Mottled Wood Owl
Strix ocellata
The Mottled Wood Owl (Strix ocellata) is a rare owl found in 2 countries, weighing about 559 g. The mottled wood owl is a species of large owl found in India and Nepal.
About the Mottled Wood Owl
The mottled wood owl is a species of large owl found in India and Nepal. They are found in gardens and thin deciduous forests adjacent to dry thorn forests or farmland. They are easily detected by their distinctive tremulous, eerie calls at dawn and dusk. The characteristic call is a duet of the male and female, while other notes include a low hoot and a screech. Their large size, lack of "ear" tufts and the concentric barring on the face make them easy to identify.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
This large owl lacks ear tufts and is mottled and vermiculated in reddish brown and white. The face disc is marked with fine concentric black and white barring. The sexes are alike. The chin is white. The eyelid is orange, and the iris is dark brown. The tail is barred narrowly in brown and black. The concentric barring on the face and mottled crown separate it from the brown wood owl in southern India. There are three subspecies recognized and there are no sharp demarcations in their distributions. S. o.
What the Mottled Wood Owl sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in February. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Mottled Wood Owl?
- This large owl lacks ear tufts and is mottled and vermiculated in reddish brown and white. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Mottled Wood Owl?
- The Mottled Wood Owl is a large sized bird weighing about 559 g.
- Where can you see a Mottled Wood Owl?
- The Mottled Wood Owl occurs in 2 countries, including India and Nepal.
- What does a Mottled Wood Owl sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Mottled Wood Owl on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Mottled Wood Owl?
- The Mottled Wood Owl is most easily confused with the Brown Wood Owl, the African Wood Owl and the Black-banded Owl.
- Is the Mottled Wood Owl endangered?
- The Mottled Wood Owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Mottled Wood 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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