Scientific name:
Aegolius funereus

Natural spread:
Northern Europe, North-Asia, North America

this up to the claws densely befiederten runs and toes gave the approximately 25 cm long rough-foot-codger its name. it frequently is confused with the stone-codger, differs through its more strongly distinctive veil with black Umrahmung, the longer tail and the linear flight from this, however.

Shape With a weight of 120 g, rough-foot-codgers are daintier than stone-codgers (180-190 g), works more massive through its dense plumage and the big head, however. The big outer ear-openings are lockable (as with the codgers and ear-owls usual) through movable cover-pleats, also the hearing-walks and even the skull-bones, which the orientation-fortune probably improves, are trained asymmetrical.

Way of life Dense needle-forests of Northern Europe, Nordasiens, the Himalayaregion and China, but also the Kaukasus and North America is the home of the rough-foot-codgers. Also in Central Europe (until France and Bulgaria), the birds live in the alto-wood-continuances of higher mountain-situations. The purely night-active rough-foot-codgers spend the day in dense coverage while they hunt smaller vertebrates, mainly Nager and shrews, from its "attendants" from after break-in of the darkness.

Reproduction Against winter-end, the male rough-foot-codgers often express its Balzrufe consecutively quite long until the daybreak until a female adjusts. From April (in southern areas) until June, the brood-pairs then cover tree-caves, usually Nisthöhlen of black-woodpeckers on whose grounds the 4-6 (sometimes up to 10) eggs are set aside. Only the female breeds them bedunten of giving birth only sparsely from the first egg on (Legeabstand 2 days), until after 25-36 days slips. They become extensively gehudert from the mother initially, while the male - also like during the brood -, who along-manages food. After 30-36 days, they leave the brood-cave and are looked after by the parents even further.

Hikes In general, rough-foot-codgers are stand-birds; occasionally, however bigger hikes, particularly from young animals, take place.