Page 241 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

OWLS
Order Strigiformes Family Strigidae Species Strix aluco
Tawny Owl large, round obvious
facial disc
head

large black eye
pale spots and
bars on wings
brown back with
diagonal row of
white spots on
each side
short wings
and tail

ADULT

IN FLIGHT ADULT red-brown or pale, streaked
underside
grey-brown body
(downy juvenile
pale grey)
FLIGHT: strong, quite swift, but heavy, undulating; ADULT
deep, regular flappy wingbeats, short glides.
his is the owl that hoots after dark, but its vocal
Trepertoire is quite wide and a loud, yapping ke-wik is
heard more regularly through the year than the beautiful,
wavering hoot. It is often seen merely as a large, big-
headed silhouette, or a vague shape flying from a roadside
pole at night. Sometimes small birds mob it by day, giving
away its presence, or it can be found in trees or ivy
above splashes of white droppings. It can then be NIGHT HUNTER
Tawny Owls begin to call at dusk
watched quite closely with care and proves to be an but only start to hunt when it is
impressive and extremely beautiful bird. quite dark.
VOICE Loud, excited yapping notes, variations on
nasal ke-wick! or keeyip; long, musical, breathy,
quavering hoot, hoo hoo-hoooo hoo-ho-ho.
NESTING Hole in tree or building or in old stick
nest of crow or Magpie; 2–5 eggs; 1 brood;
April–June.
FEEDING Drops down to take voles, mice, rats,
frogs, beetles, and earthworms from ground; catches
many small birds as they are roosting or incubating
eggs at night.
SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRENCE
Resident almost throughout
URAL OWL
ear tufts see p.435 yellow eye Europe except Iceland, Ireland,
and N Scandinavia. In all kinds of
whiter face
orange larger and woodland and wooded areas such
eye greyer smaller as farmland with tall hedges and
trees, and large gardens with
conifers or evergreen broadleaves.
LONG-EARED OWL TENGMALM’S OWL Seen in the UK
see p.242 see p.241 J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 37–39cm (14 1 ⁄2 –15 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 94–104cm (37–41in) Weight 330–590g (12–21oz)
Social Family groups Lifespan Up to 10 years Status Secure
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