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Dominica Botanic Gardens
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    • Introduction to Website
    • A Brief History
    • Plan of Gardens
    • Contemporary Commentary
  • Botanic Gardens
    • Selected Trees and Shrubs
    • Medicinal Plants
    • Gardens Activities
    • Florida's Fairchild Garden
    • Parrot and Small Animal Sanctuary
    • Birds of the Gardens
    • Three Virtual Tours
    • Panoramic Views Today
    • Early Panoramic Views
    • Hurricane David's Ravages
    • Future Developments
    • Curators and Administrators
    • Reports and Documents
    • Getting Involved
    • Related Links
  • Hosted Sites
    • Honorees
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    • Cabinet Photos
    • Treasures of the Cathedral
    • Diaspora Policy Paper
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Birds of the Botanic Gardens

Barn Owl: Tyto alba; Local name: Owl, Chawan, Jombie Bird;
Family: Tytonidae (Barn Owls)

​Description: Large, long-legged, nocturnal owl, 30-43 cm long (12-17 in), the only owl on the island; is of a smaller race than the Barn Owls of the Western Caribbean; has flat, round or heart-shaped, tan face, with large, dark eyes, and short, creamish, hooked beak; upperparts are brown with black spots, lowerparts are tan with darker brown spots; has short, light brown tail with dark brown bars; wings also have dark brown bars; legs are short and feathered, with light brown, scaly feet; the Barn Owl hunts at night, feeding on small mammals, small birds, bats, small lizards and snakes, and large insects; males and females are similar; since it hunts at night, it is rarely seen in the Gardens, though the odd specimen might be seen in the gloom at the base of Morne Bruce along the Upper Garden Path; the Caribs believed if an owl flew over the village and screeched once, there would be a pregnancy; twice, an illness; and three times, a death; click  here  to see its video, and  here  to listen to its calls.

References:
Arlington James, et al. Dominica’s Birds. Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division, Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Dominica, 2005
James Bond. Birds of the West Indies. Collins, St James Place, London, 4th Edition, 1979
Herbert Raffaele, et al. Birds of the West Indies. Princeton Field Guides, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2003
Fred J. Alsop III. Birds of Florida. Smithsonian Handbooks, Dorling Kindersley, NewYork, 2002.
​​Gardens Introduction

​

Preface - How it Began
Introduction to Website
A Brief History
Plan of Gardens 
Contemporary Commentary​
​Trees, Shrubs, Birds

​
​
Selected Trees and Shrubs
Medicinal Plants
​
Gardens Activities
  Florida's Fairchild Garden
Parrot/Animal Sanctuary
Birds of the Gardens
Garden Views

​
​
Three Virtual Tours
Panoramic Views Today
Early Panoramic Views
 
Hurricane David's Ravages
Future Developments
Curators/Administrators
Reports and Documents
  
Getting Involved
Related Links
Sub-sites

​

Honorees
Island Scholars
Cabinet Photos
​​Treasures of the Cathedral

​Diaspora Policy Paper
​

Visit the DAAS  Website
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Copyright © -  Davison Shillingford, Clayton Shillingford and (the late) Raglan Riviere