Biology

A nocturnal species, the Akun eagle-owl emerges at dusk from its daytime roost to hunt (2). Unlike many related owl species of the genus bubo, which are powerful predators of a variety of vertebrate species (2) (4), the Akun eagle owl apparently feeds almost exclusively on insects. Small feet and a relatively weak bill prevent it from tackling larger prey, so the Akun eagle-owl concentrates its hunting activities on beetles, cicadas and locusts, taking them on the wing or plucking them from foliage. Prey is then brought back to a perch and held in the feet, while being nipped it into small pieces with the bill (2). Little is known about the Akun eagle-owl's reproductive biology. In West Africa it appears to lay eggs around the period from November to January, and nestlings have been recorded in Liberia between February and April. Like some other eagle-owl species, the Akun eagle-owl constructs its nest on the ground (2).