Brown Fish Owl vs Buffy Fish Owl

Brown Fish Owl

Ketupa zeylonensis

Large1.1 kgRiverine

The brown fish owl has prominent ear tufts and rufous brown upperparts that are heavily streaked with black or dark brown. Its underparts are buffy-fulvous to whitish, with wavy dark brown streaks and finer brown barring. Its throat is white and conspicuously puffed. Its facial disk is indistinct, the bill dark and the iris golden yellow. Its featherless feet are yellow. Two-year old brown fish owls are somewhat paler than adults. Female and male differ slightly in size. In body size, it ranges from 48 to 61 cm (19 to 24 in) with a wingspan from 125 to 140 cm (49 to 55 in).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Koshy Koshy from Faridabad, Haryana, India · CC BY 2.0

Buffy Fish Owl

Ketupa ketupu

Large1.3 kgRiverine

The buffy fish owl is buff brown with darker tawny brown feathers on the back. Its face is paler and it has light brown eyebrows. With an adult size of 40 to 48 cm (16 to 19 in) and a weight of 1,028 to 2,100 g (36.3 to 74.1 oz), it is the smallest fish owl species. Like all fish owls, the buffy fish owl has prominent ear tufts on the sides of its head. Its wing feathers and tail are broadly barred yellowish and dark brown. The wings are distinctly rounded in shape. The underparts are a yellowish brown, rich buff, or fulvous with broad, blackish shaft stripes. Its long legs are not feathered.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Johnny Wee · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Brown Fish Owl and Buffy Fish Owl.