Owls

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Globally owls represent a large bird family with a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on almost every continent. About 190 species of owl are known to science, seven of which are known from Britain: the Barn owl (Tyto alba); Tawny owl (Strix aluco); Little owl (Athene noctua); Long-eared owl (Asio otus); Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus); Eagle owl (Bubo bubo); and, very occasionally in the far north, the Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus).

Species

Barn owl

Tyto alba

The barn owl is probably Britain's most recognisable owl and was once a common sight in pastureland, although numbers appear to be in decline.

European Eagle owl

Bubo bubo

An uncommon owl in Britain, the Eagle owl is found patchily distributed in northern England and on Scotland's east coast.

Little owl

Athene noctua

Britain's smallest owl species, the Little owl was originally introduced by the Victorians and has since established itself as a well-known part of our countryside.

Long-eared owl

Asio otis

A rarely seen owl of predominantly coniferous woodland, more common in Ireland and northern England, in forests were there are few Tawnies.

Short-eared owl

Asio flammeus

A resident of northern moors and, more recently, southern marshes and grasslands, "shorties" are one of the few day-hunting owls.

Snowy owl

Bubo scandiacus

An uncommon vagrant to Britain, the Snowy owl last bred successfully here in 1975, but individuals of this unmistakable owl still overwinter in Scotland.

Tawny owl

Strix aluco

Probably Britain's most common owl species and the source of the familiar "twit-twoowoo" call.

No questions exist for this group.

Bibliography

Barn Owls in Britain: Phantoms of the farmyard - by Jeff Martin
Whittet Books -- 2008 -- ISBN: 978-1873580752

Owls - by Chris Mead
Whittet Books -- 2011 -- ISBN: 978-1873580837

Owls of Britain & Europe - by Anthony A. Wardhaugh
Blandford Press, Dorset -- 1983 -- ISBN: 978-0713712605

Owls of Europe - by Heimo Mikkola
T & A D Poyser Ltd. -- 1983 -- ISBN: 978-0856610349

Owls of Europe: Biology, Identification & Conservation - by Wolfgang Scherzinger & Theodor Mebs
Christopher Helm -- 2024 -- ISBN: 978-1399410793

Owls of the World - by Claus König, Friedhelm Weick & Jan-Hendrik Becking
Christopher Helm, London -- 2009 -- ISBN: 978-1408108840

Owls: A guide for ornithologists - by Ron Freethy
Bishopsgate Press Ltd. -- 1992 -- ISBN: 978-1852190422

Owls: Their natural and unnatural history - by John Sparks & Tony Soper
David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd. -- 1978 -- ISBN: 978-0715349953

RSPB Spotlight Owls - by Marianne Taylor
Bloomsbury Natural History -- 2020 -- ISBN: 978-1472980281

Short-Eared Owls - by Bryan Benn
Independently Published -- 2021 -- ISBN: 978-1838480004

The Barn Owl - by Mike Read & Jake Allsop
Blandford Books -- 1995 -- ISBN: 978-0713723496

The Book of the Barn Owl - by Sally Coulthard
Apollo Books -- 2022 -- ISBN: 978-1789544770

The Eagle Owl - by Vincenzo Penteriani & María del Mar Delgado
T & A D Poyser Ltd. -- 2019 -- ISBN: 978-1472900661

The Little Owl: Population Dynamics, Behavior and Management of Athene noctua - by Dries van Nieuwenhuyse, Ronald van Harxen & David H Johnson
Cambridge University Press -- 2023 -- ISBN: 9781009100151

The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar - by Martin Windrow
Corgi Books -- 2014 -- ISBN: 9780552170048

The Snowy Owl - by Eugene Potapov & Richard Sale
T & A D Poyser Ltd. -- 2013 -- ISBN: 978-1408172179

The Tawny Owl - by Jeff R Martin
T & A D Poyser Ltd. -- 2022 -- ISBN: 978-1472943569

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