Red Owl
Tyto soumagnei
The Red Owl (Tyto soumagnei) is a legendary bay owls and barn owl found only in Madagascar, weighing about 284 g. The red owl is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae.
About the Red Owl
The red owl is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar red owl, Madagascar grass-owl, Soumagne's owl or lesser grass-owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1876 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1993. It is currently listed as vulnerable because of habitat loss, but recent studies have determined it may have a wider range than first believed, though further research in distribution and ecology is required. It has possibly been overlooked because of its close resemblance to the closely related barn owl.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The red owl is an orange-red color with small black spots. Their eyes are typically a sooty-black color, the beak is a pale grey, and the cere (a fleshy patch at the base of the upper mandible of the beak) is flesh-colored. Feet are a smoke-grey color. One individual collected was measured: weight of 323 grams, body length of 275 mm, unflattened wing-length of 209 mm, tail length of 100 mm, tarsus-length of 56.6 mm and width of 6.0 mm, and a beak length from the cere of 11.6 mm. Voice: The call of the red owl is similar to that of the barn owl. They make a 1.5 – 2.0 second long screeching hiss that is an even frequency with a slight downward frequency towards the end. This slight decrease in frequency at the end of the call distinguishes the red owl from the barn owl.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: June, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in November. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Red Owl?
- The red owl is an orange-red color with small black spots. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Red Owl?
- The Red Owl is a medium sized bird weighing about 284 g.
- Where can you see a Red Owl?
- The Red Owl is endemic to Madagascar, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Red Owl?
- The Red Owl is most easily confused with the Taliabu Masked Owl, the Golden Masked Owl and the Minahasa Masked Owl.
- Is the Red Owl endangered?
- The Red Owl is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Red 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.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.