Rats will take tern eggs, and may even store large numbers in caches, and the American mink is an important predator of hatched chicks, both in North America, and in Scotland where it has been introduced. The red fox can also be a local problem. Because common terns nest on islands, the most common predators are normally other birds rather than mammals. The ruddy turnstone will take eggs from unattended nests, and gulls may take chicks. Great horned owls and short-eared owls will kill both adults and chicks, and black-crowned night herons will also eat small chicks. Merlins and peregrine falcons may attack flying terns; as with other birds, it seems likely that one advantage of flocking behaviour is to confuse fast-flying predators.
The common tern hosts feather lice, which are quite different from those found in Arctic terns, despite the close relationship of the two birds. It may also be infected by parasitic worms, such as the widespread Diphyllobothrium species, the duck parasite Ligula intestinalis, and Schistocephalus species carried initially by fish. Tapeworms of the family Cyclophyllidea may also infect this species. The mite Reighardia sternae has been found in common terns from Italy, North America and China. A study of 75 breeding common terns found that none carried blood parasites. Colonies have been affected by avian cholera and ornithosis, and it is possible that the common tern may be threatened in the future by outbreaks of avian influenza to which it is susceptible. In 1961 the common tern was the first wild bird species identified as infected with avian influenza, the H5N3 variant being found in an outbreak of South African birds.


The common tern is classed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. It has a large population of 1.6 to 3.3 million mature individuals and a huge breeding range estimated at 84,300,000 km² (32,500,000 sq mi). Breeding numbers have been estimated at a quarter to half a million pairs, the majority breeding in Asia. About 140 thousand pairs breed in Europe. Fewer than eighty thousand pairs breed in North America, with most breeding on the northeast Atlantic coast and a declining population of less than ten thousand pairs breeding in the Great Lakes region.
In the nineteenth century, the use of tern feathers and wings in the millinery trade was the main cause of large reductions in common tern populations in both Europe and North America, especially on the Atlantic coasts and inland. Sometimes entire stuffed birds were used to make hats. Numbers largely recovered early in the twentieth century mainly due to legislation and the work of conservation organizations. Although some Eurasian populations are stable, numbers in North America have fallen by more than seventy per cent in the last forty years, and there is an overall negative trend in the global estimates for this species.
Threats come from habitat loss through building, pollution or vegetation growth, or disturbance of breeding birds by humans, vehicles, boats or dogs. Local natural flooding may lead to nest losses, and some colonies are vulnerable to predation by rats and large gulls. Gulls also compete with terns for nest sites. Some birds are hunted in the Caribbean for commercial sale as food. Breeding success may be enhanced by the use of floating nest rafts, manmade islands or other artificial nest sites, and by preventing human disturbance. Overgrown vegetation may be burned to clear the ground, and gulls can be killed or discouraged by deliberate disturbance. Contamination with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) resulted in enhanced levels of feminisation in male embryos, which seemed to disappear prior to fledging, with no effect on colony productivity, but dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), which results from the breakdown of DDT, led to very low levels of successful breeding in some US locations.
The common tern is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the US–Canada Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 apply. Parties to the AEWA agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation strategies described in a detailed action plan. The plan is intended to address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation. The North American legislation is similar, although there is a greater emphasis on protection.


The large marsh grasshopper (Stethophyma grossum) is a species of grasshopper belonging to the family Acrididae.


S. grossum is found throughout Europe, with a few records from western Asia. In the British Isles it is restricted to the New Forest, Dorset, and Somerset Wells and Ireland. It is the largest species of grasshopper to be found in the British Isles.
The habitat is typically wet meadow and marsh throughout its range. In southern England, the species is most often found in "quaking" sphagnum moss bogs.


Sticherus cunninghamii, also known as the waekura or umbrella fern, is a New Zealand native fern characterised by its drooping fronds that resemble an umbrella. The fronds are 15–30 cm long and it has an erect stalk between 20 and 50 cm high.
The fern is found from lowland to mountainous forest in dry areas often with infertile soil. The sap is used in traditional Māori Rongoā herbal medicine, and is claimed to have narcotic effects.


Stillingia sylvatica, known as queen's-delight or queen's delight, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It was described in 1767. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States, growing in sandy areas such as sandhills and pine flatwoods.
It is an herb or subshrub averaging 25–70 cm (9.8–27.6 in) in height. It has alternate, ovate leaves with short petioles, reaching 10 cm (3.9 in) in length and 3 cm (1.2 in) in width. The leaf margins are serrulate to crenulate with incurved teeth. Each crowded inflorescence has four to seven staminate flowers and three to four pistillate flowers. Queen's delight flowers between March and June, fruiting from April to September.


The scrub tanager (Stilpnia vitriolina) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae.
It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.


Stipa pennata, common name European feather grass, is a flowering plant and arid zone sand grass in the grass family Poaceae, which is grown as an ornamental plant for its feathery flowering spikes. It is one of the most common plants of the Eurasian Steppe from Mongolia in the east to the Puszta in Hungary and the Devínska Kobyla forest-steppe in Slovakia in the west. Its foliage is green in summer while the flowers are silvery-grey during the same season. It is 60–90 centimetres (24–35 in) high. Its Hungarian name pusztai árvalányhaj translates as "orphan maidenhair".


Strangalepta is a genus containing only one species, Strangalepta abbreviata, a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae.


Stratiotes aloides, commonly known as water soldiers or water pineapple, is a submerged aquatic plant native to Europe and northwestern Asia. In Britain it was once common in East Anglia and still is in many places, particularly wet ditches and healthy ponds. It is the only species in the genus Stratiotes.


Stratiotes aloides has been found in the Trent River in eastern Ontario, Canada.


Stratiotes aloides has a rosette of serrated leaves, lanceolate, up to 30 cm long in tufts.  White flowers are up to 45 mm across with many stamens in the male plants are produced in the summer.


In the summer this plant floats on the water surface with the leaves just above the surface. In the autumn they become covered with a slimy secretion (calcium carbonate) and the whole plant sinks to the bottom to rise again in the spring. Fossils have been found of this plant.
Plants are dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Only the female plant occurs naturally in Britain, though plants with hermaphrodite flowers are also found occasionally. Seed is never set in Britain, the plants increasing mainly by offsets.


In Ireland, it is found in shallow waters where it was introduced. Apparently now extinct in the north-east of Ireland.Rare in east England.


Most suitable for the cool aquarium or pond.
Propagation from runners which form from the centre of the rosette of leaves.
The herb has had a high reputation for treating wounds, especially when these are made by an iron implement. It is applied externally. The plant is also said to be of use in the treatment of St. Anthony's fire and also of bruised kidneys.


Streblus heterophyllus, commonly known as the small-leaved milk tree, is a species of plant in the family Moraceae that is endemic to New Zealand.


As a juvenile plant, S. heterophyllus has distinctive fiddle-shaped leaves and a divaricating growth pattern. It grows in areas of lowland forest where it will grow into a tree around 12 metres (39 feet) high.
The small-leaved milk tree flowers from the middle of spring to summer, with red berries following from late spring to autumn.


The pied currawong (Strepera graculina) is a black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of the family Artamidae. Six subspecies are recognised. It is a robust crowlike bird averaging around 48 cm (19 in) in length, black or sooty grey-black in plumage with white undertail and wing patches, yellow irises, and a heavy bill. The male and female are similar in appearance. Known for its melodious calls, the species' name currawong is believed to be of indigenous origin.
Within its range, the pied currawong is generally sedentary, although populations at higher altitudes relocate to lower areas during the cooler months. It is omnivorous, with a diet that includes a wide variety of berries and seeds, invertebrates, bird eggs, juvenile birds and young marsupials. It is a predator which has adapted well to urbanization and can be found in parks and gardens as well as rural woodland. The habitat includes every kind of forested area, although mature forests are preferred for breeding. Roosting, nesting and the bulk of foraging take place in trees, in contrast with the ground-foraging behaviour of its relative, the Australian magpie.


The pied currawong was first described by English ornithologist George Shaw in 1790 as Coracias strepera, although Strepera was adopted as a generic name. Its binomial names were derived from the Latin strepera, meaning "noisy", and graculina for resembling a jackdaw. Pied crow-shrike is an old vernacular name from colonial days, and the term "pied" refers to two or more colors in blotches. Other common names include pied chillawong, currawang, charawack, kurrawack, tallawong, tullawong, mutton-bird, Otway forester, and pied afternoon-tea bird. The onomatopoeic term currawong itself is derived from the bird's call. However, the exact origin of the term is unclear; the most likely antecedent is the word garrawaŋ from the indigenous Jagera language from the Brisbane region, although the Darug word gurawaruŋ from the Sydney basin is a possibility. Yungang as well as Kurrawang and Kurrawah are names from the Tharawal people of the Illawarra region.
Its closest relative is the black currawong (S. fuliginosa) of Tasmania, which has sometimes been considered a subspecies. Together with the larger grey currawong (S. versicolor), they form the genus Strepera. Although crow-like in appearance and habits, currawongs are only distantly related to true crows, and instead belong to the family Artamidae, together with the closely related Australian magpie and the butcherbirds. The affinities of all three genera were recognised early on and they were placed in the family Cracticidae in 1914 by ornithologist John Albert Leach after he had studied their musculature. Ornithologists Charles Sibley and Jon Ahlquist recognised the close relationship between woodswallows and butcherbirds in 1985, and combined them into a Cracticini clade, which became the family Artamidae.


Six subspecies are currently recognised, characterised principally by differences in size and plumage. There is a steady change to the birds' morphology and size the further south they are encountered, with lighter and more greyish plumage, larger body size, and a shorter bill. Southerly populations also show more white plumage in the tail, with less whiteness on the wing.
Strepera graculina graculina is the nominate form, found from the Sydney region north to the Burdekin River in northern Queensland.
Strepera graculina ashbyi, (critically endangered), the western Victorian pied currawong, was described by Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews in 1913. It is threatened by hybridization with the neighbouring subspecies nebulosa whose range is expanding westwards. A 2000 estimate placed the number of breeding birds at around 250. It resembles subspecies nebulosa, with sooty plumage, a long tail and a short bill. There is some doubt over whether ashbyi, which is little known, is a distinct subspecies or a colour morph of nebulosa. It is thought to have evolved after the two populations became separated by basalt plains in western Victoria, with the return of trees after the abandonment of regular Aboriginal burning in the late 18th century contributing to the remixing of populations. Hybrid forms have been identified in the Grampians and Yarra Valley. Further investigation in 2017 by Peter Menkhorst and Craig Morley established that the type specimen was an immature bird and that its collection point and characteristics placed it within subspecies nebulosa. They also observed there is a population that is abundant (rather than endangered) in the Otway Ranges that has a smaller speculum (wingpatch) than nebulosa and that Mathews had mistaken this for a subspecies of grey currawong, naming it Neostrepera versicolor riordani. They proposed renaming S. g. nebulosa to S. g. ashbyi and the other population as S. g. riordani.
Strepera graculina crissalis, (vulnerable) the Lord Howe currawong was described by English naturalist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1877. It appears to have adapted well to human habitation on Lord Howe Island, though the population is small overall, somewhere around 70–80 birds. Although regarded as a subspecies, it has yet to be studied with molecular DNA techniques, which may lead to it being reclassified as a separate species.
Strepera graculina magnirostris is found on the Cape York Peninsula to the Normanby River in northern Queensland. First described by Henry Lake White in 1923, it has a longer and heavier bill and shorter tail than the nominate subspecies. It has been little studied to date.
Strepera graculina robinsoni is found on the Atherton Tableland in northeastern Queensland. First described by Gregory Mathews in 1912, it is combined with magnirostris by some authors. Little researched, it appears to be smaller than other subspecies.
Strepera graculina nebulosa, found in southeastern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and central Victoria, is very similar to the nominate subspecies but has a shorter bill, longer tail and larger wing. Its upperparts are sooty black, a little paler than the nominate subspecies, and underparts sooty black to slate-grey. The white patch on the primary flight feathers is also smaller. It was first defined in 1999 by ornithologists and bird taxonomists Richard Schodde and Ian Mason. There is a hybrid zone with subspecies graculina in southern and central New South Wales, from Eden north to the Illawarra region and stretching northwest to the Blue Mountains.


The pied currawong is generally a black bird with white in the wing, undertail coverts, the base of the tail and most visibly, the tip of the tail. It has yellow eyes. Adult birds are 44–50 cm (17–20 in) in length, with an average of around 48 cm (19 in); the wingspan varies from 56 to 77 cm (22 to 30 in), averaging around 69 cm (27 in). Adult males average around 320 g (11 oz), females 280 g (10 oz). The wings are long and broad. The long and heavy bill is about one and a half times as long as the head and is hooked at the end. Juvenile birds have similar markings to adults but have softer and brownish plumage overall, although the white band on the tail is narrower. The upperparts are darker brown with scallops and streaks over the head and neck, and the underparts lighter brown. The eyes are dark brown and the bill dark with a yellow tip. The gape is a prominent yellow. Older birds grow darker until adult plumage is achieved, but juvenile tail markings only change to adult late in development. Birds appear to moult once a year in late summer after breeding. The pied currawong can live for over 20 years in the wild.


Pied currawongs are vocal birds, calling when in flight and at all times of the day. They are noisier early in the morning and in the evening before roosting, as well as before rain. The loud distinctive call has been translated as Kadow-Kadang or Curra-wong, akin to a croak. They also have a loud, high-pitched, wolf-like whistle, transcribed as Wheeo. The endemic Lord Howe Island subspecies has a distinct, more melodious call.


The smaller white-winged chough has similar plumage but has red eyes and is found mainly on the ground. Australian crow and raven species have white eyes and lack the white rump, and the similar-sized Australian magpie has red eyes and prominent black and white plumage. The larger grey currawong is readily distinguished by its lighter grey overall plumage and lack of white feathers at the base of the tail. In northwestern Victoria, the black-winged currawong (subspecies melanoptera of the grey) does have a darker plumage than other grey subspecies, but its wings lack the white primaries of the pied currawong.


The pied currawong is common in both wet and dry sclerophyll forests, rural and semi-urban environments throughout eastern Australia, from Cape York Peninsula to western Victoria and Lord Howe Island, where it occurs as an endemic subspecies. It has more recently become prevalent in South-East South Australia, in and around Mount Gambier. It has adapted well to European presence, and has become more common in many areas of eastern Australia, with surveys in Nanango, Queensland, Barham, New South Wales, Geelong, Victoria, as well as the Northern Tablelands and South West Slopes regions in New South Wales, all showing an increase in population. This increase has been most marked, however, in Sydney and Canberra since the 1940s and 1960s, respectively. In both cities, the species had previously been a winter resident only, but now remains year-round and breeds there. They are a dominant species and common inhabitant of Sydney gardens.
In general, the pied currawong is sedentary, although some populations from higher altitudes move to areas of lower elevation in winter. However, evidence for the extent of migration is conflicting, and the species' movements have been little studied to date. More recently still, a survey of the population of pied currawongs in southeastern Queensland between 1980 and 2000 had found the species had become more numerous there, including suburban Brisbane. One 1992 survey reported the total number of pied currawongs in Australia had doubled from three million birds in the 1960s to six million in the early 1990s.
The pied currawong is able to cross bodies of water of some size, as it has been recorded from Rodondo Island, which lies 10 km (6.2 mi) off the coast of Wilsons Promontory in Victoria, as well as some offshore islands in Queensland. It has disappeared from Tryon, North West, Masthead and Heron Islands in the
Capricorn Group on the Great Barrier Reef. The presence of the Lord Howe subspecies is possibly the result of a chance landing there.
The pied currawong's impact on smaller birds that are vulnerable to nest predation is controversial: several studies have suggested that the species has become a serious problem, but the truth of this widely held perception was queried in a 2001 review of the published literature on their foraging habits by Bayly and Blumstein of Macquarie University, who observed that common introduced birds were more affected than native birds. However, predation by pied currawongs has been a factor in the decline of Gould's petrel at a colony on Cabbage Tree Island, near Port Stephens in New South Wales; currawongs have been reported preying on adult seabirds. Their removal from the islands halted a decline of the threatened petrels. Furthermore, a University of New England study published in 2006 reported that the breeding success rates for the eastern yellow robin (Eopsaltria australis) and scarlet robin (Petroica boodang) on the New England Tablelands were improved after nests were protected and currawongs culled, and some yellow robins even re-colonised an area where they had become locally extinct. The presence of pied currawongs in Sydney gardens is negatively correlated with the presence of silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis).
The species has been implicated in the spread of weeds by consuming and dispersing fruit and seed. In the first half of the twentieth century, pied currawongs were shot as they were considered pests of corn and strawberry crops, as well as assisting in the spread of the prickly pear. They were also shot on Lord Howe Island for attacking chickens. However, they are seen as beneficial in forestry as they consume phasmids, and also in agriculture for eating cocoons of the codling moth.


Pied currawongs are generally tree-dwelling, hunting and foraging some metres above the ground, and thus able to share territory with the ground-foraging Australian magpie. Birds roost in forested areas or large trees at night, disperse to forage in the early morning and return in the late afternoon. Although often solitary or encountered in small groups, the species may form larger flocks of fifty or more birds in autumn and winter. On the ground, a pied currawong hops or struts.
During the breeding season, pied currawongs will pair up and become territorial, defending both nesting and feeding areas. A 1994 study in Sydney's leafy northern suburbs measured an average distance of 250 m (820 ft) between nests, while another in Canberra in 1990 had three pairs in a 400 m (1,300 ft) segment of pine-tree lined street. Territories have been measured around 0.5–0.7 ha in Sydney and Wollongong, although these were restricted to nesting areas and did not include a larger feeding territory, and 7.9 ha in Canberra. Pied currawongs vigorously drive off threats such as ravens, and engage in bill-snapping, dive-bombing and aerial pursuit. They adopt a specific threat display against other currawongs by lowering the head so the head and body are parallel to the ground and pointing the beak out forward, often directly at the intruder. The male predominates in threat displays and territorial defence, and guards the female closely as she builds the nest.
Flocks of birds appear to engage in play; one routine involves a bird perching atop a tall tree, pole or spire, and others swooping, tumbling or diving and attempting to dislodge it. A successful challenger is then challenged in its turn by other birds in the flock.
The pied currawong bathes by wading into water up to 15 cm (5.9 in) deep, squatting down, ducking its head under, and shaking its wings. It preens its plumage afterwards, sometimes applying mud or soil first. The species has also been observed anting.


Although found in many types of woodland, the pied currawong prefers to breed in mature forests. It builds a nest of thin sticks lined with grass and bark high in trees in spring; generally eucalypts are chosen and never isolated ones. It produces a clutch of three eggs; they are a light pinkish-brown colour (likened by one author to that of silly putty) with splotches of darker pink-brown and lavender. Tapered oval in shape, they measure about 30 mm × 42 mm (1.2 in × 1.7 in). The female broods alone. The incubation period is not well known, due to the difficulty of observing nests, but observations indicate around 30 days from laying to hatching. Like all passerines, the chicks are born naked, and blind (altricial), and remain in the nest for an extended period (nidicolous) They quickly grow a layer of ashy-grey down. Both parents feed the young, although the male does not begin to feed them directly until a few days after birth.
The channel-billed cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) parasitizes pied currawong nests, laying eggs which are then raised by the unsuspecting foster parents. The eggs closely resemble those of the currawong hosts. Pied currawongs have been known to desert nests once cuckoos have visited, abandoning the existing currawong young, which die, and a channel-billed cuckoo has been recorded decapitating a currawong nestling. The brown goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus) and lace monitor (Varanus varius) have also been recorded taking nestlings.


The pied currawong is an omnivorous and opportunistic feeder, eating fruit and berries as well as preying on many invertebrates, and smaller vertebrates, mostly juvenile birds and bird eggs, although they may take healthy adult birds up to the size of a crested pigeon on occasion. Currawongs will hunt in trees, snatching birds and eggs from nests, as well as insects and berries from trees. They also hunt in the air and on the ground. Insects predominate in the diet during summer months, and fruit during the winter. They will often scavenge, eating scraps and rubbish and can be quite bold when seeking food from people, lingering around picnic areas and bird-feeding trays. Beetles and ants are the most common types of insects consumed. Pied currawongs have been recorded taking mice, as well as chickens and turkeys from farms. The pied currawong consumes fruit, including a wide variety of figs, such as the Moreton Bay (Ficus macrophylla), Port Jackson  (F. rubiginosa), Banyan (F. virens) and Strangler fig (F. watkinsiana), as well as lillypillies (Syzygium species), white cedar (Melia azedarach), plum pine (Podocarpus elatus), and geebungs (Persoonia species). Other fruit is also sought after, and currawongs have been known to raid orchards, eating apples, pears, strawberries, grapes, stone fruit, citrus, and corn. Pied currawongs have been responsible for the spread of the invasive ornamental Asparagus aethiopicus (often called A. densiflorus) in the Sydney area, the weedy privet species Ligustrum lucidum and L. sinense, and firethorn species Pyracantha angustifolia and P. rogersiana around Armidale.
Birds forage singly or in pairs in summer, and more often in larger flocks in autumn and winter, during which time they are more likely to loiter around people and urban areas. They occasionally associate with Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) or common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) when foraging. Birds have also been encountered with grey currawongs (S. versicolor) and satin bowerbirds (Ptilinorhynchus violaceus). The species has been reported stealing food from other birds such as the Australian hobby (Falco longipennis), collared sparrowhawk (Accipiter cirrocephalus), and sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita). Pied currawongs will also harass each other. A 2007 study conducted by researchers from the Australian National University showed that white-browed scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis) nestlings became silent when they heard the recorded sound of a pied currawong walking through leaf litter.


The range size criterion does not apply to this species because it has such a large range. As a result, it does not approach the vulnerable thresholds. The population trend appears to be increasing and its size has not been quantified, but it does not appear to be close to the susceptible thresholds under the population size criterion (10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10 percent in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). As a result, the species is considered to be least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.


Streptanthus tortuosus is a biennial or short lived perennial plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) known by the common names shieldplant, shieldleaf, and mountain jewelflower.


It is native to the mountains of northern and central California, its distribution extending just into Oregon and Nevada. It grows in rocky and sandy areas in forests and woodland habitat.


It is highly variable in appearance and some authors divide it into many subtaxa. In general, it is a biennial or perennial herb growing a few centimeters to over a meter tall. It is hairless and often waxy in texture.


The basal leaves have oval blades borne on winged petioles, and leaves higher on the stem may be longer and narrower, sometimes clasping the stem at the bases. Leaves turn yellow with age.


Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem, and there is usually a leaflike bract below them. Each flower has an urn-shaped calyx of sepals in shades of purple or greenish yellow with four petals emerging from the tip. The fruit is a long, thin, curving silique up to 12 to 16 centimeters long.


The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. Because of its vast global range and increasing population trend, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2014.


The generic name is from the Ancient Greek streptos meaning "collar" and peleia meaning "dove";
the specific epithet is Greek for "eighteen". The number comes from a Greek myth. A maid who worked hard for little money was unhappy that she was only paid 18 coins a year and begged the gods to let the world know how little she was rewarded by her mistress. Thereupon Zeus created this dove that has called out "Deca-octo" ever since.


It is a medium-sized dove, distinctly smaller than the wood pigeon, similar in length to a rock pigeon but slimmer and longer-tailed, and slightly larger than the related European turtle dove, with an average length of 32 cm (13 in) from tip of beak to tip of tail, with a wingspan of 47–55 cm (19–22 in), and a weight of 125–240 g (4.4–8.5 oz). It is grey-buff to pinkish-grey overall, a little darker above than below, with a blue-grey underwing patch. The tail feathers are grey-buff above, and dark grey and tipped white below; the outer tail feathers are also tipped whitish above. It has a black half-collar edged with white on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The iris is red, but from a distance the eyes appear to be black, as the pupil is relatively large and only a narrow rim of reddish-brown iris can be seen around the black pupil. The eye is surrounded by a small area of bare skin, which is either white or yellow. The two sexes are virtually indistinguishable; juveniles differ in having a poorly developed collar, and a brown iris. The subspecies S. d. xanthocycla differs in having yellow rather than white eye-rings, darker grey on the head and the underparts a slightly darker pink.
The song is a goo-GOO-goo. The Eurasian collared dove also makes a harsh loud screeching call lasting about two seconds, particularly in flight just before landing. A rough way to describe the screeching sound is a hah-hah.
Eurasian collared doves cooing in early spring are sometimes mistakenly reported as the calls of early-arriving common cuckoos and, as such, a mistaken sign of spring's return.


In 1974, fewer than 50 Eurasian collared doves escaped captivity in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas. From the Bahamas, the species spread to Florida, and is now found in nearly every state in the U.S. as well as in Mexico. In Arkansas (the United States), the species was recorded first in 1989 and since then has grown in numbers and is now present in 42 of 75 counties in the state. It spread from the southeastern corner of the state in 1997 to the northwestern corner in five years, covering a distance of about 500 km (310 mi) at a rate of 100 km (62 mi) per year. This is more than double the rate of 45 km (28 mi) per year observed in Europe. As of 2012, few negative impacts have been demonstrated in Florida, where the species is most prolific. However, the species is known as an aggressive competitor and there is concern that as populations continue to grow, native birds will be out-competed by the invaders. However, one study found that Eurasian collared doves are not more aggressive or competitive than native mourning doves, despite similar dietary preferences.
Population growth has ceased in areas where the species has long been established, such as Florida, and in these regions recent observations suggest the population is in decline. The population is still growing exponentially in areas of more recent introduction: up to 2015, the Eurasian collared dove experienced a greater than 1.5% yearly population increase throughout nearly the entirety of its North American range. Carrying capacities appear to be highest in areas with higher temperatures and intermediate levels of development, such as suburban areas and some agricultural areas.
While the spread of disease to native species has not been recorded in a study, Eurasian collared doves are known carriers of the parasite Trichomonas gallinae as well as pigeon paramyxovirus type 1. Both Trichomonas gallinae and pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 can spread to native birds via commingling at feeders and by consumption of doves by predators. Pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 is an emergent disease and has the potential to affect domestic poultry, making the Eurasian collared dove a threat to not only native biodiversity, but a possible economic threat as well.


The Eurasian collared dove is not wary and often feeds very close to human habitation, including visiting bird tables; the largest populations are typically found around farms where spilt grain is frequent around grain stores or where livestock are fed. It is a gregarious species and sizeable winter flocks will form where there are food supplies such as grain (its main food) as well as seeds, shoots and insects. Flocks most commonly number between 10 and 50, but flocks of up to 10,000 have been recorded.


The Oriental turtle dove or rufous turtle dove (Streptopelia orientalis) is a member of the bird family Columbidae. The species has a wide native distribution range from Europe, east across Asia to Japan. The populations show variations in the patterning of plumage and have been designated into at least six named subspecies. Populations in the higher latitudes tend to migrate south in winter, while those closer to the tropics are sedentary. Vagrants have been recorded in North America. The species is predominantly granivorous and forages on the ground.


The genus name Streptopelia is from Ancient Greek streptos, "collar" and peleia, "dove". The specific orientalis is Latin for "eastern", in this case referring to the type locality, China.
The species has a wide distribution with geographical variation in plumage that has led to at least six subspecies being designated. The distributions of many are not disjunct and gradation exists except in some island populations. Some of the populations of Streptopelia turtur that occur on the eastern edge can be very similar in appearance to S. orientalis and in the past the two species have been lumped together.
western Oriental turtle dove (S. o. meena) (Sykes, 1832) – eastern Asia and Central Asia south to the Himalayas from Kashmir to central Nepal. Winters in India as far south as Sri Lanka.
eastern Oriental turtle dove (S. o. orientalis) (Latham, 1790) – central Siberia to Japan and Korea south to the Himalayas from Assam to Yunnan and northern Vietnam. Winters in South and Southeast Asia (includes S. baicalensis Buturlin).
S. o. stimpsoni (Stejneger, 1887) – the Ryukyu Islands
S. o. orii Yamashina, 1932 – Taiwan
S. o. erythrocephala  (Bonaparte, 1855) – southern peninsular India. This subspecies is reddish-brown on the head with no grey on the forehead or crown, unlike the other subspecies. The undertail coverts and terminal tail band are slaty grey.
S. o. agricola (Tickell, 1833) – from Orissa and Bengal to northeastern India and into Myanmar south to Hainan
The Oriental turtle dove has two distinct migratory northern subspecies, S. o. orientalis in the central Siberian taiga, and S. o. meena in the open woodlands of Central Asia. The differences in the tail patterns of the subspecies S. o. orientalis and S. o. meena help separate identification in their wintering grounds. The nominate form is described as having a grey tip to the tail and more black in the outer web of the outer tail feathers, while meena has a white tip to its tail like the European turtle dove and less black in the outer web of the outer tail feathers. However, these are not consistent differences: both forms can have white or grey tail-bands and orientalis can have little black in the outer webs of the outer tail feathers.


The Oriental turtle dove is very similar in plumage to the European turtle dove. It is a little larger than that species, particularly in the case of orientalis, about the same size as a collared dove. It shares the black and white striped patch on the side of its neck made of silver-tipped feathers, but the breast is less pink, and the orange-brown wing feathers of the turtle dove are replaced with a browner hue, and darker centres giving a scaly appearance. The tail is wedge shaped, like the turtle dove. The flight is more relaxed and direct than that of its relative.


The calls are different from the purring of the European turtle dove. It is a four-syllable her-her-oo-oo. There are significant call differences within the populations as well.


The habitat varies, but the Oriental turtle dove breeds in well-wooded but open habitats and winters in more open habitats but usually with good tree cover.
The westernmost race, meena, breeds in the Western Palearctic region. The southernmost populations are resident, but most other birds migrate south to winter in India, the Maldives, and southern Japan. They disperse widely and are known from islands such as the Lakshadweep in winter. S. o. orientalis occurs as a rarity in western Alaska and British Columbia. It is also a vagrant to northern and western Europe and occurrences in Britain tend to gather much attention from twitchers.


The summer breeding season in the temperate zone can be protracted. In southern India, the breeding season is in winter. In display, the male flaps its wing noisily and shoots up before gliding down with outspread tail. Nests take about two days to build with the male gathering material and the female placing it. The nest is more substantial than in some other doves and is placed at mid-canopy height. In Japan, nests built at a greater height tended to be prone to predation. Males were found to incubate in the day and the female by night. Two white eggs, as for all pigeons and doves, are laid in a twig nest in a tree. Incubation begins immediately after the first egg is laid. The eggs hatch in 15 to 16 days and the chicks take about 15 to 17 days to fledge (in Japan). Both parents feed the altricial chicks with crop milk. Multiple broods may be raised and nests built by the pair or by others may be reused. Nest reuse may possibly increase the chances of predation. In Japan the principal predators of nestlings and eggs were crows and magpies and to a lesser extent cats and snakes.


The Oriental turtle dove is granivorous, and feeds on the seeds of hemp, sunflower, wheat, millet and amaranth. It also consumes gastropods. They forage on the ground.


Nests in Japan that have accumulated faeces have been found to host a number of flies belonging to the families Sphaeroceridae, Sepsidae, and Stratiomyidae.
Subcutaneous mites of the species Hypodectes propus have been recorded in Japan. Deaths of a number of birds due to avian pox virus have been recorded in South Korea.


The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild around Perth and Fremantle. This small long-tailed dove is found in dry scrub and semi-desert habitats where pairs can often be seen feeding on the ground. A rufous and black chequered necklace gives it a distinctive pattern and is also easily distinguished from other doves by its call. Other names include laughing turtle dove, palm dove and Senegal dove while in Asia the name of the little brown dove is often used.


In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the laughing dove in his six volume Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name La tourterelle à gorge tachetée du Sénégal and the Latin Tutur gutture maculato senegalensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the laughing dove which he placed with all the other pigeons in the genus Columba. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Columba senegalensis and cited Brisson's work.
For many years the laughing dove was placed in the genus Streptopelia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2001 found this genus was paraphyletic with respect to Columba. To create monophyletic genera the laughing dove as well as the closely related spotted dove were moved to the resurrected genus Spilopelia that had been introduced by the Swedish zoologist Carl Sundevall in 1873.
Five populations with small plumage and size differences have been given the status of subspecies:
S. s. phoenicophila (Hartert, 1916) – Morocco to northwest Libya
S. s. aegyptiaca (Latham, 1790) – Nile Valley (Egypt)
S. s. senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) – west Arabia, Socotra Island, Africa south of the Sahara
S. s. cambayensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – east Arabia and east Iran to Pakistan, India and Bangladesh
S. s. ermanni (Bonaparte, 1856) – Kazakhstan, north Afghanistan, west China
Several other subspecies have been described but are not now generally recognised. These include S. s. sokotrae on Socotra Island, S. s. dakhlae in the Dakhla Oasis, Egypt and S. s. thome on São Tomé Island.


The laughing dove is a long-tailed, slim pigeon, typically 25 cm (9.8 in) in length. It is pinkish brown on the underside with a lilac tinged head and neck. The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to buff on the lower abdomen. A chequered rufous and grey patch is found on the sides of the neck of adults and is made up of split feathers. The upper parts are brownish with a bluish-grey band along the wing. The back is uniform and dull brown in the South Asian population. The African populations S. s. senegalensis and S. s. phoenicophila have a bluish grey rump and upper tail coverts but differ in the shades of the neck and wing feathers while S. s. aegyptiaca is larger and the head and nape are vinous and upper wing coverts are rufous. The tail is graduated and the outer feathers are tipped in white. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field. Young birds lack the chequered neck markings. The legs are red. The populations vary slightly in plumage with those from more arid zones being paler. Abnormal leucistic plumages have been noted.
The chuckling call is a low rolling croo-doo-doo-doo-doo with a rising and falling amplitude.


The species is usually seen in pairs or small parties and only rarely in larger groups. Larger groups are formed especially when drinking at waterholes in arid regions. Small numbers assemble on trees near waterholes before flying to the water's edge where they are able to suck up water like other members of the pigeon family. Laughing doves eat the fallen seeds, mainly of grasses, other vegetable matter and small ground insects such as termites and beetles. They are fairly terrestrial, foraging on the ground in grasslands and cultivation. Their flight is quick and direct with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings characteristic of pigeons in general.
The male in courtship display follows the female with head bobbing displays while cooing. The male pecks its folded wings in "displacement-preening" to solicit copulation from the female. A female accepts by crouching and begging for food. The male may indulge in courtship feeding before mounting and copulating. Pairs may preen each other. Males may also launch into the air with wing clapping above their backs and then glide down in a gentle arc when displaying. The species has a spread out breeding season in Africa. Almost year-round in Malawi and Turkey; and mainly May to November in Zimbabwe, February to June in Egypt and Tunisia. In Australia the main breeding season is September to November. The nest is a very flimsy platform of twigs built in a low bush and sometimes in crevices or under the eaves of houses. Both parents build the nest with males bringing the twigs which are then placed by the female. Two eggs are laid within an interval of a day between them and both parents take part in building the nest, incubating and feeding the young. Males spend more time incubating the nest during the day. The eggs are incubated after the second egg is laid and the eggs hatch after about 13 to 15 days. Nesting adults may feign injury to distract and draw predators away from the nest. Multiple broods may be raised by the same pair in the same nest. Seven broods by the same pair have been noted in Turkey. Initially the altricial hatchlings are fed with regurgitated crop-milk, a secretion from the lining of the crop of parent birds. The young fledge and leave the nest after about 14 to 16 days. The Jacobin cuckoo sometimes lays its egg in the nests of the laughing dove in Africa.
Feral populations in Australia are sometimes infected by a virus that causes symptoms similar to that produced in parrots by psittacine beak and feather disease. Several ectoparasitic bird lice have been found on the species and include those in the genera Coloceras, Columbicola, Bonomiella and Hohorstiella. A blood parasite Trypanosoma hannae has been recorded in the species. Southern grey shrike have been observed preying on an adult laughing dove in northwestern India while the lizard buzzard is a predator of the species in Africa. South African birds sometimes show a beak deformity in which the upper mandible overgrowth occurs.


Streptopus amplexifolius (twistedstalk, clasping twistedstalk, claspleaf twistedstalk, white twisted-stalk,  or watermelon berry)  is a species of flowering plant in the family Liliaceae, native to North America, Europe and Asia.
It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40–100 cm tall, with alternate, oblong-lanceolate leaves 5–14 cm long. The greenish-white flowers hang from axils on 1–2 cm thin kinked pedicels, each flower with six white tepals, 9–15 mm long.  The plants leaves completely encircle the stem, and the stems have a kink at each leaf axil giving the plants stem a "twisted" and wiry appearance.    The plants grow in a creeping habit in moist, dense undergrowth.


Streptopus amplexifolius is widely distributed across North America (Greenland, northern United States including Alaska; and most of Canada including Yukon and Northwest Territories).  The plant is most often found near shaded stream banks and in moist thickets of the montane and subalpine zones across most of North America.  It is also found in central and southern Europe (from Spain to Ukraine and as far north as Germany and Poland) and in eastern Asia (Japan, Korea, Myanmar (Burma) and eastern Russia (Yakutia, Amur, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, Khabarovsk, Primorye)).


Streptopus amplexifolius  was used as a food plant by Native Americans in Eastern North America and as a medicine.  The plant was referred to by early settlers of Eastern and Western North America as "wild cucumber" and as "scoot berries" for the mildly laxative effects of the berries if they are eaten in excessive quantities.
The tender young shoots of this plant were eaten by some aboriginal peoples as a salad green, but most considered the plant and berries poisonous.  The shoots are sweet with a cucumber-like flavor.  The berries are reported to be juicy and sweet, with a watermelon-like flavor. The juice of the berries was used as a soothing treatment for burns by American Indians.
Streptopus amplexifolius has a superficial resemblance to False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum), but Twisted Stalk produces axillary flowers and fruits along the stem, where False Solomon's Seal produces a terminal inflorescence.   Also False Solomon's Seal is always a single unbranched stem, while Twisted Stalk can be branched at the bottom. In fruit, Twisted Stalk is easily identified by its large, juicy red berries which grow from each leaf axil and are highly visible, even in the thickest undergrowth, as they boldly contrast with the surrounding foliage.
When young, Twisted Stalk resembles members of the genus Veratrum, highly toxic plants that are members of the lily family, also.  This plant should not be consumed unless identification is positive.


Streptopus lanceolatus (rose twisted stalk, rosybells, rose mandarin, scootberry, liverberry, rose-bellwort), is an understory perennial plant native to the forests of North America, from Alaska to Labrador, south through the Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountain regions of the United States, as well as Montana, Washington state, Oregon, and St. Pierre & Miquelon. It grows primarily in mixed-wood forests, and throughout a wide range of soil and site conditions, preferring cool, acidic soils.
Streptopus lanceolatus grows from a rhizome or seed, the stem having a zigzag shape, branched or sometimes unbranched. Up to 30 cm (12 in) tall with alternate wide lanced oval-shaped leaves with pointed tips and a rounded base, without leaf-stalks. The leaves are often finely toothed having fine hairs on the underside veins. Flowers appear as solitary individuals opposite each leaf in early summer (May to July) and are bell-shaped on 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) long stalks bent midway, with 6 rose or white recurved petals with purple streaks. Fruit is an elongated red berry ripening in mid-summer (July to August). If berries are consumed in quantity, diarrhea can result.
Streptopus lanceolatus can be distinguished from Solomon's seal and false Solomon's seal by the alternate leaves on a zigzag stem.


The tawny owl (also called the brown owl; Strix aluco) is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, and whose upper body may be either brown or grey. (In several subspecies, individuals may be of either color.) The tawny owl typically makes its nest in a tree hole where it can protect its eggs and young against potential predators. It is non-migratory and highly territorial: as a result, when young birds grow up and leave the parental nest, if they cannot find a vacant territory to claim as their own, they will often starve.
The tawny owl is a nocturnal bird of prey. It is able to hunt successfully at night because of its vision and hearing adaptations and its ability to fly silently. It usually hunts by dropping suddenly from a perch and seizing its prey, which it swallows whole. It hunts mainly rodents, although in urbanized areas its diet includes a higher proportion of birds. It also sometimes catches smaller owls, and is itself sometimes hunted by the eagle owl and the northern goshawk.
Although many people assume that the tawny owl has exceptional night vision, its retina is no more sensitive than a human's. Its directional hearing skill is more important to its hunting success: its ears are asymmetrically placed, which enables it to more precisely pinpoint the location from which a sound originates.
The tawny owl holds a place in human folklore: because it is active at night and has what many humans experience as a haunting call, people have traditionally associated it with bad omens and death. Many people think that all owl species make a hooting sound, but that is an overgeneralization based on the call of this particular species. In addition, the double hoot, which many people think is the tawny owl’s prototypical call, is actually a call and response between a male and a female.


The tawny owl is a robust bird, 37–46 cm (15–18 in) in length, with an 81–105 cm (32–41 in) wingspan. Weight can range from 385 to 800 g (0.849 to 1.764 lb). Its large rounded head lacks ear tufts, and the facial disc surrounding the dark brown eyes is usually rather plain. The nominate race has two morphs which differ in their plumage colour, one form having rufous brown upperparts and the other greyish brown, although intermediates also occur. The underparts of both morphs are whitish and streaked with brown. Feathers are moulted gradually between June and December. This species is sexually dimorphic; the female is much larger than the male, 5% longer and more than 25% heavier.
The tawny owl flies with long glides on rounded wings, less undulating and with fewer wingbeats than other Eurasian owls, and typically at a greater height. The flight of the tawny owl is rather heavy and slow, particularly at takeoff. As with most owls, its flight is silent because of its feathers' soft, furry upper surfaces and a fringe on the leading edge of the outer primaries. Its size, squat shape and broad wings distinguish it from other owls found within its range; great grey owl, eagle owl and Ural owls are similar in shape, but much larger.
An owl's eyes are placed at the front of the head and have a field overlap of 50–70%, giving it better binocular vision than diurnal birds of prey (overlap 30–50%). The tawny owl's retina has about 56,000 light-sensitive rod cells per square millimetre (36 million per square inch); although earlier claims that it could see in the infrared part of the spectrum have been dismissed, it is still often said to have eyesight 10 to 100 times better than humans in low-light conditions. However, the experimental basis for this claim is probably inaccurate by at least a factor of 10. The owl's actual visual acuity is only slightly greater than that of humans, and any increased sensitivity is due to optical factors rather than to greater retinal sensitivity; both humans and owl have reached the limit of resolution for the retinas of terrestrial vertebrates.
Adaptations to night vision include the large size of the eye, its tubular shape, large numbers of closely packed retinal rods, and an absence of cone cells, since rod cells have superior light sensitivity. There are few coloured oil drops, which would reduce the light intensity. Unlike diurnal birds of prey, owls normally have only one fovea, and that is poorly developed except in daytime hunters such as the short-eared owl.
Hearing is important for a nocturnal bird of prey, and as with other owls, the tawny owl's two ear openings differ in structure and are asymmetrically placed to improve directional hearing. A passage through the skull links the eardrums, and small differences in the time of arrival of a sound at each ear enables its source to be pinpointed. The left ear opening is higher on the head than the larger right ear and tilts downward, improving sensitivity to sounds from below. Both ear openings are hidden under the facial disk feathers, which are structurally specialized to be transparent to sound, and are supported by a movable fold of skin (the pre-aural flap).
The internal structure of the ear, which has large numbers of auditory neurons, gives an improved ability to detect low-frequency sounds at a distance, which could include rustling made by prey moving in vegetation. The tawny owl's hearing is ten times better than a human's, and it can hunt using this sense alone in the dark of a woodland on an overcast night, but the patter of raindrops makes it difficult to detect faint sounds, and prolonged wet weather can lead to starvation if the owl cannot hunt effectively.
The commonly heard female contact call is a shrill, kew-wick but the male has a quavering advertising song hoo...ho, ho, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo. William Shakespeare used this owl's song in Love's Labour's Lost (Act 5, Scene 2) as "Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit; Tu-who, a merry note, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot", but this stereotypical call is actually a duet, with the female making the kew-wick sound, and the male responding hooo. The call is easily imitated by blowing into cupped hands through slightly parted thumbs, and a study in Cambridgeshire found that this mimicry produced a response from the owl within 30 minutes in 94% of trials. A male's response to a broadcast song appears to be indicative of his health and vigour; owls with higher blood parasite loads use fewer high frequencies and a more limited range of frequencies in their responses to an apparent intruder. The vocal activity of tawny owls depends on sex, annual cycle stage and weather, with males being more vocal than females year-round, with peak vocal activity during incubation and post-breeding.


Although both colour morphs occur in much of the European range, brown birds predominate in the more humid climate of western Europe, with the grey morph becoming more common further east; in the northernmost regions, all the owls are a cold-grey colour. The Siberian and Scandinavian subspecies are 12% larger and 40% heavier, and have 13% longer wings than western European birds, in accordance with Bergmann's rule which predicts that northern forms will typically be bigger than their southern counterparts.
The plumage colour is genetically controlled, and studies in Finland and Italy indicate that grey-morph tawny owls have more reproductive success, better immune resistance, and fewer parasites than brown birds. Although this might suggest that eventually the brown morph could disappear, the owls show no colour preference when choosing a mate, so the selection pressure in favour of the grey morph is reduced. There are also environmental factors involved. The Italian study showed that brown-morph birds were found in denser woodland, and in Finland, Gloger's rule would suggest that paler birds would in any case predominate in the colder climate.


The species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name. The binomial derives from Greek strix "owl" and Italian allocco, "tawny owl" (from Latin ulucus "screech-owl").
The tawny owl is a member of the wood-owl genus Strix, part of the typical owl family Strigidae, which contains all species of owl other than the barn owls. Within its genus, the tawny owl's closest relatives are Hume's owl, Strix butleri, (formerly considered to be conspecific), the Himalayan owl, Strix nivicolum, (sometimes considered conspecific), its larger northern neighbour, the Ural owl, S. uralensis, and the North American barred owl, S. varia. The Early–Middle Pleistocene Strix intermedia is sometimes considered a paleosubspecies of the tawny owl, which would make it that species' immediate ancestor.
The tawny owl subspecies are often poorly differentiated, and may be at a flexible stage of subspecies formation with features related to the ambient temperature, the colour tone of the local habitat, and the size of available prey. Consequently, various authors have historically described between 10 and 15 subspecies. The seven currently recognised subspecies are listed below.


The tawny owl is non-migratory and has a distribution stretching discontinuously across temperate Europe from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to western Siberia. It is absent from Ireland (probably because of competition from the long-eared owl), and only a rare vagrant to the Balearic and Canary Islands. In the Himalayas and East Asia it is replaced by the Himalayan owl (Strix nivicolum) and in northwest Africa it is replaced by the closely related Maghreb owl (Strix mauritanica).
This species is found in deciduous and mixed forests, and sometimes mature conifer plantations, preferring locations with access to water. Cemeteries, gardens and parks have allowed it to spread into urban areas, including central London. Although tawny owls occur in urban environments, especially those with natural forests and wooded habitat patches, they are less likely to occur at sites with high noise levels at night. The tawny owl is mainly a lowland bird in the colder parts of its range, but breeds to 550 metres (1,800 ft) in Scotland, 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in the Alps, 2,350 m (7,710 ft) in Turkey, and up to 2,800 m (9,200 ft) in Myanmar.
The tawny owl has a geographical range of at least 10 million km² (3.8 million mi²) and a large population including an estimated 970,000–2,000,000 individuals in Europe alone. Population trends have not been quantified, but there is evidence of an overall increase. This owl is not believed to meet the IUCN Red List criterion of declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations and is therefore evaluated as being of least concern. In the UK it is on the RSPB Amber List of Concern. This species has expanded its range in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Ukraine, and populations are stable or increasing in most European countries. Declines have occurred in Finland, Estonia, Italy and Albania. Tawny owls are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international trade (including in parts and derivatives) is regulated.


Tawny owls pair off from the age of one year, and stay together in a usually monogamous relationship for life. An established pair's territory is defended year-round and maintained with little, if any, boundary change from year to year. The pair sit in cover on a branch close to a tree trunk during the day, and usually roost separately from July to October. Roosting owls may be discovered and "mobbed" by small birds during the day, but they normally ignore the disturbance.
The tawny owl typically nests in a hole in a tree, but will also use old European magpie nests, squirrel drey or holes in buildings, and readily takes to nest boxes. It nests from February onwards in the south of its range, but rarely before mid-March in Scandinavia. The glossy white eggs are 48 mm × 39 mm (1.9 in × 1.5 in) in size and weigh 39.0 g (1.38 oz) of which 7% is shell. The typical clutch of two or three eggs is incubated for 30 days to hatching, and the altricial, downy chicks fledge in a further 35–39 days. Incubation is usually undertaken by the female alone, although the male has rarely been observed to assist. The young usually leave the nest up to ten days before fledging, and hide on nearby branches.
This species is fearless in defence of its nest and young, and, like other Strix owls, strikes for the intruder's head with its sharp talons. Because its flight is silent, it may not be detected until it is too late to avoid the danger. Dogs, cats and humans may be assaulted, sometimes without provocation. Perhaps the best-known victim of the tawny owl's fierce attack was the renowned bird photographer Eric Hosking, who lost his left eye when struck by a bird he was attempting to photograph near its nest in 1937. He later called his autobiography An Eye for a Bird.
The parents care for young birds for two or three months after they fledge, but from August to November the juveniles disperse to find a territory of their own to occupy. If they fail to find a vacant territory, they usually starve. The juvenile survival rate is unknown, but the annual survival rate for adults is 76.8%. The typical lifespan is five years, but an age of over 18 years has been recorded for a wild tawny owl, and of over 27 years for a captive bird.
Predators of the tawny owl include large birds such as Ural owls, eagle owls, northern goshawks, golden eagles, and common buzzards. Pine martens may raid nests, especially where artificial nest boxes make the owls easy to find, and several instances have been recorded of Eurasian jackdaws building nests on top of a brooding female tawny owl leading to the death of the adult and chicks. A Danish study showed that predation by mammals, especially red foxes, was an important cause of mortality in newly fledged young, with 36% dying between fledging and independence. The mortality risk increased with fledging date from 14% in April to more than 58% in June, and increasing predation of late broods may be an important selective agent for early breeding in this species.
This species is increasingly affected by avian malaria, the incidence of which has tripled in the last 70 years, in parallel with increasing global temperatures. An increase of one degree Celsius produces a two- to three-fold increase in the rate of malaria. In 2010, the incidence in British tawny owls was 60%, compared to 2–3% in 1996.


The tawny owl hunts almost entirely at night, watching from a perch before dropping or gliding silently down to its victim, but very occasionally it will hunt in daylight when it has young to feed. This species takes a wide range of prey, mainly woodland rodents, but also other mammals up to the size of a young rabbit, and birds, earthworms and beetles. In urban areas, birds make up a larger proportion of the diet, and species as unlikely as mallard and kittiwake have been killed and eaten.
Prey is typically swallowed whole, with indigestible parts regurgitated as pellets. These are medium-sized and grey, consisting mainly of rodent fur and often with bones protruding, and are found in groups under trees used for roosting or nesting.
Less powerful woodland owls such as the little owl and the long-eared owl cannot usually co-exist with the stronger tawny owls, which may take them as food items, and are found in different habitats; in Ireland the absence of the tawny owl allowed the long-eared owl to become the dominant owl. Similarly, where the tawny owl has moved into built-up areas, it tends to displace barn owls from their traditional nesting sites in buildings.


The tawny owl, like its relatives, has often been seen as an omen of bad luck; William Shakespeare used it as such in Julius Caesar (Act 1 Scene 3): "And yesterday the bird of night did sit/ Even at noon-day upon the market-place/ Hooting and shrieking." John Ruskin is quoted as saying "Whatever wise people may say of them, I at least have found the owl's cry always prophetic of mischief to me".
Wordsworth described the technique for calling an owl in his poem "There Was a Boy".
And there, with fingers interwoven, both hands

Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth

Uplifted, he, as through an instrument,

Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls,

That they might answer him.—And they would shout

Across the watery vale, and shout again,

Responsive to his call,—with quivering peals,

And long halloos, and screams, and echoes loud

Redoubled and redoubled; concourse wild

Of jocund din!


The Ural owl (Strix uralensis) is a large nocturnal owl. It is a member of the true owl family, Strigidae. The Ural owl is a member of the genus Strix, that is also the origin of the family’s name under Linnaean taxonomy. Both its common name and scientific name refer to the Ural Mountains of Russia where the type specimen was collected. However, this species has an extremely broad distribution that extends as far west as much of Scandinavia, montane eastern Europe, and, sporadically, central Europe, thence sweeping across the Palearctic broadly through Russia to as far east as Sakhalin and throughout Japan. The Ural owl may include up to 15 subspecies, but most likely the number may be slightly fewer if accounting for clinal variations.
This forest owl is typical associated with the vast taiga forest in Eurosiberia, although it ranges to other forest types, including mixed forests and temperate deciduous forest. The Ural owl is something of a dietary generalist like many members of the Strix genus, but it is usually locally reliant on small mammals, especially small rodents such as voles. In terms of its reproductive habits, Ural owls tend to vigorously protect a set territory on which they have historically nested on a variety of natural nest sites, including tree cavities and stumps and nests originally built by other birds but now, in many parts of the range are adapted to nest boxes made by biologists and conservationists. Breeding success is often strongly correlated with prey populations. The Ural owl is considered to be a stable bird species overall, with a conservation status per the IUCN as a least concern species. Despite some local decreases and extinctions, the Ural owl has been aided in central Europe by reintroductions.


Like most Strix species, it has a broad, rounded head with a correspondingly round facial disc, barring a tiny V-shaped indentation. The Ural owl has, for an owl, an exceptionally long tail that bears a wedge-shaped tip. In colour, it tends to be a plain pale greyish-brown to whitish overall (with more detailed description of their variation under subspecies), with a slightly darker grey-brown to brown back and mantle with contrasting whitish markings. The underparts are pale cream-ochre to grey-brown and are boldly (though sometimes more subtly) overlaid with dark brown streaking, without crossbars. Many variations are known in overall plumage colour both at the subspecies level and the individual level. However, the Ural owl usually appears as a rather pale grey-brown owl, usually lacking in the warmer, richer colour tones of many other Strix owls, with distinct streaking below. In flight, an Ural owl shows a largely buffish-white underwing marked with heavy dark bars around the trailing edge and tip, while the long white tipped tail often appears slung downwards.  Their flight style is reminiscent of a buzzard but with deeper, more relaxed wing beats, with their style of flight often giving the appearance of quite a large bird. The eyes are dark brown, being relatively small and closely set to each other, which is opined to give them a less “fierce” countenance than that of a great grey owl (Strix nebulosa). The eyes are reminiscent of an almond in both shape and colour. The bill is yellowish in colour, with a dirty yellow cere. Meanwhile, the tarsi and toes are covered in greyish feathering and the talons are yellowish brown with darker tips.
The Ural owl is a rather large species. Full-grown specimens range in total length from 50 to 64 cm (20 to 25 in), which may render them as roughly the eight longest owl species in the world (though many owls are heavier on average). Wingspan can vary in the species from 110 to 134 cm (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 5 in). Like most birds of prey, the Ural owl displays reverse sexual dimorphism in size, with the female averaging slightly larger than the male. Reportedly talon size and body mass is the best way to distinguish the two sexes of Ural owl other than behavioral dichotomy based on observations in Finland. Weight is variable through the European part of the range. Males have been known to weigh from 451 to 1,050 g (0.994 to 2.315 lb) and females have been known to weigh from 569 to 1,454 g (1.254 to 3.206 lb). Voous estimated the typical weight of males and females at 720 g (1.59 lb) and 870 g (1.92 lb), respectively. It is one of the larger species in the Strix genus, being about 25% smaller overall than the great grey owl, the latter certainly being the largest of extant Strix species in every method of measurement. Body masses reported for some of the more southerly Asian species such as brown wood owl (Strix leptogrammica) and spotted wood owl (Strix selopato) (as well as the similarly sized but unweighed mottled wood owl (Strix ocellata)) show that they broadly overlap in body mass with the Ural owl or are even somewhat heavier typically despite being somewhat smaller in length, being somewhat stockier in build yet shorter tailed than the Ural owl. Despite having no published weights for adults, Père David's owl (Strix davidi) seems to also be of a similar size to the Ural owl as well. Among standard measurements, in both sexes, wing chord can measure from 267 to 400 mm (10.5 to 15.7 in) across the range and tail length can from 201 to 320 mm (7.9 to 12.6 in). Among extant owls, only the great grey owl is certain to have a longer tail. Though less frequently measured, the tarsus may range from 44 to 58.5 mm (1.73 to 2.30 in) and, in northern Europe, the total bill length measured from 38 to 45 mm (1.5 to 1.8 in). The foot span can regularly reach around 14.3 cm (5.6 in) in full-grown owls.


The song of the male is a deep rhythmic series of notes with a short pause after the first two notes, variously transcribed as wihu huw-huhuwo or huow-huow-huow. The phrase repeats at intervals of several seconds. The male’s song may carry up to 2 km (1.2 mi) to human perception but usually is considered not quite that far-carrying. Peak singing times in Finland during springtime are 10 pm-12 am and more intensely at 1-3 am, which differed from the peak times for nest visits. The female has a similar but hoarser and slightly higher pitched song, giving it a more "barking" quality. Not infrequently, Ural owls will duet during courtship. In addition, a deep, hoarse heron-like kuwat or korrwick is probably used as a contact call. These are more elongated and harsher than the kewick note made by tawny owls (Strix aluco). Young beg with hoarse chrrreh calls, again similar to the ones by young tawny owls but deeper. Vocal behavior tends to peak in early spring until the young leave the nest, most often during incubation and nesting in the form of prey delivery countercalling. The alarm call, which is typically delivered during territorial rounds, of the male is coincidentally analogous to the territorial song of the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), which is considered a somewhat hollow sounding hoot. The alarm call is audible at up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) away. The Ural owl also has a particularly menacing bill-snapping display. In total, Swedish biologist reported that about nine different calls were uttered by Ural owls. Despite the range of calls, the species is generally very quiet for a large owl and may not vocalize even at peak times for perhaps up to nearly 2 days.
The ears of the Ural owl are quite large, averaging about 24 mm (0.94 in) on the left and 27 mm (1.1 in) on the right with the pre-aural dermal flap measuring about 13 mm (0.51 in). In fact their ears are amongst the largest recorded in owls. In combination with their large ears, the well-developed facial disc shows the importance of sound to hunting to this and other owl who hunt in boreal zones. While the Ural owl was found to be aurally overdeveloped compared to other Strix such as the barred owl (Strix varia) it was found to be underdeveloped in comparison to owls more confined to true boreal type habitats, like the great grey owl and the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus).


The Ural owl is a fairly distinctive looking bird but can be confused for other owls, especially with others in the Strix genus. The tawny owl is much smaller with a conspicuously shorter tail and a relatively larger head. The tawny species, which occurs variously in grey, brown and red morphs, has underparts with dark shaft-streaks and crossbars, as opposed to the heavy but straight streaking of the Ural owl. The great grey owl is larger than the Ural owl with a huge head and relatively even smaller yellow eyes while their facial disc has strong concentric lines. In colour, the great grey is distinctly more solidly uniform and somewhat dark greyish than the Ural owl. An unlikely species to mistake a Ural owl is the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) which is much larger (by a considerable margin the heaviest and longest winged owl in Europe) with prominent ear tufts, a squarish (not rounded) head shape and orange eyes as well as with distinctly different markings. Long-eared owls (Asio otus) are much smaller and slimmer, with prominent ear-tufts, orange eyes and more prominent dark markings. More similar than any in Europe, the closely related Père David's owl does not occur in the same range as (other?) Ural owls but is darker in plumage, also with a facial disc marked with darker concentric lines. Due to its partially diurnal behaviour during warmer months, some authors consider it confusable with the very different looking (but similarly largish and long-tailed) northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis).


The Ural owl was named by Peter Simon Pallas in 1771 as Strix uralensis, due to the type specimen having been collected in the Ural mountains range. While the Urals fall around the middle of the species’ distribution, some authors such as Karel Voous lamented that a more broadly appropriate than Ural owl wasn’t derived for the English common name. In other languages, the species is referred to as Slaguggla, or “attacking owl”, in Swedish, Habichtskauz, or “goshawk-owl”, in German or as the “long-tailed owl” in Russian. The Ural owl is a member of the Strix genus, which are quite often referred to as wood owls. Conservatively, about 18 species are currently represented in this genus, typically being medium to large sized owls, characteristically round-headed and lacking ear tufts, which acclimate to living in forested parts of various climatic zones. Four owls native to the neotropics are sometimes additionally included with the Strix genus but some authorities have also included these in a separate but related genus, Ciccaba. Strix owls have an extensive fossil record and have long been widely distributed. The genetic relationship of true owls is somewhat muddled and different genetic testings has variously indicated that Strix owls are related to disparate appearing genera like Pulsatrix, Bubo and Asio.
The tawny owl is thought to be a close relative of the Ural owl. Authors have hypothesized that the origin of the species divide followed Pleistocene continental glaciations segregated a southwest or southern group in temperate forest (i.e. the tawny) from an eastern one inhabiting cold, boreal ranges (i.e. the Ural). The species pattern is mirrored in other bird species, i.e. the European green woodpecker (Picus viridus) from the more northern transcontinental grey-headed woodpecker (Picus canus). After retreat of the continental ice masses, the ranges more recently penetrated each other. While the life history details of the tawny and Ural owls are largely corresponding, nonetheless the species have a number of morphological differences and are largely adapted to different climates, times of activity and habitats. Based on Strix fossil species from Middle Pleistocene (given the name Strix intermedia) in variously the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary show from leg and wing bones indicate an animal of intermediate form and size between Ural and tawny owls. However, fossils of a larger and differently proportioned Strix owl than a tawny owl, identified as Strix brevis, from Germany and Hungary from before the Pleistocene (i.e. Piacenzian) and as well as diagnosed Ural owl fossils from disparate southerly deposits in Sardinia from the Early Pleistocene and in Middle Pleistocene deposits in the Pannonian Basin as well as much later during the early Holocene from far to the west in Belgium, France and Switzerland suggest a more complicated evolutionary and distributional history. A hybrid was recorded in captivity between a male Ural and a female tawny owl, which managed to produce two offspring that were intermediate in size and had a more complex song that was also shared some characteristics with both species’ vocalizations.
Some species in America, such as namely the barred owl, are at times thought to be so closely related as well to the extreme that the Ural and barred and spotted owls (Strix occidentalis), have been considered to potentially be part of a species complex or even within the same species. However, there is no evidence nor likelihood that the Strix owls between America and Eurasia ever formed a continuous population given their adaptation to well-forested areas as well as the fact that the barred owl is more ecologically similar to the more generalized tawny owl, despite being of intermediate size between tawny and Ural owls (closer in size to the latter), and that the tawny does not range anywhere close to the boundary between North America and Russia as does the Ural. Certainly the most ambiguous aspect of the relations of Ural owl is the Père David's owl which has both historically and currently been considered either an isolated subspecies of the Ural owl or a distinct species. It is thought that the Père David's is likely a glacial relict of the mountainous forest of western China where plant and animal life often remain reminiscent of pre-glacial life. Recent study has indicated that the Père David's owl is valid species based on appearance, voice, and life history differences, though genetic studies have shown a somewhat muddled diversity between races of the Ural owls species complex. It has been recognized by The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World but BirdLife International and IUCN still classify it as a subspecies of the Ural owl.


At least as many as 15 subspecies have been recognized by some authorities though some feel that there may be as few eight valid subspecies (as listed below), if the Père David's owl is not included. Study of the phylogeographic genetics of Ural owls in Europe showed that they occur in about 5 distinct genetic clusters that do not correspond as well as expected to subspecies, and further that genetic exchange is considerable where subspecies ranges abut. The phylogeographic data indicates a continuous population in not the too distant history and discredits general classification of the species as a glacial relict, with isolation of populations likely being largely related to human interference.
S. u. uralensis (Pallas, 1771)- This is the nominate subspecies, thought to be found in the inland part of the Russian Far East, Siberia to Yakutia and Okhotsk Coast south to Middle Volga, southern Ural, Tyumen and Yalutorovsky. The wing chord of males is 334 to 375 mm (13.1 to 14.8 in) whilst that of females is 348 to 380 mm (13.7 to 15.0 in). A small sample of males weighed 500 to 712 g (1.102 to 1.570 lb) while one female weighed 950 g (2.09 lb). Light and dark morphs occur in the nominate race, the former being much more numerous. This subspecies is likely the palest form of Ural owl, with some Siberian owls so completely whitish and faintly marked as to momentarily suggest a snowy owl (Bubo scandianus). The typical light morph has facial disc of dirty whitish to pale ochraceous-grey colour, while the rim around disc consists of rows of small dark spots. The upperparts are pale greyish-brown, mottled, spotted and streaked variously with whitish and dusky and the scapulars have a rather large area of white. The throat is whitish, while the remaining underside is very pale greyish-brown to dirty whitish with heavy but not dark brown streaking. The tarsi and toes are feathered in a pale greyish-brown to dirty whitish-cream colour.
S. u. liturata (Tengmalm, 1795)- This race is found in northern Europe from eastern Norway, Lapland and elsewhere in Sweden, throughout the range in Finland, to the Baltic region (mainly northern Belarus), eastern Poland, the eastern Alps down, the easternmost Carpathian mountains, east to the Volga. Birds of this race sometimes intergrade in the eastern part of the range with the nominate subspecies. Wing chord of males is 342 to 368 mm (13.5 to 14.5 in) and in females is 349 to 382 mm (13.7 to 15.0 in). Tail length is 253 to 282 mm (10.0 to 11.1 in). Known body masses have been reported as 451 to 900 g (0.994 to 1.984 lb) in males. Despite being linearly smaller than S. u. marcoura, a large sample of female Ural owls in Finland showed that they were surprisingly some 16% heavier than those in Romania, with 542 averaging 1,031 g (2.273 lb), with a range of 785 to 1,350 g (1.731 to 2.976 lb). Some females of the subspecies though may weigh as little as 520 g (1.15 lb) and, unlike the Ural owl species overall, may show some level of compliance to Bergmann's rule.  This race is fairly similar in appearance to the nominate form but averages a fair bit darker, with richer, darker brown streaking below in most birds that extends to the bottom rim of the facial disc and typically less extensive white spotting and mottling about the back and mantle.
S. u. macroura (Wolf, 1810)- This race, which comes close but is usually found in different areas than S. u. liturata is native to the western Carpathians, Transylvanian Alps and south to the West Balkans. In both sexes the wing chord may range from 354 to 415 mm (13.9 to 16.3 in). Tail length is 282 to 315 mm (11.1 to 12.4 in). Going on linear measurements, this is the largest bodied race of Ural owl, despite having the most southerly range of any race in Europe. In Romania, 40 males weighed an average of 706 g (1.556 lb), with a range of 503 to 950 g (1.109 to 2.094 lb), and 57 females weighed an average of 863 g (1.903 lb), with a range of 569 to 1,307 g (1.254 to 2.881 lb). However, both individual males and females that were heavier than the largest in the above sample are known for this race. This is probably the darkest coloured of Ural owl races. A typical adult is covered in a brownish ochraceous on the facial disc and the underside, which also has very broad and blackish streaking. Meanwhile, in a typical bird the back is a dark grey-brown which make the white portions on the wings stand in contrast. Dark morphs are also not infrequent. In a sample of 522 S. u. macroura, 11.7% were dark morphs, while previously it was estimated that only about 6% were dark morphs. Locally, even as many as 15% of birds may be dark morphs. Dark morphs are a rich, dark chocolate brown overall, especially on the facial disc. The mantle of dark morphs is dark coffee brown with mildly different grey-brown streaking, lacking the white spots seen on this area on other Ural owls. The underside usually show dark chocolate brown streaks over a mid-brown base colour.
S. u. yenisseensis (Buturlin, 1915)- This race is found in the Central Siberian Plateau to Transbaikal and northwestern Mongolia but they are mainly recorded as winter vagrants in the latter two areas. The wing chord of males is 328 to 350 mm (12.9 to 13.8 in) while in females it is 348 to 370 mm (13.7 to 14.6 in). Tail length is from 235 to 282 mm (9.3 to 11.1 in). This race is fairly similar to the nominate subspecies but is typically a little less whitish overall and typically overall much smaller than it as well as most European Ural owls. Hybrids between this and the nominate subspecies are known to occur.
S. u. nikolskii (Buturlin, 1907)- According to some authorities, this race includes previously recognized subspecies of S. u. daurica, S. u. taibanai and S. u. corrensis. This race is found in Transbaikal north and east to Vitim, Sakhalin and south to the Korean peninsula. This race is quite small, being smaller than all races to the west of it and only mildly larger than the Ural owls of Japan. The wing chord of males is 293 to 335 mm (11.5 to 13.2 in) and that of females is 317 to 355 mm (12.5 to 14.0 in). One male weighed 630 g (1.39 lb) while a small sample of females weighed 608 to 842 g (1.340 to 1.856 lb). More so than other Russian subspecies, this race is similar to S. u. liturata in Europe but distantly separated in distribution. Compared to that race as well as the sometimes overlapping S. u. yenisseensis, in S. u. nikolskii the head, nape and shoulders typically have a brownish colour (suggesting a cape) which is contrasted more strongly with the whiter light areas.
S. u. fuscescens (Temminck & Schlegel, 1847)- This Japanese race is found from western and southern Honshu to Kyushu. This race is quite small. Despite being sometimes opined as the smallest race, it appears to be slightly larger than the Ural owls found in Hokkaido. The wing chord of males is 301 to 311 mm (11.9 to 12.2 in) and that of females is 315 to 332 mm (12.4 to 13.1 in). The upperparts are marked with a distinct yellowish rufescent-brown colour. Meanwhile, the underparts are yellowish rusty with dark brown streaks and often are overlaid with rounded white spots. The feathering of the toes and tarsi are solidly brownish.
S. u. hondoensis (Clark 1907)- This race may include S. u. japonica. If it includes japonica, this race is found throughout Hokkaido down through northern and central Honshu. Quite to the contrary of Bergmann's rule, northern owls in Hokkaido are the smallest ones, and indeed the smallest known in the entire Ural owl species, while southerly owls are slightly larger. Otherwise birds from the different islands are similar in appearance. The wing chord of males is 249 to 322 mm (9.8 to 12.7 in) and that of females is 295 to 347 mm (11.6 to 13.7 in). Tail length in Hokkaido is 201 to 235 mm (7.9 to 9.3 in) while in Honshu it is 220 to 244 mm (8.7 to 9.6 in). Compared to other Japanese birds (i.e. S. u. fuscescens) and indeed most other races is of a rather rusty brown colour overall, while most individuals show little to no white speckling on the head, back and mantle.


The Ural owl has a large distribution. In mainland Europe, its modern distribution is quite spotty, with the species being found in central Europe in southeastern Germany, central and eastern areas of the Czech Republic, southern Austria, all but western Slovenia, and spottily but broadly in several areas of western, southern and northeastern Poland. The distribution in Germany is particularly nebulous (and perhaps aided by reintroductions branching from the well-known Bavarian population), with evidence of Ural owls apparently residing (and possibly nesting) considerably away from currently known haunts in Egge far to the west and mysteriously turning up rather to the north in Harz and Lüneburg Heath. In eastern Europe, the species is found in eastern Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, western Serbia, montane west-central Bulgaria, montane central Romania, much of Slovakia, southwestern Ukraine, southern and eastern Lithuania, northern Belarus, eastern Latvia and much of Estonia. In Scandinavia, its distribution is quite broad, though it is only found in southeastern part of Norway, as Ural owls may be found ranging across most of Sweden and Finland but is absent from the northern stretches as well as southern Sweden (largely the peninsular area). Its range in Russia is extensive but it is absent from areas where habitat is not favorable. In western and European Russia, it is found as far south roughly as the Bryansk, Moscow and northern Samara north continuously to Kaliningrad, the southern part of the Kola Peninsula and Arkhangelsk. In the eponymous Ural region, it is found from roughly Komi south to Kamensk-Uralsky. In the general area of Siberia, the Ural owl is found widely discontinuing its typical range in the foothills of the Altai Mountains to the west and being found north roughly as far as Batagay in the east. The species’ distribution is continuous to the Russian Far East to as far as Okhotsk Coast and Magadan, Khabarovsk Krai and Sakhalin. Out of Russia, the range of the Ural owl continues into northeastern Mongolia, Northeastern China inland nearly as far as Beijing and down to Shandong and throughout the Korean Peninsula. The Ural owl is also distributed through all five of the main islands of Japan (i.e. only absent from Okinawa/Ryukyu Islands to the south). Vagrancy has been reported in Europe and Russia, which may account for sightings of the species almost throughout Germany. Furthermore, as many 16 records exist of the species turning until in northern Italy.


Ural owls tend to occur in mature but not too dense primary forest, which can variously be in coniferous, mixed or deciduous areas. Normally, they prefer to be close to an opening. These are often compromised by forest bogs with wet ground underfoot is overgrown by a mixture of spruce, alder and/or birch or by damp heathland with scattered trees. Predominant trees in much of the range are often spruce, fir and pine forests in north and alder, beech and birch with mixtures of the above conifers in the south. Quite often they are adapted to high elevation forest in mountains, but in remote wildlands they can adapt equally well to areas down to sea level.
In the Carpathian mountains, they tend to favor almost exclusively beech-dominated forests, normally at elevations of 250 to 450 m (820 to 1,480 ft) above sea level. Forest characteristics of these beech-dominated woods showed that during forest management showed they need at least 100 ha (250 acres) of woods to persist, with parts of the forests needing to be at least 45–60 years old. Carpathian Ural owls typically occur far from human habitations and woodland edge not surrounded by forest and typically avoid parts of the forest with steep slopes or with dense undergrowth. Carpathian birds often preferred areas with glades that bear gaps between the trees often around 25 m (82 ft) or so and usually with plentiful broken trees. Young, post-dispersal owls in the Carpathians birds show less strong habitat preferences and may utilized wooded corridors that often are connected to remaining ideal habitat areas. Reportedly the countries of Slovakia, Slovenia then Romania have the most extensive ideal habitat in the Carpathians and resultingly have the highest local densities of Ural owls, perhaps in all of Europe. Forest predominant in beech were also seemingly preferred by the reintroduced Ural owls in Bavarian Forest, again with old growth preferred with plentiful sun exposure. Bavarian owls occurred in areas that were also often rich in large mammals since their preference for access to parts of the forest with broken trees and openings often coincided. Further north in Latvia, forests inhabited were usually far older than was prevalent in the regional environment, usually with a preference for forest areas with trees at least 80 years old. Finnish populations apparently most often occur in spruce dominated forest, usually having discreetly segregated forest preferences apart from sympatric species of owls except for the boreal owl, which also preferred spruce areas but occurred more regularly when the dominant Ural owls are scarce. In the taiga of western Finland, it was found that biodiversity was consistently higher in the vicinity of Ural owl nests than outside these vicinities, rendering the Ural owl as perhaps a “keystone species” for the local ecosystem. Riverine forests with birch and poplar are often utilized in the taiga as well as spruce or fir forests (montane taiga) in the Ussuri river area. Generally in northern climes such as Finland and western Russia, wherein the Lapland area the Ural owl is likely to reach the northernmost part of its range, it is adaptive to Subarctic areas possibly up to the tree line but does not adapt as well as the great grey owl to areas of dwarf forest just south of the tundra, generally needing taller, more mature forests to the south of this.
Historically, they normally occur in remote, little disturbed areas far from human habitations. The Ural owl is largely restricted from areas where forest fragmentation has occurred or park-like settings are predominant, as opposed to the smaller, more adaptive tawny owl which acclimates favorably to such areas. On the contrary, in some peri-urbanized areas of Russia, such as the metropolitan parks and gardens so long as habitat is favorable and encouraging of prey populations, the Ural owl has been known to successfully occur. Some towns and cities whose region hold some populations of Ural owls are Chkalov, Kirov, Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk, and even sometimes Leningrad and Moscow. Changes in nesting habits due to the erection of nest boxes has almost allowed Ural owls to nest unusually close to human habitations in the western part of the range, especially in Finland. An exceptional record of synanthropization in this species for Europe was recorded in Košice, Slovakia where a 10-15 year apparent increase of an unknown number of owls have been observed between the months of November and June. At least one Ural owl was recorded to habituate the city of Ljubljana in Slovenia but there was no evidence it was able to breed or establish a territory given the limited nature of woodlands in the vicinity.


The Ural owl is often considered nocturnal with peaks of activity at dusk and just before dawn. However, taken as a whole and since it mainly lives the taiga zone where very long summer days are the norm against extensive dark during the winter, Ural owls are not infrequently fully active during daylight hours during the warmer months, while brooding young. Presumably during winter, they are mostly active during the night. Thus, the species may be more correctly classified as cathemeral as is much of their main prey. The wide range of activity times, and partial adaption to daytime activity, is further indicated by the relatively small eyes that the species possesses. This contrasts strongly with the tawny owl, which almost always fully nocturnal. During the day, Ural owls may take rests on a roost, which is most typically a branch close to trunk of a tree or in dense foliage. Normally, Ural owls are not too shy and may be approached quite closely. Historically, European birdwatchers often consider the species to be rather elusive and hard to observe. However, as the species as acclimated to nest boxes closer to areas where humans frequent, especially in Fennoscandia, encounters have increased sharply.