**3. Results**

#### **3.1 Timing and seasonality of the calls**

**Table 2** shows the hourly timing of 1955 calls listed for Barn Owls; Pearl-spotted Owls; Southern White-faced Owls; Northern White-faced Owls; and Spotted-Eagle Owls. Most of the Barn Owl calls (18% of all calls) in Malawi were heard between 18:00–19:00 h. and in The Gambia between 20:00–21:00 h. (18.6%). Daytime calling was recorded only in The Gambia. The similarity index between the timing of the Gambian and Malawian Barn Owls was low 0.34 (**Table 2**).

Pearl-spotted Owl's most active calling took place between 21.00 and 22:00 h. in Malawi (21%) and 18:00–19:00 in the Gambia (12%). In the much larger material from Malawi, also the daytime calls were recorded almost every hour of the day, while in The Gambia, there was a real break in the vocal activity between 08:00–16:00 (**Table 2**). Lack of daytime calls in The Gambia may explain the low similarity index between the two countries, 0.26.

In Malawi, the Southern White-faced Owl had the most active calling time 19:00–20:00 h. (20.6% of all calls), and no call was recorded between 05:00–18:00. In The Gambia, Northern White-faced Owl was most active in the small material between 03:00–06:00 with 42% of all calls. The similarity index between The Gambian and Malawian White-faced Owls is very low (0.18) (**Table 2**). This could be partly due to the generous size difference in the materials but could also support the species separation.

Spotted Eagle Owl material from Malawi was much larger but every night callings AM was hearing when preparing the dinner in the kitchen were not written down daily. However, even all noted calls show that Spotted Eagle Owl is the most active vocally between 18:00–19:00 h. (33% of all calls). No daytime calls were recorded between 05:00 and 18:00 h. (**Table 2**).

The seasonality of the vocal activity on the same owl species is presented in **Table 3**. Barn Owl was most vocal in April and November in Malawi and in July, August, and November in The Gambia but calls were heard all year round in both countries, especially when noting that June was not sampled due to the absence in the country. The breeding season of the Barn Owl in Malawi is May–November and September–April in The Gambia [7]. The similarity index between The Gambian and Malawian Barn Owls was a little higher in the months (0.42) than it was in the hours (0.34).

In Malawi and The Gambia, Pearl-spotted Owl was vocally active mainly in October and November, in Malawi (93% of all calls) and in The Gambia (64% of all calls). Interestingly, these months are not coinciding at all with the later presented breeding seasons for this owl neither in Malawi (August–September) nor in The Gambia (February–April) [7]. The similarity index was almost the same in the months as it was in the hours (0.21 vs. 0.26) (**Tables 2** and **3**).

In Malawi, the Southern White-faced Owl was heard almost entirely in November (95%), again not coinciding with the peak breeding season stated to be August [7]. In The Gambia, the Northern White-faced Owl had in this small material two clear peaks, one in January and the other in September and November (**Table 3**)—once more these months are not well in line with the listed breeding seasons [7]. The similarity index was almost nil (0.05) between these closely related species (**Table 3**).

In Malawi, Spotted Eagle Owl had two peak months, March (nearly 60% of all calls) and November (32%). These months are also outside the given breeding season limits, August–October, in Malawi [7].
