Himalayan Owl

How to identify

Field marks

1. Head round, without ear tufts, dark brown with pale markings
2. Small yellow hooked bill at the center of the paler facial disc
3. Breast pale brown with white and dark brown streaks
4. Wings and tail darker, with white bands

Male, female and young

Sexes similar and indistinguishable in appearance; juvenile has fine white barring on the dark areas of the crown.

Voice

The song is a quick, dove-like “coo-coo” consisting of two notes; the call is a single high, loud “whoo”.

Similar species

Tawny Owl

Himalayan Owl was formerly treated as a subspecies of Tawny Owl, but is separated as a species on features including darker plumage, a shorter tail and different calls.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May–June · Most records: China, Bhutan, Nepal

Himalayan Owl has been recorded at 100 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Beijing Botanical GardenChina76 records
2. Wuling Mountain NNRChina46 records
3. Longcanggou [General Area]China46 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaBhutanNepalIndiaMyanmar (Burma)

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 Himalayan owl or Himalayan wood owl (Strix nivicolum) is a medium-sized owl native to the forests and mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Taiwan (China) and Korea. Although populations are declining, this owl is not considered endangered and is currently listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its large range and slow decline. The Himalayan owl is nocturnal and is rarely seen in most areas of its range.

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

Questions