Page 437 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

OWLS
Family Strigidae Species Strix uralensis Family Strigidae Species Nyctea scandiaca
Ural Owl Snowy Owl

This big,grey-brown owl has a longer tail than a Tawny A huge owl, big-headed and broad-winged, with a
(see p.239) or Great Grey Owl, a plainer, pale grey-buff tiny hint of ear tufts,the Snowy Owl is nearly all-white
face, and small dark eyes (with no white crescents).The (male) or white with narrow dark bars (female).Young
back has two lines of pale spots; the birds are mostly grey-brown. Barn Owls (see p.246) in
underside is white with dark streaks. car headlights can look big and white but Snowy
The wings are more uniform than Owls are giants, with a distinctive fast-up, slow-down
a Great Grey’s, although the tips wingbeat and a liking for remote landscapes.
are closely barred.Young birds OCCURRENCE Rare breeder in Iceland and yellow
are paler-faced and browner N Scandinavia; vagrant elsewhere. eye
than young Great Greys, VOICE Grating, chattering,
distinguished by their and barking notes.
eye colour.
OCCURRENCE Rare all-white
body
breeder in mountain forest
in E Scandinavia, NE MALE
Europe, and E Europe.
VOICE Deep, cooing
hoots, two, then two,
then three with pauses.
dark streaks
ADULT on pale
underside
long tail
Length 50–59cm (20–23in) Wingspan 1.03–1.24m (3 1 ⁄2 –4ft) Length 53–65cm (21–26in) Wingspan 1.25–1.5m (4–5ft)

Family Strigidae Species Surnia ulula Family Strigidae Species Glaucidium passerinum
Hawk Owl Pygmy Owl
As it perches on a treetop or,more especially,flies across This tiny owl is round-headed with no trace of “ear”
a forest clearing, this owl gives a hawk-like effect. tufts, and has a medium-length, narrow tail. It perches
It has a much bigger head, with a bold in the open in moderate light, revealing short white
black “frame”
black “frame” to the white face and eyebrows, yellow eyes, and a white underside with
to white
fierce yellow eyes; the back is dark, face heavy brown bars on the flanks and streaks in the
broadly smudged and spotted middle. In flight, it looks very small, rounded, and
with white.Young Hawk Owls woodpecker-like,both in shape
are darker and more uniformly and its undulating action.
grey. No other owl has the Young birds are darker
same big-headed, long- on the breast and crown.
tailed, upright shape OCCURRENCE Breeds in
of the Hawk Owl. Scandinavia,NE Europe,
OCCURRENCE Breeds Alps, and C European
in N Scandinavia in mountain forests.
boggy areas or VOICE Song is series
clearings in forest. of even, short, soft
VOICE Long, white whistles (little more
rapid, bubbling underside than a second apart).
with grey
song and fast, bars
chattering calls. brown-streaked
white underside
long tail
ADULT
ADULT
Length 35–43cm (14–17in) Wingspan 69–82cm (27–32in) Length 15–19cm (6–7 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 32–39cm (12 1 ⁄2 –15 1 ⁄2in)
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