Long-Eared Owl

Asio otus

Family:

Owls

Length:

35cm to 37cm

Wingspan:

84cm to 95cm

Weight:

210g to 370g

About the Long-Eared Owl

The long-eared owl is a medium-sized member of the owl family, just slightly smaller in size than a woodpigeon. Often they appear as long and thin with feathers that stick out of their heads that are raised when alarmed. These are known as ear tufts but are in fact not actual ears. They have deep orange eyes, buffed-brown bodies with streaks that are a darker brown.

When it comes to breeding in the UK, this owl breeds very thinly across the country. Birds from the north will migrate to the south - this includes birds from Europe spending time in the winter here in the UK. Southern birds are generally residents and won't move far to find food.

What does a Long-Eared Owl eat?

Their diets mainly consist of small rodents, but in the winter they will eat small birds.

Articles featuring the Long-Eared Owl

What is a Group of Owls Called? (Complete Guide)

Other birds in the Owls family

Scops Owl

The Eurasian Scops Owl is one of the smaller members of the Strigidae family of owls being smaller even than the Little Owl. It is one of the few European owls that leaves its breeding grounds and migrates south during the winter.

Tawny Owl

Short-Eared Owl

Unlike most owls, this medium sized bird is often seen hunting during daylight hours, mainly around dawn and dusk and particularly across farmland and in grassland, marsh and moorland areas.