Tawny Owl
Strix aluco
Length 38cm

The most common and familiar owl in Britain, found mainly in woodlands but also in urban parks and gardens with mature trees. A year-round resident. Plumage colour rather variable but usually a rich chestnut-brown. At close range, streaked underparts look greyish and upperparts are well-marked with dark streaks; eyes black. Caught in car headlights, bird can look deceptively pale. Roosts unobtrusively during day among branches and foliage of trees although sometimes discovered and mobbed by small songbirds. Emerges after dark to hunt mainly for small mammals. Utters sharp kew-ick call but best known for male's familiar hooting calls. Most vocal in late winter and early spring when territorial boundaries under dispute. A frequent road casualty.