Brown Wood Owl (Strix leptogrammica)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Brown Wood Owl

Strix leptogrammica Temminck, 1832

50 cmLength970 gWeight

This medium-large owl has dark brown upperparts, a white-bordered facial disc and a white neck band.

Busiest months: February–March · Most records: Malaysia, India, China

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Upperparts dark brown, with small white patches on the scapulars
  2. Facial disc brown or reddish, with a white border and no concentric markings
  3. A single white band on the neck
  4. Underparts pale yellow with brown markings

Male, female and young

Sexes similar.

Voice

“hoo hoo hoo HOO”, or a low “goke-goke-ga-LOOO”; also gives loud shrieks.

Where and when it's recorded

Brown Wood Owl has been recorded at 327 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 15 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. SattalIndia438 records
  2. Danum Valley Borneo Rainforest LodgeMalaysia366 records
  3. Surrey Estate Bird SanctuarySri Lanka240 records
More places
  1. TmatboeyCambodia207 records
  2. Bukit FraserMalaysia196 records
  3. Danum Valley Field CentreMalaysia176 records
  4. Tabin Wildlife ReserveMalaysia102 records
  5. PangotIndia92 records
  6. Thattekkad Bird SanctuaryIndia92 records
  7. Kinabatangan River – Sukau Rainforest LodgeMalaysia86 records

Countries and regions with the most records

MalaysiaIndiaChinaThailandSri LankaCambodiaNepalVietnam

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 wood owl (Strix leptogrammica) is found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan (China), and south China. This species is a part of the family of owls known as typical owls (Strigidae), which contains most species of owl. It belongs to the earless owl genus Strix.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Brown Wood Owl?

The Brown Wood Owl is about 50 cm long and weighs around 970 g.

Where does the Brown Wood Owl live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: widespread. It is most often recorded in Malaysia, India and China.

When is the best time to see the Brown Wood Owl?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February and March (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Brown Wood Owl endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Brown Wood Owl as Least Concern.

What does the Brown Wood Owl eat?

Main food: Vertebrate prey.

What family is the Brown Wood Owl in?

It belongs to the family Owls (Strigidae), order Strigiformes.

At a glance

Length
50 cm
Weight
970 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Vertebrate prey
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
313 mm
Tail
157 mm
Bill
42 mm
Tarsus
40 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: widespread

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2
  • Strix leptogrammica ticehursti se China and n Indochina
  • Strix leptogrammica caligata Taiwan (China) and Hainan

Classification

Family
Owls Strigidae
Genus
Strix

Other birds in the genus Strix

Spotted Wood OwlSpotted Wood OwlStrix seloputoMottled Wood OwlMottled Wood OwlStrix ocellataTawny OwlTawny OwlStrix alucoMaghreb OwlMaghreb OwlStrix mauritanicaHimalayan OwlHimalayan OwlStrix nivicolumDesert OwlDesert OwlStrix hadoramiOmani OwlOmani OwlStrix butleriSpotted OwlSpotted OwlStrix occidentalisBarred OwlBarred OwlStrix variaCinereous OwlCinereous OwlStrix sartoriiFulvous OwlFulvous OwlStrix fulvescensRusty-barred OwlRusty-barred OwlStrix hylophila
Brown Wood Owl

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Natthaphat Chotjuckdikul. ↗

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