Spot-bellied eagle-owl
species of bird
The spot-bellied eagle-owl (Ketupa nipalensis), also known as the forest eagle-owl, is a large bird of prey with a formidable appearance. It is a forest-inhabiting species found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. This species is considered part of a superspecies with the barred eagle-owl (Ketupa sumatrana), which looks quite similar but is allopatric in distribution.
Taxonomy
The spot-bellied eagle-owl, like its close relative, the barred eagle-owl, is one of the species that would have to be moved into Ketupa if that genus is to be retained, according to mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data (Olsen et al. 2002). Unlike the "fish owls" that were also considered to be included in Ketupa, the barred and the spot-bellied species are not closely tied to riparian habitats and piscivorous eating habits. However, all eagle-owls and fish owls (as well as the snowy owl (Bubo scandianus)) were at one point deemed insufficiently distinct to warrant separate genera and until fairly recently authors generally treat all within the genus Bubo. Due to its forest-dwelling habits and some superficial characteristics, it has been wondered by some authors if the spot-bellied eagle-owl is related to the rainforest-dwelling eagle-owls of Africa, namely the Fraser's (Ketupa poensis) and similarly-sized Shelley's eagle-owl (Ketupa shelleyi). However, more extensive genetic research indicates paraphyly with no recent common ancestor between the Ketupa owls and the more "typical" Bubo owls. Therefore the Ketupa owls (including the spot-bellied eagle-owl) are now widely considered as belonging to a distinct genus.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q729676. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2002.
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This entry incorporates text from “Spot-bellied eagle-owl” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.