Tawny Owl

Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain |  Eukaryota
Kingdom |  Animalia
Subkingdom |  Bilateria
Branch |  Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum |  Chordata
Sub-phylum |  Vertebrata
Infraphylum |  Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass |  Tetrapoda
Class |  Aves
Sub-class |  Neornithes
Infra-class |  Neoaves
Order Information
Order |  Strigiformes
Family Information
Family |  Strigidae
Sub-family |  Striginae
Genus Information
Genus |  Strix
Species Information
Species |  S. aluco
Population statistics
Population | 1,400,000-2,400,000 (2015 est.)
Conservation status | Least concern[1]

The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is a species of owl of the family Strigidae, and found over a wide area of the Eurasian landmass and north Africa.

## Contents

* 1 Description
* 1.1 Subspecies
* 2 Range and habitat
* 3 References

## Description[edit]

The tawny owl is a medium-sized bird, with a body of 15–18 inches, a wingspan of 32–41 inches, and a weight 0.849 to 1.764 pounds. Females are slightly larger than males. In appearance it is compact, with a head large in relation to body size. The facial disk is dark framed and predominantly monochrome beige-brown. Above the disk are two whitish strokes of color, which are particularly noticeable in the dark color morphs. The thick beak is heavily curved and usually sulfur yellow with a horny to light gray beak base. The iris is black-brown, the pupil blue-black. The eyelids are bare and pale red. The claws are gray at their roots, then turn into a horn-brown and end in a black tip. Like other owls of the genus Strix, the tawny owl lacks ear tufts.

Tawny owls have several color morphs throughout their range, from a gray color to brown to a rusty-brown, with the basic color of the plumage determined neither by age nor sex, but rather an adaptation to different habitats. The different color morphs can occur in the same area, and when such birds mate, the chicks more often than not bear plumage displaying both color variants. The plumage itself has a loose appearance, making the tawny owl appear larger than it actually is. The upper side of the body is generally darker than the underside. The plumage has a bark-like camouflage color, with the shoulders and wings having bright droplet spots, which act like sunspots in the semi-darkness of the forest and increasing the camouflage.

In western Europe, the dominate color morph is brown to rust brown; in eastern and northern Europe it is the gray morph. The subspecies living in Siberia and central Asia have a gray and white plumage pattern, while the north African subspecies is dark gray-brown. Those occurring in southern and eastern Asia have a transverse - as opposed to longitudinally - striped plumage.

The Siberian and Scandinavian subspecies are twelve percent larger and forty percent heavier than western European birds, corresponding to Bergmann's rule, which states that endothermic animals in colder climates are larger than in warmer climates within their range[2].

### Subspecies[edit]

* Strix aluco aluco; northern and eeastern Europe to Ukraine, Crimea, Balkans and Black Sea
* Strix aluco biddulphi; Pakistan and northwestern India
* Strix aluco harmsi; Turkestan
* Strix aluco mauritanica; Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia
* Strix aluco sanctinicolai; northeastern Iraq to western Iran (Zagros Mountains)
* Strix aluco siberiae; Russia: Ural Mountains to western Siberia
* Strix aluco sylvatica; Europe: Great Britain, France, Iberia, southern Italy, Greece, western and central Turkey
* Strix aluco willkonskii; northeastern Turkey, Caucasus and northwestern Iran to Turkmenistan

## Range and habitat[edit]

The tawny owl inhabits the deciduous and mixed forests of the temperate and Mediterranean zones in the Palearctic up to the southern edge of the boreal coniferous forests. The range of tawny owl occurs in two spatially separated areas in Europe and eastern Asia. The western distribution area extends from western Europe and northwestern Africa to Iran and western Siberia. The smaller eastern distribution area includes the Central Asian republics - except Turkmenistan - as well as Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.

The tawny owl is basically very adaptable and breeds, for example, in the low-drought dune landscape of the Netherlands in rabbit holes; in addition, it has established populations within urban habitats, such as parks, cemeteries, as well as gardens with mature trees. If undisturbed, they will nest in close proximity to humans, being relatively common in barns or in the chimneys of old houses.

Tawny owls are non-migratory; they are resident within their territories in winter.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22725469/86871093
2. ↑ https://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/ppoint/heat-110.pdf