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Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl

Strix aluco

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The Tawny Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl of woodland, parks and gardens across Europe to western Siberia and North Africa. It occurs in grey and rufous morphs, has large dark eyes and lacks ear tufts. It nests in tree holes and stays in its territory year-round. Strictly nocturnal, it flies silently and relies on superb hearing to find prey; its hooting is a classic night sound.

Did you know?

  • The classic “tu-whit tu-whoo” is a duet of the female's “ke-wick” and the male's hoot.
  • Its eyes are not more light-sensitive than ours – its asymmetric ears do most of the work.

Voice

Song
Call
Alarm call

About the species

Identification

A medium-sized owl with a round head without ear tufts, large dark eyes and a pale X-shaped pattern on the face. The plumage is densely streaked and barred, in grey and rufous morphs. It is stocky with a fairly short tail; it is smaller and more darkly patterned than Ural Owl and lacks the yellow eyes of Tengmalm's Owl.

Family

Strigidae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

brown, grey, white, black

About the habitat

Mature deciduous and mixed woodland, wooded edges, parks, gardens and farmland with large trees.

Diet

Mainly small mammals such as voles and mice, as well as birds – especially in towns – frogs, large insects and earthworms. Prey is usually taken by dropping from a perch.

Behaviour

Nocturnal, roosting by day in tree holes or dense foliage. It is sedentary and strongly territorial, and pairs may hold the same territory for years; young birds often struggle to find territories of their own. The male's quavering hoot and the female's sharp “ke-wick” form the familiar duet. It nests in tree holes, nest boxes or buildings and defends the nest fiercely.

Sources

Photo: Martin Mecnarowski (http://www.photomecan.eu/), CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strix aluco 3 (Martin Mecnarowski).jpg

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC776870, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/776870

Sound: Benoît Van Hecke, XC756160, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/756160

Sound: Benoît Van Hecke, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strix_aluco_-_Tawny_Owl_XC603209.mp3

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawny_owl

See also