NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Pel's Fishing Owl
Scotopelia peli Bonaparte, 1850
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Pel's fishing owl (Scotopelia peli) is a large species of owl in the family Strigidae, found in Africa. It lives near rivers and lakes, and feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The species prefers slow-moving rivers with large, overhanging trees to roost in and forage from. It nests in hollows and the forks of large trees. Even though two eggs are laid, often only one chick is raised.
Wikipedia contributors, Pel's fishing owl; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:09:30.717962+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Scotopelia peli Bonaparte, 1850
- Name authority
- Bonaparte, 1850
- Common name
- Pel's Fishing Owl
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Strigidae
- Genus
- Scotopelia
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- subfamilyStriginae
- genusScotopelia Bonaparte, 1850
- speciesScotopelia peli Bonaparte, 1850
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Scotopelia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Rufous Fishing OwlScotopelia ussheri Sharpe, 1871 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Vermiculated Fishing OwlScotopelia bouvieri Sharpe, 1875 | StrigidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Strix peli Bonaparte (ex Temminck MS), 1850 Bonaparte (ex Temminck MS), 1850 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Bonaparte, & Carolo Luciano. (1850). Conspectus Generum Avium, Vol. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4VY2K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.