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Definition: Asio

Part of Speech Definition
Noun 1. A genus of European owls.[Wordnet].

Source: WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

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Date "Asio" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1975. (references)

Common Expressions: Asio

Expressions Definition
Asio otus Slender European owl of coniferous forests with long ear tufts. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Genus Asio A genus of European owls. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
Otus asio Small North American owl having hornlike tufts of feathers whose call sounds like a quavering whistle. Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Expressions: Asio

Expressions Domain Definition
Asio flammeus Administration Short-eared owls are ground nesters. Most adult birds escape fire. Fire in early spring, before fledging occurs, probably kills some juveniles. Fire destroys some nests, but because many grass fires burn in a patchy pattern, some nests are skipped. Fire was historically an important disturbance in many of the plant communities short-eared owl occupy. It created grass patches within shrublands, maintained the open structure of parklands, and prevented woody plant invasion of marshlands and grasslands. Although much of short-eared owl decline can be attributed to urbanization, at least some is probably due to succession of open plant communities to closed ones as a result of fire suppression. Expansion of tree species into prairie, for example, has reduced short-eared owl habitat. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Abbreviations & Acronyms: Asio

The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted.
Entry Source Expression Field
ASIO English Australian Security and Intelligence Organization N/A
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Extended Definition: Asio

Asio

Asio or ASIO may refer to:

  • Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
  • Asio, a family of owls
  • asio C++ library, a programming library for asynchronous I/O
  • Audio Stream Input/Output, a protocol for low-latency digital audio

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Asio (disambiguation)". Image Credit.
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Extended Definition: Asio

Asio

Asio
Long-eared Owl
Long-eared Owl
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Asio
Brisson, 1760
Species

See text.

Asio is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in family Strigidae. The genus Asio contains the eared owls, which are characterised by feather tufts on the head which have the appearance of ears. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the Short-eared Owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands. Its geographic range extends to all continents except Antarctica and Australia.

These are medium-sized owls, 30-46 cm in length with 80-103 cm wingspans. They are long winged and have the characteristic facial disc.

The two northern species are partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of their range, or wandering nomadically in poor vole years in search of better food supplies. Tropical Asio owls are largely sedentary.

Asio owls are mainly nocturnal, but Short-eared Owls are also crepuscular. Most species nest on the ground, but the Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, nests in the old stick nests of crows, ravens and magpies (family Corvidae) and various hawks.

These owls hunt over open fields or grasslands, taking mainly rodents, other small mammals and some birds.

Species

  • Stygian Owl, Asio stygius
  • Long-eared Owl, Asio otus
  • African Long-eared Owl, Asio abyssinicus
  • Madagascar Long-eared Owl, Asio madagascariensis
  • Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus
  • Marsh Owl, Asio capensis
  • Striped Owl, Asio clamator - often placed in Pseudoscops or Rhinoptynx

Two fossil species are recognized nowadays:

  • Asio brevipes (Glenns Ferry Late Pliocene of Hagerman, USA)
  • Asio priscus (Late Pliocene of Santa Rosa Island, USA)

The supposed Late Eocene/Early Oligocene eared owl "Asio" henrici has been recognized as a member of the fossil barn-owl genus Selenornis. "Asio" pygmaeus (often misspelt pigmaeus) cannot be assigned to a genus without restudy of the material. "Asio" collongensis (Middle Miocene of Vieux-Collonges, France) is now placed in the genus Alasio.(Mlíkovský 2002)

References

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Asio". Image Credit.
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Topics by Level of Interest: Asio

Topics sorted by level of Interest Level (1=low, 600=high)     Topics sorted Alphabetically Level (1=low, 600=high)
Asio 9     Asio 9
Asio (alternative meanings) 2     Asio (alternative meanings) 2

Source: the editor, created by/for EVE to gauge likely levels of human interest in linguistically triggered topics (compiled across various sources, such as Wikipedia and specialty expression glosses).