{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Taxon",
  "slug": "tawny-owl",
  "name": "Tawny Owl",
  "scientificName": "Strix aluco",
  "category": "Bird",
  "summary": "The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is a stocky, round-headed woodland owl of Europe and western Asia, and the owl most often heard calling at night in Britain. The famous 'twit-twoo' is really two birds: the female's sharp 'ke-wick' answered by the male's hooting 'hoo-hooo'. It hunts mice, voles and birds in the dark. It is listed as Least Concern with a stable population.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Twit-twoo explained",
      "body": "The classic 'twit-twoo' is a duet. The female gives a sharp 'ke-wick' contact call and the male answers with a long, wavering 'hoo... hoo-hoo-hoooo'. Calls are most frequent in autumn, when young birds look for territories, and in late winter before breeding."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Identification",
      "body": "Tawny owls are medium-sized and chunky, with a big round head, no ear tufts and large, dark eyes. Plumage varies from rufous-brown to grey-brown, streaked and mottled for camouflage against tree bark. They are strictly nocturnal and roost by day in tree holes or dense ivy."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Staying put",
      "body": "Pairs hold the same territory for life and rarely move far. Young birds must find a vacant territory in their first autumn, and many starve if they fail. BTO ringing data give a typical life expectancy of 4 years, but the oldest ringed bird lived 23 years and 5 months."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Status",
      "body": "BirdLife International lists the tawny owl as Least Concern (2024), with 1.58 to 2.34 million mature birds and a stable trend. In Britain, monitoring suggests it has declined in recent decades, and it is absent from Ireland."
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Do tawny owls really say 'twit-twoo'?",
      "answer": "Not a single bird. The female calls 'ke-wick' and the male replies 'hoo-hooo', and together the two calls sound like 'twit-twoo'."
    },
    {
      "question": "Are there tawny owls in Ireland?",
      "answer": "No. The tawny owl does not occur in Ireland; the long-eared owl is the commonest owl there."
    },
    {
      "question": "What do tawny owls eat?",
      "answer": "Mainly wood mice, voles and shrews, plus small birds, frogs, earthworms and beetles."
    },
    {
      "question": "How long do tawny owls live?",
      "answer": "Typically about 4 years once they reach breeding age, but the oldest ringed tawny owl lived 23 years and 5 months."
    }
  ],
  "sourceUpdate": null,
  "evidence": [],
  "conservationStatus": "Least Concern",
  "taxonomy": {
    "kingdom": "Animalia",
    "phylum": "Chordata",
    "class": "Aves",
    "order": "Strigiformes",
    "family": "Strigidae",
    "genus": "Strix"
  },
  "stats": {
    "weightKg": 0.47,
    "lengthM": 0.4,
    "topSpeedKmh": 0,
    "lifespanYears": 4
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "label": "Scientific name",
      "value": "Strix aluco"
    },
    {
      "label": "Diet",
      "value": "Small mammals, birds, frogs, earthworms and beetles"
    },
    {
      "label": "Habitat",
      "value": "Deciduous and mixed woodland, parks and large gardens"
    },
    {
      "label": "Weight",
      "value": "Average about 470 g"
    },
    {
      "label": "Lifespan",
      "value": "Typically 4 years; oldest ringed bird 23 years 5 months"
    },
    {
      "label": "Range",
      "value": "Western Eurasia and north-west Africa"
    },
    {
      "label": "Conservation status",
      "value": "Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2024)"
    }
  ],
  "range": {
    "nativeRange": "Woodland across Europe (not Ireland), north-west Africa and western Asia to western Siberia and Iran.",
    "continents": [
      "Europe",
      "Asia",
      "Africa"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "citation": "BirdLife International (2026). Species factsheet: Tawny Owl Strix aluco. BirdLife DataZone. Checked 1 November 2026.",
      "url": "https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tawny-owl-strix-aluco"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Animal Diversity Web: Strix aluco. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.",
      "url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Strix_aluco/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "BTO BirdFacts: Tawny Owl. British Trust for Ornithology.",
      "url": "https://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/tawny-owl"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Tobias, J. A. et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. doi:10.1111/ele.13898",
      "url": null
    },
    {
      "citation": "Gill, F., Donsker, D. & Rasmussen, P. (Eds). IOC World Bird List v15.2.",
      "url": "https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/"
    }
  ],
  "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/tawny-owl/",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
    "attribution": "Global Animal Guide — https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/tawny-owl/",
    "note": "Free to reuse for non-commercial purposes with attribution and a link back to the canonical page."
  }
}