Appearance:

Light grey upperparts, black wings and tail with white patches, white underparts and throat. Broad, black eyestripe not reaching above highest point of bill. Bill long and medium heavy (not as heavy as in Lesser GS). White patch at base of primaries varies according to subspecies. Black part of tail most narrow at base. Juveniles less pure in colour, with faintly barred underparts and buff fringes to greater coverts.

Sound:

Alarm call very harsh, nasal and noisy. Dry and not as deep or resonant as crows. Song varied. During breeding season a varied subdued song is heard from both sexes. Territorial call before breeding starts is simple, loud and resonant. Consisting of pleasant sounding single or double syllables, with well defined pauses and peculiar harmonics.

Territorial call/song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by Jarek Matusiak,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Appearance:

Small owl with large, square head and spotted upperparts. Eyes bright yellow and facial disks white. "Astonished" expression. Size approximates that of Little Owl, but appears more bulky. Head much larger than in Pygmy Owl, and flight pattern includes interspersed glides without bounding. Seldom seen in the open.

Sound:

Song consists of fast series of fairly deep whistling notes "po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po", slightly ascending in pitch, and descending in the last few syllables. Phrase includes up to 25 units. Other calls include a drawn-out, squeaky "kweeat" and some peculiar, explosive sounds with an almost "electronic" quality.

Song:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-photo:Stefan Berndtsson, Licence,Link,