Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
this species (J. A. Tobias in litt. 1998). The species’s nocturnal
habits, presumed low density, close visual similarity to
Buffy Fish Owl, and uncertainty over which calls may be
shared with congeners make it difficult to identify, let alone
survey.
[• Ketupa ketupu Buffy Fish Owl]. Conservation Significance:
Little Known in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix II. Documented
Range and Habitat: Resident; south (potentially B2 ;
historically, provisionally B19 ). Forested streams and rivers and
perhaps other shaded areas with surface water. Status Information:
Fish owls either of this species or Tawny were
recorded in Xe Pian NBCA in 1992-1993 (Thewlis et al.
1996) and in Nakai Plateau and Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA in
1994 (Evans and Timmins 1998). The only historical claim
appears to be of a young bird taken at Ban Thateng (Bolaven
Plateau) on 16 December 1931 (Engelbach 1932). Fish owls
are difficult to identify to species (especially as young). The
other irregular identifications of this author (e.g. Black-billed
Malkoha, Blyth’s Hawk Eagle) urge that this record be
regarded as provisional unless the specimen can be traced.
The lack of understanding of the species’s status and the possibility
that its habitat is under elevated threat suggest that it
should be considered Little Known in Lao PDR.
• Strix seloputo Spotted Wood Owl. Conservation Significance:
Little Known in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix II. Documented
Range and Habitat: Resident; south (Robson 1997b).
Recent Lao records came from open deciduous forest and
isolated clumps of tall trees near major rivers, both in lowlands.
Status Information: One heard (provisionally) on the
Xe Kong plains (Xe Pian NBCA) on 3 March 1993 (Thewlis
et al. 1996) and one heard near Ban Hangkhon (Champasak
Province) in May 1997 (P. Davidson in Robson 1997b; PD).
Although there is yet neither specimen nor sight record from
Lao PDR, PD is familiar with the species’s calls from Thailand.
This species is likely to have a limited range in Lao
PDR. Habitat use is unclear and so the species is best considered
Little Known in Lao PDR.
Strix leptogrammica Brown Wood Owl. Resident; north (provisionally,
WGR; historically B21 ), centre B10 , south B2 . Evergreen
forests and evergreen patches and riverine strips within
deciduous forest. Altitudinal range in Lao PDR unclear;
recorded up to at least 1600 m. With few recent records, the
species’s conservation status should be reconsidered at regular
intervals. Special Significance: CITES Appendix II.
Glaucidium brodiei Collared Owlet. Resident; north B1 , centre,
south B2 . Evergreen forest across a wide altitudinal range,
at least locally down to 150 m. Special Significance: CITES
Appendix II.
106
Glaucidium cuculoides Asian Barred Owlet. Resident; north,
centre, south B2 . Forests (possibly commonest in mixed
deciduous), secondary growth, scrub, up to at least 1200 m.
Special Significance: CITES Appendix II.
Athene brama Spotted Owlet. Resident; centre, south B2 . Dry
dipterocarp and other open lowland forest. Special Significance:
CITES Appendix II.
Ninox scutulata Brown Hawk Owl. Resident; north, centre,
south B2 . Fragmented forests, cultivation; often hunts in open
areas and near water. Occurs up to at least 1050 m. Special
Significance: CITES Appendix II.
Asio otus Long-eared Owl. Winter visitor; north (historically,
David-Beaulieu 1948). Sole Lao record from a large
garden in Xiangkhouang on 21 October 1946 (David-
Beaulieu 1948). Special Significance: CITES Appendix II.
Asio flammeus Short-eared Owl. Winter visitor; north
(historically B21 ). Habitat in Lao PDR unknown, probably open
grasslands and wetlands. Special Significance: CITES
Appendix II.
Conservation Management and Research Proposed for Owls:
• Conservation of forested wetlands both within and outside
NBCAs, for fish owls and the large number of other
species they support.
• Surveys of nocturnal birds, with a focus on large owls, to
clarify which merit conservation intervention.
• National legal protection of all large owls from killing,
capture, nest-robbery and being kept in captivity.
• Monitoring and control of trade and keeping of small
owls.
• Investigation of international trade in owls; several species
were imported into Japan in the 1980s under CITES
documentation indicating Lao PDR as the point of origin
or export (Annex 2). Their true origin is unknown.
• Public awareness campaigns. Attitudes to owls vary
across the country and greater emphasis on the value of
some species as predators of crop pests would be valuable.
The existing WCS/CPAWM poster campaign to this
effect should be continued.
Batrachostomidae: Asian frogmouths (2 species)
Batrachostomus hodgsoni Hodgson’s Frogmouth. Resident
north B8 , centre B7 , south B12 . Evergreen forests, secondary
growth, generally over 900 m.
Batrachostomus javensis Javan Frogmouth (separated as
B. affinis Blyth’s Frogmouth by ^Sm). Resident; north, centre
(provisionally B14 ), south B11 . Forests and secondary growth