Nature » Fauna

Tengmalm's Owl

Aegolius funereus

Size: length 25 cm, wingspan 55-62 cm.

How long it lives: 16 years.

Habitat: mixed Silver Fir and Larch forests. In the Alps it may be found between 1,000 and 2,000 meters.

What it eats: above all small rodents: Voles may form the 90% of its diet.

Reproduction: the mating season goes from January to April. The male attracts the female with its gloomy call, he can also repeat 4,000 times per night. The female lays 3-7 eggs in tree holes, especially in those carved by the Black Woodpecker in Silver Firs and Larches.

Chicks: the eggs hatch in May-June, after about one month of incubation. The mother feeds the chicks, who leave the nest after a month, even if they stay with their parents for another six weeks to be fed while they learn to hunt.

Curiosities: its presence is linked to the Silver Fir and the Larch, where it nests, and to the Black Woodpecker, whose abandoned nests are used to lay eggs.

Remarks: it is a predator, hunting especially at night and in the thick of the wood, unlike many similar species that prefer hunting at the twilight in clearings and open spaces. For its "reserved" life style, you can generally hear only its nocturnal calls.

In the Park: Caiada, Zoldo, Valli Vescovà, Ardo, Grisol, Pramper, Rui Fret.