Brown Wood Owl (Strix leptogrammica)

The Brown Wood Owl inhabits thick, undisturbed lowland tropical forest, both deciduous & evergreen, in southern Asia. Its range extends throughout all of India, Sri Lanka, parts of South Western China, down through Burma (Myanmar), the Malay peninsula & into Sumatra & Borneo.

It is a member of the "Strix" family of owls & is related to the Tawny Owl in this country. The "leptogrammica" part of its scientific name means "finely barred stomach".

Little is known about this owl in the wild due to it's very secretive nature. It is strictly nocturnal, spending the daytime perched in dense woodland, often in tall trees (frequently in pairs leaning against each other). If disturbed, it initially tries to camouflage itself - clinging close to the trunk of the tree it looks like a stump of the tree, if this fails it flies deeper into the dense woodland. It is a very agile flier within dense woodland. Despite its secretive nature, it is a very vocal bird particularly in moonlight & even more so during the breeding season.

Up until recently there were 14 recognised subspecies, two of these are now recognised as distinct species in their own right (Himalayan Brown Wood-owl ("Strix newarensis") & Bartels' Wood-owl (Strix bartelsi)) & some taxonomists believe that more of the remaining "subspecies" may actually be distinct species too & the "Brown Wood Owl" is often referred to as a "species complex" rather than an idividual species..

The IUCN classify the Brown Wood Owl as being of "Least Concern" over its entire territory, but in localised regions deforestation is seriously affecting the population.

The Brown Owl is a nocturnal hunter, feeding mainly on small mammals, birds up to the size of pheasants, fruit bats, reptiles & some insects

The Brown Owl's breeding season is from January through to April. They build their own nests in tree cavities, caves or on cliff ledges and line them with a few feathers. The clutch size is 1-2 eggs which are incubated for 30 days.

IUCN Red List Status :

Least Concern (LC)

Also Called :