Bird Album
Brown Fish Owl
Ketupa zeylonensis (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
55 cmLength1.1 kgWeight
This large owl has prominent ear tufts and a conspicuous white throat, with a poorly defined facial disc.
Busiest months: February · Most records: India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia
Looks like Blakiston's Fish Owl
How to identify
Field marks
- Ear tufts prominent
- Upperparts reddish-brown, densely covered in blackish-brown markings
- Throat white and very conspicuous
- Facial disc poorly defined, iris yellow
Male, female and young
Sexes similar in color; female at least slightly larger. Two-year-old birds are slightly paler than adults.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Brown Fish Owl has been recorded at 199 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Kanha NP – Mukki ZoneIndia404 records
- TmatboeyCambodia363 records
- Corbett NP – DhikalaIndia306 records
More places
- Ananthagiri Hills, VikarabadIndia299 records
- SattalIndia270 records
- Ranthambore NPIndia216 records
- Thattekkad Bird SanctuaryIndia214 records
- Corbett NPIndia194 records
- Yala National ParkSri Lanka192 records
- Bandhavgarh NPIndia146 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The brown fish owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls, Strigidae. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. Due its wide distribution it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Brown Fish Owl?
The Brown Fish Owl is about 55 cm long and weighs around 1.1 kg.
Where does the Brown Fish Owl live?
Its breeding range: Oriental, Palearctic: Middle East to Southeast Asia. It is most often recorded in India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
When is the best time to see the Brown Fish Owl?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Brown Fish Owl endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Brown Fish Owl as Least Concern.
What does the Brown Fish Owl eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Brown Fish Owl in?
It belongs to the family Owls (Strigidae), order Strigiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 55 cm
- Weight
- 1.1 kg
- Habitat
- Rivers & streams
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 381 mm
- Tail
- 188 mm
- Bill
- 50 mm
- Tarsus
- 71 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental, Palearctic: Middle East to Southeast Asia
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 1
- Ketupa zeylonensis orientalis ne Myanmar to se China, Indochina and the Malay Pen.
Classification
- Order
- Strigiformes
- Family
- Owls Strigidae
- Genus
- Ketupa
Other birds in the genus Ketupa
Fraser's Eagle-OwlKetupa poensis
Akun Eagle-OwlKetupa leucosticta
Verreaux's Eagle-OwlKetupa lactea
Shelley's Eagle-OwlKetupa shelleyi
Blakiston's Fish OwlKetupa blakistoni
Tawny Fish OwlKetupa flavipes
Buffy Fish OwlKetupa ketupu
Barred Eagle-OwlKetupa sumatrana
Spot-bellied Eagle-OwlKetupa nipalensis
Dusky Eagle-OwlKetupa coromanda
Philippine Eagle-OwlKetupa philippensis
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Aleksey Levashkin. ↗
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