Tawny Owl. The lifestyle and habitat of the tawny owl bird. Tawny owl bird This bird can be bearded

Great Gray Owl is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful birds living in the vastness of our homeland. The birds' plumage is gray, with many inclusions of various shades. If you meet it in nature, you can be quite surprised by the beauty of the presented individual. Thanks to their plumage, these birds are perfectly camouflaged, literally merging with environment. This breed variety received its name because of the dark spots located in the lower part of the beak. In the neck area there is a whitish edging-collar, and a beard flaunts below.

Features and description

1. Individuals of this group belong to the nocturnal inhabitants who are awake and hunt in the dark. The plumage is thick and protruding, the bird is very fluffy. If you compare external data and basic characteristics, these individuals are quite powerful and impressive.
2. In terms of their size, owls are large rather than medium-sized. Their weight is 900 g. average. The length of the birds grows up to 50 cm, and in all respects they are inferior to their relatives, the eagle owl.
3. In general, all external data are characteristic of the owl family. But there are no feathered ears on the head, which makes these individuals stand out from the rest. The head appears sloping and large. There are no cute features in their appearance; the birds look quite terrifying.
4. The beak is located high, squeezed from the sides. The structure of the plumage is loose and sticking out to the sides. Individuals are reddish or grayish in color. The entire plumage is covered with brown spots.
5. When a bird moves through its territory at night, it is guided by its locators. They refer to folds of skin that represent the auricles on the front part. They are hidden under thick plumage, but perform their function well. Owls can hear an approaching threat from a great distance.
6. The hearing aid located on the left side is smaller than the one on the right. Usually this phenomenon is typical for the entire owl family. However, in this species this aspect is expressed so well that the skull is even deformed. As for the shade of the eyes, they are brown and muted.

Lifestyle

1. These birds are widespread in European countries. They are also found in Asia, on the northern side of Africa, and in the United States of America. Owls are not uncommon, but prefer to stay away from humans. These representatives of the family are also found throughout the vastness of our country.
2. Tawny owls, common in Siberia and the Urals, have a predominantly grayish plumage tone. If the birds live in the south or north of the mainland, then they are reddish in color with a slight brownish tone. Those birds that live in the Caucasus are pigmented with coffee and brown tone with black splashes.
3. These birds are interesting in terms of behavior, they are very brave, they will even tear to pieces for their family or couple strong predator. They choose a mate for life; they are monogamous by nature. When choosing a place to live, they are guided by the presence of forest edges and clearings. From these places best review and, as a result, the opportunity to catch prey.
4. In their lifestyle, these birds are similar to other inhabitants of the owl family. They spend their time actively at night, prepare in advance for forays, and gain strength. When the sun is at sunset, the birds begin to make daring and bloodthirsty attacks.
5. Thanks to the wide wings, the flight is very quiet, there are no air shocks. The prey does not have time to understand what is happening before it immediately becomes eaten. Distinctive feature These birds are considered to be taciturn, they speak little and practically do not call each other. This can only happen at night while hunting.
6. Birds, by their nature, lead a sedentary lifestyle. They can leave a warm place, migrating to other regions by winter period. But this happens extremely rarely. However, experienced specialists have not established what exactly influences this behavior.
7. Birds are always on the alert, especially in daytime days. They are ready for danger. If, in their opinion, a threat is imminent, the individuals immediately shrink their plumage and become literally invisible among the trees. They can either rush to attack or leave the place absolutely silently.
8. The representatives of their species in question can stand up for themselves. If one of the strangers approaches the owl’s nest, it will defend itself very fiercely. Moreover, such birds are not even afraid of bears. Therefore, especially curious and predatory better side bypass the nests of these owls.
9. Protecting their own chicks, owls leave deep scars and even peck out the eyes of their offenders. Even during skirmishes and serious fights with hawks, the individuals in question always remain victorious. It is worth noting that owls try to stick to their own territory; they also respect the boundaries of other relatives.
10. As soon as an uninvited guest steps onto the territory of such owls, these birds begin to actively drive him away. At the same time, the tawny owls begin to scream loudly and indignantly. Birds also exhibit threatening behavior. Owls attack dogs, foxes, cats and people without any fear. It is worth noting that they ignore the provocations of annoying crows.

Nutrition

1. The individuals in question Ancient Rus' They were called insatiable creatures, hence the name owls. It is worth noting that although owls are nocturnal predators, they do not try to attack large prey.
2. Tawny owls visit deep forest thickets at night. They silently glide in flight between the trees, looking for various small rodents. Often the victims are shrews and voles. Owls often attack unwary victims from ambush.
3. In just a split second, the tawny owl overtakes its prey. During the hunt, the individuals in question rely not only on vision, but also on excellent hearing. In most cases, the owl accurately attacks its prey at a distance of up to 6 m.
4. The presented individuals often settle near people who have agricultural land. As a result, owls make life easier for farmers when they catch small rodents. Such birds often attack small birds that are active at night.
5. Often such owls cause many problems for fishermen. The problem is that owls steal the skins of small animals and sables. Birds simply take prey from traps. The robbers do not have time to come for the trophy. Among other things, owls feed on amphibians, invertebrates and various reptiles.

Reproduction

1. Often the nests of the individuals in question are located in hollows forest trees. Most often, dwellings are located on cleared edges, near moss swamps and under the roof of abandoned houses. Often such owls lay eggs for other birds.
2. When birds hatch eggs on their own, the young emerge after 5 weeks. After another 1 month, the chicks begin to fly and leave the parental home. They become completely independent after another 3-4 months.

The individuals in question have a unique character. Parents always fiercely protect their offspring and nest. Therefore, you should not walk alone through the forests at night, much less look for the dwellings of tawny owls. At best, you'll come back with deep abrasions.

Video: Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa)

A representative of the owl family is a nocturnal bird tawny owl. It has soft fluffy plumage, visually transforming its appearance into a very impressive and powerful one, increasing its size, although the creatures weigh on average no more than a kilogram and are inferior in size to their relatives, having a length of about half a meter.

Traits appearance birds are quite typical of owls. However, they do not have feather “ears”. The beak of birds is high, laterally flattened; the loose plumage has a reddish or grayish tint, strewn with small brown markings.

Moving in the dark tawny owl uses a perfect natural acoustic locator, inherited from prudent nature. These are specially designed auricles, hidden under the feathers of the facial part and covered with skin folds.

It is interesting that the left region of the hearing organs of the tawny owl is always smaller in size than the right. Such asymmetry is typical for everyone, but in owls it is so pronounced that it even causes deformation of the skull. The iris of the night creature's eyes is brown.

Tawny Owl Lifestyle and Habitat

The habitat of the described birds is quite wide, including Europe and Asia, spreading south into the territory of the North. Owls of this kind are also found on the American continent.

Of the bird species in Russia, the bearded, long-tailed and gray owls live. IN European zone countries widespread tawny owl- a bird with the dimensions of a medium-sized owl.

Asian, Ural and Siberian owls predominantly have gray feathers. And redheads are residents, as a rule, of the western and southern parts of the mainland. In the Caucasus, representatives of this species, identified by scientists as a special subspecies, are capable of striking with their brown-coffee color.

Common owls spend their lives uniting in pairs that do not break up throughout their existence. When choosing a place to live, these birds of prey prefer areas located near clearings or forest edges, since they need space for successful hunting.

Pictured is a great gray owl with a chick.

The life of birds proceeds according to the usual owl routine, since the time of activity for them is precisely the night. They begin to prepare for night forays for the desired prey already at sunset, making low flights over the ground, during which they identify possible victims for carrying out daring attacks.

The convenient design of the wings helps the birds to smoothly approach the target without air shaking, which greatly facilitates their attacks. Characteristic feature The great owl is its silent nature.

However, with the onset of dusk, if you are lucky, you can hear the roll call of these mysterious winged creatures. Usually, they do not leave their habitable places, making only occasional minor migrations. However, there are no established behavioral frameworks for such birds.

The photo shows a tawny owl

They can roam, settle in deep forest thickets, but also find refuge near human habitations and buildings. These are agile and dexterous creatures, constantly on the alert. Even during the day, when they hide among the branches of trees, birds are always ready to possible dangers. If, in the opinion of the bird, something suspicious is observed nearby, it hides, even visually seeming to become smaller, shrinks in size, becomes motionless, almost merging with the trunk, and then flies away completely silently.

Tawny Owl – bird who knows how to stand up for herself. She defends her nests with extraordinary ferocity, not even being afraid. It is better for enemies and the extremely curious to stay away from the habitat of her chicks, as there is a risk of earning deep scars or losing an eye.

At night she is not so active, and it often happens that she does not sleep during the day. Such birds have powerful claws and make impressive trumpet sounds. These rare birds live in the mountain forests of taiga areas.

Pictured is a great gray owl.

The species, originally discovered in the Urals, is great owl. They are distinguished by their rather large size (their wing is up to 40 cm long), light plumage on the face and black eyes.

Their wings are yellowish-white, but a slightly darker shade than the overall light gray tone of the main feather. The abdomen is often completely white. Tawny Owl The long-tailed one stays awake and hunts at night until the first rays of the sun appear.

Lives in humid mixed forests, but in winter he often travels in search of warmer places. Such owls are very smart, easily get used to people and are capable of becoming tame.

Pictured is a tawny owl

A species of small size is considered gray owl. The size of such birds is only about 38 cm. They have dark eyes, a large head that can turn three-quarters of a circle, and gray plumage.

During mating season males They howl for a long time, and the females respond with short, dull moans. Such birds are found in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests growing in Europe and Central Asia, birds also often inhabit the areas of parks and gardens.

The Palestine Owl's habitat includes Egypt, Israel and Syria. In these parts, birds inhabit rocky gorges, palm groves, and even deserts. Such birds are distinguished by their pale color, yellowish eyes and small size (on average about 30 cm).

Tawny owl feeding

It is widely believed that the word “tawny owl” is translated from Old Russian as “an insatiable creature.” But although she is a typical night robber, she is not large enough to be interested in large prey.

When night comes to the deep forest thicket, the birds, sensitively listening to any rustle, glide between the trees, looking for shrews. They often insidiously attack frivolous victims, having first ambushed them.

And then, with one lightning-fast jerk, they overtake their prey in the place that their impressive hearing told them. Typically, the throw of an attacking tawny owl does not exceed six meters in length, although there are often enough marks.

Settling not far from agricultural lands, such birds bring considerable benefit to people by destroying rodents in the fields. The tawny owl, going out to hunt, tracking down places where small nocturnal birds gather, often visits them again to profit.

Often winged hunters greatly annoy hunters, leaving them without the skins of sables and other small fur-bearing animals that have fallen into traps and, as a result, become the prey of feathered robbers. The tawny owl's diet also includes various small invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles.

Reproduction and lifespan of the tawny owl

Tawny owl nests can be found in hollows of forest trees, near moss swamps, clearings and forest edges, often in the attics of abandoned houses. It happens that the eggs of such birds are laid in the nests of other birds, for example, goshawks, as do great gray owls and some other species of these representatives of the owl family. Coming time mating season depends on climatic conditions the habitat to which certain species of tawny owls belong.

Pictured is a great gray owl's nest.

The Brazilian owl is an inhabitant of dense wild forests New world with favorable warm climate, therefore, it begins to reproduce in August, and ends in October, arranging nests in the hollows of trees. About five weeks after birth, the chicks already leave the parental nest, and four months later they lead a completely independent existence.

Spending their lives in the forests of Europe, species of birds from the genus Tawny Owls, during the period allotted by nature for reproduction, fill the dense thickets with their voices, beginning their mating concerts. True, the sounds they make: the drawn-out hoots of the gentlemen and the short muffled cries of their girlfriends cannot be called particularly melodic.

The breeding period for the tawny owl begins quite early. Large white eggs, of which there are usually about four, are hatched even during frosts, and at the end of April, as a rule, the first chicks already leave the parents’ nest.

The photo shows the nest of a Brazilian owl

Males help their girlfriends in everything during the difficult period of the appearance of offspring, regularly bringing food to their chosen ones. Tawny owl chicks appear to the world in fluffy white clothes, later becoming covered with transverse stripes on their bellies. When they get hungry, babies squeak voicelessly and hoarsely, asking their parents to feed them.

Already in the first year of life, the rapidly growing offspring become sexually mature. It is believed, although it is not precisely established, that owls live about five years. However, there are known cases of longevity when the age of birds lasted about twenty or more years.

But in wildlife such owls often die, becoming victims of accidents and insidious predators. Near human buildings they die, hitting wires and colliding with cars. Many species of these birds are considered rare, a shining example the bearded one serves him tawny owl. Red Book takes care of their protection.

Princess of Peace – kind, positive, sociable! In any society, he strives to be the center of attention and gets along with people easily. Trusting and damn attractive! The energy is in full swing, and at the same time it is absolutely good-natured.

Communication with her will melt the heart of any person. She can sit on you at any time and start brushing your hair, showing concern.

• likes to run to the upper hall and look out the window, watching the crows
• sometimes hunts for shoes
• loves to swim

Year of birth: 2017

Scientific information about Great Gray Owls

Taxonomy:

Russian name– Great Gray Owl

Latin name– Strix nebulosa

English name– Lapland (great gray) owl

Squad– Owls

Family– Real owls

The species name "nebulosa" comes from the Latin "Nebulosus", meaning nebula or misty. Among the names of this owl there are very interesting and unusual ones, for example, large gray ghost, phantom of the North, ashen owl, sooty owl.

Status of the species in nature

The great gray owl is a protected species (CITES Convention). It is protected by local and regional legislation of those countries in which the species lives. In Russia, this owl is included in the Red Books of many regions and republics.

To preserve the great gray owl, it is necessary to promote its protection and strictly adhere to the ban on its shooting.

To attract this owl, artificial nests are made from branches, which the owls willingly occupy.

Species and man

Living mainly in the taiga zone, the great gray owl rarely encounters humans directly. However, cutting down old forests has a negative impact on its distribution (it has become rare in some parts of its range). In addition, owls die on roads and from electric shock when colliding with power lines. The direct shooting of birds does not stop, especially since in some areas of Siberia and Far East Great Gray Owl meat is considered a delicacy.

The great gray owl is a symbol Canadian province Manitoba.

Spreading

The great gray owl lives in the taiga zone of Eurasia and North America. In Russia it is found in the territory from Kola Peninsula to Chukotka and northern Sakhalin.

The main habitats are taiga forests with swamps and burnt areas, where the owl hunts; less common in mountain forests.

Leads a sedentary lifestyle, but in years of low rodent numbers, migrations beyond the boundaries of the nesting area are possible.

Appearance

The great gray owl is a large bird, its body length reaches 80 cm, its wingspan is 1.5 m, but its weight is very small - 700-800 g for males and just over 1 kg for females.

The general body color is smoky gray with a large number of dark stripes; Red tones in the plumage are completely absent.

The head is large, with a large (diameter up to 40 cm) and well-developed facial disc. The eyes are bright yellow, relatively small, and surrounded by dark concentric circles. There are no feather ears on the head. Under the beak there is a black spot similar to a beard, for which the owl got its name. A white collar is clearly visible on the neck.

The tail is long, wedge-shaped.

Like all owls, the plumage is loose and dampens the sounds of air currents, which makes the flight of these large owls completely silent.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

The basis of the great gray owl's diet is small rodents, which account for 80-90% of the diet. It also catches squirrels, birds, frogs and even large insects. According to Finnish ornithologists, one owl every 6 summer months catches about 700 mice and voles.

The great gray owl hunts early in the morning or in the evening, but can also hunt at night and even during the day, especially in winter. In spring, with the onset of more long days Great gray owls begin hunting at dusk. It hunts most often from ambush, sitting in a tree and carefully observing, and most importantly, listening to what is happening in the nearest clearing, swamp or clearing. For the great gray owl to hunt, it is necessary to have open, forest-free areas. The main “weapons” when hunting for a great gray owl are excellent hearing and claws. An owl can detect the presence of prey by hearing, even if it is not on the surface, but at a depth of up to 30 cm under the snow or underground. Then she flies from the branch and grabs her prey with lightning speed with her claws. Often, from one perch within a radius of 20-25 cm, a great gray owl manages to catch 4-6 animals. If the place is chosen poorly, then after 10-20 minutes. the owl smoothly flies to another tree. If rodent densities are low, the great gray owl hunts using exploratory flight. It slowly flies around the hunting area at a height of 2.5-5 m and also determines the presence of prey by hearing.

Like other owls, the great gray owl often hunts close to the nest, and only the lack of food here forces it to fly further away.

The daily food requirement of this owl is 150-160 g.

Activity

The great gray owl can be active at any time of the day, but prefers the morning and evening twilight hours. In winter, when daylight hours are short, the owl hunts even during the daytime. This is perhaps the most “daytime” of our owls.

The Great Gray Owl does not tolerate heat well, so during the hottest hours in the summer, it hides in the shade among the branches of a tree. At the same time, she opens her wings, rises on her paws and fluffs up her plumage, as if for “airing”.

Vocalization

The voice of the great gray owl is a loud trumpet hum, with each subsequent “woo” lower in tone than the previous one. This cry is repeated every 15-30 seconds. and in good weather can be heard at a distance of up to 800 m. Near the nest, these owls make a different sound, higher and more sonorous.

Social behavior

Great Gray Owls are territorial birds, but the hunting grounds of neighboring pairs may overlap. Under favorable feeding conditions, the density of nesting great gray owls can reach 58 pairs per 1 hectare. In case of danger, neighboring couples often unite to repel the troublemaker.

Gray owls are very tolerant of other species of owls and diurnal birds of prey encountered in their hunting grounds.

Reproduction and parental behavior

Great gray owls have permanent pairs and probably form for life.

Nesting begins early. The mating calls of males in the southern parts of the range are heard already in February, in the northern parts - in March-April. Courtship is expressed in mutual feeding and cleaning of plumage, however, most often the male brings food and treats the female. Then the male chooses a territory and notifies the female about it. She inspects several areas before

than stops at the most suitable one. Gray owls typically use the nests of other people, such as buzzards, goshawks or ravens, located high in the trees. Unlike other owls, great gray owls renovate and improve an old alien nest. They use pine needles, deer hair, moss and pieces of bark as fresh bedding.

At intervals of 1-2 days, the female lays 2 to 5 white eggs. Incubation begins with the first egg and lasts 28-30 days. Only the female incubates, although there is evidence that the male can occasionally change her on the nest. The female incubates very tightly, i.e. almost never leaves the nest, while she slightly raises her tail and spreads her wings and looks more like a brooding hen than an owl. The male hunts most of the time and feeds first only the female, and then the chicks. The hatched chicks are covered in white down and, unlike other owls, develop rather slowly. At first, the female tears up the prey she brought and feeds the chicks, and then they learn to do this themselves, and then the female also begins to hunt. Adult gray owls at the nest are very aggressive, they boldly attack and strike with their claws, trying to hit even humans and bears on the head.

The chicks leave the nest at the age of 3-4 weeks and begin to learn to fly. They fledge completely after 8 weeks, but remain at the nest for several months. Their parents continue to feed and protect them.

Lifespan

Gray owls are long-lived birds. In captivity they lived up to 40 years, in nature, of course, their life is shorter.

The tawny owl closely watches the person.

Science and life // Illustrations

The chicks, hiding, never moved.

Take off!

Owls, tireless hunters, adorn our forests. It is a rare pleasure to watch the flight of these graceful predators, especially in winter, when a fantastic gray shadow glides against the backdrop of a snow-covered forest.

One of the largest owls is called bearded owl for a reason; you just have to look at its facial disc, decorated with an almost black “beard” under a powerful beak.

In size it is second only to the eagle owl and the polar owl: its wingspan is about one and a half meters. Body weight is also quite decent: in females, larger than males, it usually exceeds one kilogram. The long claws at the ends of the tawny owl's eight toes are sharpened, like a good awl. The outer fingers, like those of all owls, bend down to make it easier to grab prey. Once I had the opportunity to experience the power of its claws on my own skin, getting to know the tawny owl better.

It was near my home village, in the south Tyumen region, Where birch forests, interspersed with fields, are very convenient for nesting birds of prey. One spring, returning from duck hunting, I noticed with my peripheral vision an unusual dark spot against the background of a bare aspen tree, and through binoculars I saw a great gray owl sitting on an old buzzard’s nest. As I approached, the bird flew away.

At the beginning of summer, armed with a camera, my partner and I came to the treasured aspen forest in the hope of photographing both the owl and the chicks. The owner was at home, looking menacingly out of the nest. Seeing us, she flew out and sat down nearby with a silent reproach. In order not to disturb the chicks too much, I chose a nearby tree as a shooting point and began to climb, remembering my childhood skills. The tawny owl sat modestly aside, and I let it out of sight for a while. But at a height of about seven meters, when it would have been unpleasant to fall, I almost let go of the branches from my hands from an unexpected strong blow to the side - this kilogram aircraft rammed me at full speed with all eight of his claws so lightning fast that I didn’t even have time to see him. A minute later - a new approach to the target and another blow to the same point, and again unexpectedly. With such respectable dimensions, the noiselessness of an owl’s flight is striking. When a large bird flies nearby absolutely silently and at the same time only a light breeze is felt from the flapping of its wings, the feeling of a silent movie is created. This is how the plumage of owls is arranged: the edges of the flight feathers are cut into small teeth at the front and fluffed at the back. And all the plumage is soft, loose, to dampen the sound of air currents.

Now I no longer let the defender of the nest out of sight, and rightly so: another blow was looming in the face, and only at the last moment I managed to put my elbow in, which took the blow. Clearly satisfied with the effect produced, the tawny owl sat down behind me, loudly clicking its beak, and its whole appearance said: well, do you want more?

It’s unlikely that the owl understood my explanation that I only intended to photograph the owlets and would not eat them, but after listening to my confused speech and deciding that I’d had enough, she switched to my partner, who was standing below. The bird sat down in front of him and began clicking its beak. And I, taking advantage of the moment, safely descended to the ground and, having said goodbye to the brave defender, went to “lick my wounds.” They write that the gray owl even attacks a bear at the nest.

While the female incubates the clutch (the process takes 28 days), the male hunts to feed his girlfriend. Males are usually not as aggressive. If the male is not far from the nest, when a person approaches, he tries to remain unnoticed, clinging to the tree trunk and standing at attention. But if his wife screams for help, he will immediately rush into battle.

Tawny owls feed mainly on rodents. According to the observations of Finnish ornithologists, one bird eats about seven hundred mice and voles in six months.

After about a month, when the owlets leave the nest and begin to fly, the parents let their guard down. The owls look awkward Stuffed Toys and look down on their surroundings with curiosity.

Later I met owls many times in different time and found nests. And I realized that photographing them is not so difficult if you know their habits. In the fall, adult owls also often show curiosity, and if, having discovered an owl, you approach it slowly and not directly, but tangentially, as if walking by or picking mushrooms, the bird can let you come close, giving you the opportunity to photograph it. And if you stand longer, without making sudden movements and trying not to look in its direction, the owl itself may even fly closer to take a closer look at the photographer, funnyly rotating its head. And then the reward for patience will be not only the indescribable (sometimes even too poignant!) impressions of meeting a beautiful bird, but also interesting shots that can be taken even with an ordinary inexpensive camera.

Appearance and behavior. A large owl is approximately the size of a chicken (body length 59–70 cm, wingspan 130–158 cm, weight 600–1,900 g), on average 15% larger, twice as large, approximately half as light, although comparable to him in overall length (the eagle owl is stockier and looks more “barrel-shaped”). Very impressive large bird enhances loose plumage. The wings are very long, wide and blunt, the tail is quite long (protrudes noticeably beyond the ends of the folded wings), rounded. What stands out is a very large head, even for an owl, with a very well-defined facial disc; in profile, the “face” is almost completely flat, as if cut off, which is clearly visible in flight (in the eagle owl it is rounded). The flight is silent, light, the flapping of the wings is slow, measured (“stately” flight in the manner of a gray heron), often gliding on outstretched wings. Leads predominantly crepuscular and night look life, but is also active during the day.

Description. The general color tone is gray-brown or dark gray, grayer and darker than that of the great owl. The upper body is almost gray, there are numerous longitudinal brown streaks on the back, there are also light spots that line up in two light lines on the shoulder and wing. The top of the head is finely streaked longitudinally and transversely with dark lines. The chest and belly are somewhat lighter, with large longitudinal brown streaks. At close range, small transverse “branches” of these streaks are sometimes visible, especially on the chest (not present in the Great Gray Owl). The flight feathers are cross-striped, brown spots at the base of the primary flight feathers on the open wing above form a light brown field that contrasts with the rest of the darker surface of the wing, and this is sometimes noticeable in a flying bird (the great owl does not have such a feature). The tail is cross-striped with relatively thin dark stripes; in addition, unlike our other owls, the ends of the tail feathers are darkened and form a wide dark stripe at the end of the tail, which is noticeable both in a sitting and in a flying bird. The pattern of the facial disk of this owl is very characteristic: thin dark concentric circles are visible on a gray background, there is a black “beard” around the beak and under it, along the edges it has white spots and two white half-rings around the eyes above the beak. The eyes are yellow (unlike our other tawny owls), the beak is light. The expression on the “face” is not “kind” or “wise,” but rather “stupid-angry” or “wary-surprised.” The legs and fingers are feathered down to the claws.

The male and female do not differ in color; the female is noticeably larger. The chick hatches in white-gray thick down, which at the age of a week begins to give way to mesoptile. The mesoptile is dark brown (darker than the color of adults and the color of fledglings of other tawny owls), the underparts are covered with transverse dark thin stripes, the upper part is covered with transverse dark and light stripes and mottled spots. The facial disc is darker, forms a “mask” (not found in fledglings of other tawny owls), it becomes lighter with age, and concentric stripes begin to appear on it. The first adult plumage is mostly formed at 4–7 weeks of age, but remnants of the mesoptile on the head and elsewhere are visible until 2–3 months of age. In the first adult plumage, the young bird can hardly be distinguished from the adult: it is slightly darker, the flight feathers are worn equally in autumn and winter (in adults they are of different ages).

Voice. The male's current calls are a measured series of dull hooting calls of 8–12 syllables " oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo" The series lasts about 6–7 seconds, the interval between sounds is about 0.5 seconds, towards the end of the series the sounds become lower, come out faster and quieter, as if they fade away. It resembles mating long eared owl, but all sounds are much lower and pronounced much faster, but not as fast as the short-eared owl. The song is usually heard no further than 400–800 m. Occasionally, females also scream similarly, but more rudely. There are other sounds, quite varied. The fledglings emit hoarse cries " psiip"or sharp" yik-yik-yik».

Distribution, status. Taiga zone of the Northern Hemisphere. IN European Russia spread from the zone mixed forests(from approximately 55° northern latitude) to the northern taiga. In general, a fairly common species, but along the southern border of its range and in densely populated areas it is rare. The number fluctuates depending on the number of mouse-like rodents. In recent decades, numbers have increased in many areas, and their range has expanded to the south.

Lifestyle. Inhabits taiga-type forests, preferring sparse light-colored stands adjacent to swamps, burnt areas, and clearings. Nests mainly in old nests birds of prey, which are located near the trunk in a sparse crown so as to provide good review and free flight. Occasionally nests in recesses at the ends of tall stumps. There are known cases of nesting on the roofs of abandoned buildings and on the ground. Doesn't build nests or make lining. There is evidence that the nests are always clean, since the female eats the pellets and droppings. The clutch consists of 3–5 (up to 9) white eggs. The female incubates the clutch, the chicks are fed by both partners. The chicks are of different ages, since incubation begins with the first egg. Near the nest they behave aggressively, especially the female, they can attack people and hit them with their claws.