Great Grey Owl
Strix nebulosa
The Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa) is a uncommon owl found in 11 countries, weighing about 1.1 kg. The great grey owl is a true owl, and is the world's largest species of owl by length.
About the Great Grey Owl
The great grey owl is a true owl, and is the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and is the only species in the genus Strix found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Adults have large, rounded heads with grey faces and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark streaks; the upper parts are grey with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor. A white collar or "bow-tie" is just below the beak. The long tail tapers to a rounded end. In length, the great grey owl is believed to exceed the Eurasian eagle-owl and Blakiston's fish owl as the world's largest owl. The great grey is outweighed by those two species and several others, including most of the genus Bubo.
What the Great Grey Owl sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Canada, Germany, China.
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in March. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Watch the Great Grey Owl on live cams
Browse all 118 bird cams worldwide, live and seasonal, by region and species.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Great Grey Owl?
- Adults have large, rounded heads with grey faces and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Great Grey Owl?
- The Great Grey Owl is a large sized bird weighing about 1.1 kg.
- Where can you see a Great Grey Owl?
- The Great Grey Owl occurs in 11 countries, including Sweden, Finland, Norway, Russia and Ukraine.
- What does a Great Grey Owl sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Great Grey Owl on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Great Grey Owl?
- The Great Grey Owl is most easily confused with the Black-and-white Owl, the African Wood Owl and the Mottled Wood Owl.
- Is the Great Grey Owl endangered?
- The Great Grey Owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Great Grey Owl for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
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