Arabian Peninsula
Habitat:
Savannah, rocky outcrops, scrub, open and semi-open woodland, semi-deserts
Did you know?
These birds nest in scrapes on the ground

Experiences

Events

News

Stay up to date with events, experiences, zoo news and more with our newsletter

Social

Affiliation

Buy tickets
Book Tickets