Bird Guide

Mottled Owl vs Ural Owl

Mottled Owl (Strix virgata)

Mottled Owl

Strix virgata

Medium284 gForest

The mottled owl is a medium-sized owl with adults reaching 280 to 355 mm (11 to 14 in) in length. Females are considerably larger than males; the mottled owl shows the greatest degree of sexual dimorphism of any species of owl. The crown, nape and back are mottled in several shades of darkish brown, the facial disc is pale brown and the throat, breast and belly are off-white with distinctive vertical brown streaks. The large eyes are brown, the beak is greyish-yellow or greyish-blue, and the legs and feet are greyish-yellow. There is a darker form of the bird with a buff breast and belly.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Mottled Owl
Recorded by Walter Correa · Song, nocturnal song · Ibagué, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia · CC BY 4.0
Photo: datadan · CC BY 4.0
Ural Owl (Strix uralensis)

Ural Owl

Strix uralensis

Large781 gForest

Like most Strix species, it has a broad, rounded head with a correspondingly round facial disc, barring a tiny V-shaped indentation. The Ural owl has, for an owl, an exceptionally long tail that bears a wedge-shaped tip. In colour, it tends to be a plain pale greyish-brown to whitish overall (with more detailed description of their variation under subspecies), with a slightly darker grey-brown to brown back and mantle with contrasting whitish markings.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Ural Owl
Recorded by Grégoire Chauvot · Duet, song · Leksand, Leksand Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden · CC0
Photo: Yana Dombrovskaya · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Mottled Owl and Ural Owl.