Appearance:

Approaching Eagle Owl in size, but shape more elongated, with head being extremely large. Differs from Ural Owl in yellow eyes, concentric markings in facial disks, bold white bars between eyes and black "beard". Wings and tail long. Characteristic pale patch at base of primaries shows in flight, but the species leaves an overall darker impression than Ural Owl. Tail with dark terminal band.

Sound:

Song: Cyclic, repetitive, very deep calls rising and falling in volume. Accented start and end of each "hooh". As the call fades away in volume, the speed accelerates. Sometimes disyllabic "ho-ho,ho-ho,ho-ho,ho-ho".

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-sound:Gunnar Fernqvist, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Largely unmistakable. Male almost pure white with black dots. Female and juveniles white with heavy black barring, and may seem grey at a distance. Juveniles more finely barred than adult females, giving them a greyer appearance, with white neck and face. Body barrel-shaped, head small and rounded. Wing-tips more pointed than in other owls. Flight action both buzzard and owl-like, with surprising agility. Note that several species of owls may seem completely white to the untrained eye when suddenly appearing in car headlights etc.

Sound:

Song consists of single utterances or series of "aooo", recalling Great Black-backed Gull, and is far carrying. Male warning call a deep and harsh "groat grat grat", with accented endings of each syllable. Female warning call higher pitched. Also various other high pitched calls.

Alarm call:

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-sound:Niels Krabbe, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:ahisgett, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Frank.Vassen, Licence,Link.