Common gray owl. Gray owl or tawny owl (lat.

Tawny owls are forest birds that are predominantly nocturnal. There are about fifteen species in total. Contrary to popular belief, predators are perfectly visible during the day.

Mouse-like rodents, which form the basis of the bird’s diet, are active at night. Therefore, the tawny owl sits in a shelter during the day and flies out to hunt at dusk. Tawny owls are sedentary birds, but if the number of rodents in the region for some reason decreases sharply, the predators are forced to wander in search of feeding places. The bird's flight is completely silent, which is facilitated by the soft plumage of its wings. It nests in hollows of trees, between stones, in the nests of large birds abandoned by their inhabitants.

Great Gray Owl

Bird order Owls, owl family. Habitats: Asia, Africa, Europe, North America. Wingspan 1.5 m. Weight 1.4 kg

The great gray owl (Strix nebulosa) is an inhabitant of northern forests and is found in northern latitudes; There are especially many of these owls in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. This is an elegantly proportioned bird with expressive “spectacles”, which are dark rings around the eyes. The predominant color of the plumage is grayish-brown, with darker spots and streaks on top.

The name of the species alludes to the black spot under the beak, similar to a beard. There is a white collar on the front of the neck. The facial disc is large. Its eyes are expressive - yellow, surrounded by dark concentric stripes.

The great gray owl hunts mainly during the day: it simply has no choice due to the long daylight hours during the northern summer.

It feeds mainly on voles and pieds, and nests in abandoned nests of birds of prey or in hollow tree stumps. Some intrepid bird watchers have witnessed how the great gray owl will defend its nest with determination, and the young will not hesitate to use their talons to attack.

During the winter months, great gray owls hunt during the day. Having settled comfortably at a suitable observation post, they peer intensely into the snow-covered ground in the hope of seeing signs of the existence of small mammals. Due to the extreme cold and scarce prey, the owl is forced to fly south.

In Russia, the species is widespread - from the Kola Peninsula to Primorye, but is most often found in Siberia. Does not engage in construction - uses the nests of other birds of prey; in a clutch there are from 2 to 4 white eggs.

Tawny owl

The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is of course the best known species in Britain, as well as other parts of continental Europe. The predominant and most common color of its plumage is brown, which is literally strewn with darker stripes and streaks; the birds of this tribe living in the east are more gray.

The tawny owl is an exclusively nocturnal bird and prefers to remain in a secluded area during the day. However, with the onset of darkness, the silent outlines of a tawny owl emerge in the forest gaps, and the loud hoot heard in the night is familiar to most people. Tawny owls mainly live in wooded areas, but recently the number of birds settling near cities has increased. During the daytime, they can sometimes be disturbed by small songbirds, which attack a resting owl in flocks. Observers who want to listen to the hooting of an owl or locate a tawny owl often use decoys with the calls of these birds.

The cry of an owl at the end of winter can be confused with the hooting of an eagle owl. The same “uh-uh”. Plus, “kew-witt” - that’s how female tawny owls call. See it with your own eyes, you won’t confuse it with an eagle owl. The tawny owl does not have eagle owl ears that stick out to the side. The color of the plumage resembles the bark of an old tree.

Compared to the now rare eagle owl, tawny owls are doing well. The species' range is quite large. The tawny owl is common in Europe, where in many countries it is simply called the "wood owl". The total number of birds in this region is more than half a million. The gray owl can be found on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, in southeastern Tibet, and in Eastern China. North Africa has its own subspecies of the tawny owl. There are about a dozen subspecies in total.

The mottled plumage of the tawny owl in winter serves as excellent camouflage for it during daytime sleep. However, if small birds detect an owl, their noisy attack will not stop until the owl flies away.

The length of the body of the great owl (Strix uralensis) is 60 centimeters (24 inches), so it is not much smaller than the great gray owl, with which it also has external similarities. She only lacks the concentric rings around the eyes that decorate the latter. In many external characteristics, the tawny owl is similar to the common owl. Its main habitat begins in the northern part of Europe and stretches east to Siberia. Like its larger relative, the bird feeds on small mammals and also attacks, striking in the face, uninvited guests.

The Great Tawny Owl is one of the most remarkable species of European owls. And although it looks similar to the great gray owl, it does not have the concentric rings around its eyes, called “spectacles,” which are unique to the great gray owl.

The barred owl (Strix varia) is a widespread and frequently encountered species in North America; its habitat begins from the eastern half of the continent and extends north of Florida towards southern Canada. It is also found further west, in the north of its territory, and already lives in Washington state. This is a medium-sized owl - its body length is 50 centimeters (20 inches) - with a surprisingly attractive brown plumage with long stripes.

Barred owls are forest birds that prefer to live in mixed or coniferous forests. In most of their habitat they are almost exclusively nocturnal birds, and can only be seen during the day when someone has disturbed their peace.

Strix aluco Linnaeus, 1758
Order Owls - Strigiformes

Spreading. In the Moscow region. The gray owl is widespread (1), but lives mainly in those areas where old broad-leaved forests and old manor parks remain. On the territory of Moscow in 1985-2000. regularly nested in 13 natural and natural-anthropogenic territories (2).

During the revision period, its established or probable breeding sites were in Losiny Ostrov (3, 4), Sokolniki Lake (5, 6), Izmailovsky Forest (3, 7-9), Terletsky Lake (10), l -ke "Kuskovo" (3, 11), Kuzminsky lake (12), Tsaritsynsky lake until 2007 (3, 13), us. “Narrow” (3, 14), on Vorobyovy Gory (15, 16), in Fili-Kuntsevo Lake (3, 17-21), Serebryany Bor (3, 22), LOD (23), GBS (24) and Ostankino Park (25), us. "Vinogradovo" (3).

Number. In 2001-2010 nesting of the gray owl has been recorded in 13 forests and forest parks. In years with favorable feeding conditions, its population in Moscow was at least 20-22 pairs.

Habitat features. Within Moscow, the gray owl settles mainly in old and relatively undisturbed linden forests, which occupy fairly large areas in some forests, and also form the basis of some ancient manor parks. Some pairs also live in oak forests and older pine forests, where they are attracted by the hollows of the sage.

Of great importance for the stationary habitat of owls is the presence of several large hollows in the forest area they occupy, which they need for breeding chicks and shelter during the daytime. In forested areas, the main food source throughout the year is bank voles and wood mice, while owls living in small estate parks next to former fields and wastelands eat common voles, field mice, and house mice. To feed the owlets, it also hunts sparrows, takes blackbird chicks out of their nests, and catches other forest birds. It is an indicator of the conservation of old broad-leaved forests and relatively undisturbed park linden forests in Moscow.

Negative factors. There is a limited number of forest areas in Moscow with old linden and oak groves that have preserved their natural structure. There is a shortage of overmature hollow trees needed by tawny owls. Predation of pine marten in the largest forest areas of the city. Recreational degradation of linden forests, causing a sharp decline in the number of bank voles. Reconstruction of forest biotopes into parklands with the cutting down of hollow trees, complete transformation of the lower layers of the forest and deterioration of the food supply of the species. Pursuit by gray crows.

Security measures taken. On the territory of Moscow, the species was under special protection from 1978 to 1996. Listed in. Almost all the forest areas where it currently lives are located in protected areas - in the Losiny Ostrov NP, Izmailovo P-IP, Kuzminki-Lublino, Tsaritsyno, Bitsevsky Les, Moskvoretsky and Ostankino", PZ "Vorobyovy Gory", KZ "Petrovsko-Razumovskoye".

Changing the state of a view. State of the species during the revision period compared to 1985-2000. remains relatively stable. His CR remains the same - 2.

Necessary measures to preserve the species. Certification and registration of permanent habitats of the tawny owl, allocating them to permanent reserves with a regime prohibiting any anthropogenic transformation of the forest. When reconstructing manor parks, the old linden trees in their main area should be preserved in their natural state.

Identification, registration and preservation of trees with black woodpecker hollows and other large hollows suitable for nesting owls. Removal of the pine marten, which destroys both chicks and adult tawny owls in hollows, from Losiny Ostrov, Izmailovsky and Bitsevsky forests, SBL. Explanatory work with the population about the inadmissibility of removing owlets that cannot yet fly from the forest due to the false idea that they need help.

Information sources. 1. Kalyakin, Voltsit, 2006. 2. Red Book of the City of Moscow, 2001. 3. Authors’ data. 4. Data from N.S. Morozov. 5. Ivanov, 2007a. 6. Ivanov, 2007b. 7. V.R.Ryazantsev, l.s. 8. Data from A.P. Ivanov. 9. Panfilova, 2008c. 10. Data from V.S. Friedman. 11. Data from V.A. Zakharov. 12. Data from E.A. Maralov. 13. Data from G.S. Eremkin. 14. Kalyakin, 2009a. 15. Data from A.V. Sharikov. 16. Kadetov et al., 2010. 17. Data from V.V. Tyakht. 18. Data from A. Kasparson. 19. Data from V.B. Basova. 20. Burtseva et al., 2009. 21. Sazonov, 2009. 22. Data from O.V. Borodin. 23. Tolstenkov, Ochagov, 2007. 24. Morozov, 2009a. 25. Groot Kurkamp, ​​2008. Authors: B.L. Samoilov, G.V. Morozova

Gray owl- slightly larger than the owls mentioned above and seems thicker. She has a large round head without feather “ears” and dark eyes. The color of the plumage varies noticeably.

Most owls have a gray base tone, but birds of a reddish color are often found, and in the Caucasus even very dark black-brown. The length of the tawny owl is 42.2-44.7 cm, the wingspan is 94-100.8 cm, and it weighs 471-642 g. The female is larger than the male.

Traces of a gray owl perched on the bank of a stream

Paw prints of this bird can be found quite often. I have often seen them even in summer, on the dust of forest roads or on damp coastal soil near forest streams and puddles left after rain. There were no signs of birds hunting or bathing, so it can be assumed that the owls approached the water to drink. True, you can often read in the literature that owls do not drink.

The tawny owl often descends from the trees, but rarely wanders on the ground. The size of its paw print is about 7x3.3 cm. In the long-eared and short-eared owls, the size of the paw prints and even individual fingers are very similar to the size of the paw print of a tawny owl. But the latter has thicker fingers, with highly developed digital calluses. However, this can only be seen on very clear prints.

The pellets of the tawny owl are on average slightly larger, and most importantly wider than the pellets of the other two owls mentioned above. The average size of a pellet is 5.5×2.6 cm. Under perches that can be used by various species of birds of prey, it is always possible to accurately determine which of the predators the found pellet belongs to. Therefore, to avoid mistakes, it is better to examine only those pellets that were found near the nest.

Tawny owls nest mainly in hollows. They look for fairly wide natural hollows in old trees or occupy hollows hollowed out by yellow grass. Due to the narrowness of the tawny owl's entrance, they cannot use the dwellings of other woodpeckers. Sometimes they settle in old nests of crows and birds of prey or lay eggs in the dark corners of the attics of human buildings in the forest, and occasionally they can even nest on the ground. But in all cases, the size of the eggs can be used to determine which owl belongs to the nest. The tawny owl's eggs are larger than those of the long-eared owl, measuring (45.5-50) x (36.6-41) mm.

There are usually from 2 to 6 eggs in a clutch, sometimes there may be more. Full clutches can be found as early as April. And in June, the grown chicks are already getting out of their native hollow, although they will stay with their parents for a long time and be fed by them. Sometimes at this time in the forest you can notice a horizontal branch, to the bark of which many small light fluffs have stuck - it seems as if a feather pillow was knocked out on this branch. This means that a brood of young owls sat on this branch and began to change the intermediate plumage (mesoptile) to the next one.

Queen Bully will melt even the coldest heart. He never shows aggression, but he can stand up for himself.

Sociable, beautiful, photogenic; however, if she wishes to remain alone, she will communicate this.

• when she's unhappy, she clicks her beak cutely
• has incredibly beautiful eyes

Year of birth: 2016

Scientific information about tawny owls

Common or gray owl

Latin name – Strix aluco

English name – Tawny owl

Squad – Owls

Family – Real owls or owls

In nature, there are two color forms of the tawny owl - gray and brown, and the color varies depending on the geographical distribution of the species. For example, owls living in the British Isles are predominantly tawny, while on the European mainland gray birds predominate. Ural and Siberian owls are also predominantly gray, and the more east the area is, the fewer tawny individuals are found there. On the territory of Russia, the ratio of gray and red individuals is approximately the same, and the further south you go, the greater the predominance of red individuals.

Natural and conservation status

The tawny owl is one of the most common and numerous species of owls and does not require any special conservation measures.

Species and man

The tawny owl is quite tolerant of human presence and can even settle in large city parks. Fairytale ideas about the harmfulness of these birds and their connections with “evil spirits” are, fortunately, a thing of the past.

Spreading

The tawny owl inhabits deciduous and mixed forests of the Palaearctic, i.e. it is found in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Its range extends from the Mediterranean to the southern borders of the taiga. In East Asia, a virtually isolated area with similar natural conditions is known. In such a vast range, there are 11 subspecies of this owl.

Most often, the tawny owl prefers deciduous and mixed forests, but feels good in coniferous forests and city parks.

Appearance

The usual size of this species of owl is 36-38 cm, weight is about 500 g. Like many other species of owls, ♂♂ is always smaller than ♀♀. The head is large, round and can rotate almost 270o; there are no feather “ears” on the head. The facial disc is well defined and bordered with dark feathers. The wings are quite short and wide, reaching almost 1 m in span.

The color of the tawny owl is monochromatic (more gray or more red), but with streaks, which makes an owl sitting on a tree completely invisible. The chest and belly are lighter than the back. The eyes and claws are dark, almost black, the beak is yellow.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

The main prey of the tawny owl is, of course, mouse-like rodents and other small mammals (moles, shrews, and sometimes young hares). But often it also catches small birds, as well as frogs, reptiles, insects, mollusks, and near water – crustaceans and fish.

The tawny owl hunts at night, most often from ambush, using its excellent hearing. Having detected prey by the slightest rustle in the grass, the owl glides or suddenly falls on it. Having covered the prey with its wide wings, it then kills it with blows of its beak or tears it with its claws.

Sometimes these owls hunt in flight, scaring away small birds sleeping in the bushes by beating their wings on branches.

Activity

The tawny owl is active only at night. She spends the day hiding somewhere among the trees, becoming almost invisible. The main enemy of the owl in nature is the goshawk, which leads a diurnal lifestyle, so the most dangerous time for an owl is the daylight hours.

Vocalization

The vocalizations of tawny owls are very diverse. The male's call is a long, howling oooh, oooh, oooh, most often heard during mating season. With this hoot, the male notifies other birds that the territory is occupied; With a similar cry, he calls the female, and also informs her that he is bringing food to the nest. The female's voice is a long, rolling, bass trill, slightly reminiscent of the whistle of a distant train. In general, during the mating period, tawny owls are quite “talkative” birds and, apparently, various fears of owls are associated with their night cries. The rest of the time, outside the breeding season, tawny owls behave very quietly and silently.

Social behavior

Tawny owls are strictly territorial, living in separate permanent pairs that remain for life. Adult owls actively defend their territory (with screams, threatening behavior, active attacks), especially during the nesting period. They attack cats, dogs, foxes and even people. But tawny owls hardly react to the disturbance of crows, which actively “dislike” owls.

Reproduction and parental behavior

The tawny owl begins nesting very early. Already in February, males can be observed mating, and clutches appear in March-early April. The nest is simple, usually located in a hollow or in an old stump, but it can also be right on the ground. Tawny owls often occupy other people's nests, mainly crows' nests.

A clutch usually contains 2-4 round white eggs, but in years rich in food, nests with 7-8 eggs were found. The incubation period lasts about 30 days, dense incubation begins with the first egg, so the chicks in the same nest are of different ages. Only the female incubates.

At the end of April, blind, helpless chicks with closed ears already appear in most nests. On the second day they already begin to hear and see. During the first week, only the male gets food, but when the chicks are 6-7 days old, the female leaves them alone in the nest and flies off to hunt. The chicks stay in the nest for about a month, but even after they have fledged, the young live with their parents on their territory, and only in the fall does the brood break up.

Adult tawny owls protect the nest and chicks very actively and selflessly.

Lifespan

Great owls become sexually mature in the first year of life. There is little data on the lifespan of these owls, but on average they live about 5 years. There is a known case when a female ringed in nature lived for 18 years and 7 months, and another bird in captivity lived for 27 years. The cause of death for tawny owls is most often collisions with vehicles on the roads, strikes against wires and similar anthropogenic causes.

Appearance and behavior. A large, densely built owl, about the size of a crow, but looks larger (body length 41–46 cm, wingspan 90–105 cm, weight 400–800 g), large-headed and short-tailed. It sits in a column, and its large head and general roundness are particularly striking. The wings are wide and relatively short. The tail is short, only slightly protruding beyond the ends of the folded wings (it is noticeably longer). The flight is silent, light and maneuverable; in forward flight the wings do not fold, but straighten. Activity is purely nocturnal; during the day it usually hides in a hollow or tree crown.

Description. The general color is brown with dark longitudinal streaks and individual light spots on the back, the latter forming two subtle light stripes on the shoulder and across the wing. The tail has thin transverse dark stripes. There may be variations in color from gray to red, and occasionally dark brown, almost black birds are found in the Caucasus. On the chest and belly there are longitudinal streaks with transverse “branches” (difference from the Great Gray Owl). The upper body is darker. The facial disc is well defined and rounded. High above the eyes two white stripes are visible - “eyebrows” (other owls do not have them). The general facial expression is “kind”, “peaceful”. The tarsus and toes are feathered. The male and female do not differ in color; the female is noticeably larger. The eyes are dark, almost black (all our other owls, with the exception of the great owl and owl, have yellow or orange eyes), the beak is light. The chicks hatch in white down, which from the 8th day of life begins to gradually be replaced by mesoptile. The mesoptile is mainly formed by 18 days of age; it is light brown, with a diffuse transverse pattern throughout the body. The first adult plumage begins to form at the age of 5–6 weeks, this molt lasts 2–3 months, young birds in this plumage are not much different from adults; in particular, in autumn and early winter their flight feathers are all equally fresh, but in adult birds they are of different wear and tear, since adult birds do not change them all annually.

Voice. The male's current call is a trembling howling signal " uuu...u...u...uuuuuuuuu"often consists of three parts, the first short, similar to a whistle, with emphasis on the first syllable, then a pause of 2-4 seconds, 1-2 short shouts " at” and then a long and trembling trill, but variations are possible. This is a rather loud and melodic cry, sometimes heard several kilometers away. The male sometimes flaps his wings in lekking flight. The female can also respond with a similar cry. At any time of the year you can often hear a contact signal: a sharp two-syllable cry “ ke-vik"with the emphasis on the last syllable, it is published by both partners in very different situations. Fledglings, begging for food, emit a hoarse " pssy-ip"with emphasis on the last syllable.

Distribution, status. Mainly Europe, but also some parts of Africa and Asia. In the European part of Russia from the southern borders north to approximately 60° north latitude. Normal look.

Lifestyle. It lives in mature deciduous and mixed forests, old parks, including penetrating into cities, where the presence of hollow trees is important for it. It nests mainly in hollows, occasionally in cavities and niches of rocks and buildings, nests of predators and corvids, and hollows. The nest is unlined, but sometimes wool, feathers, remains of pellets, and the like accumulate at the bottom of the nesting hole. The clutch usually consists of 3–5 white eggs, occasionally up to 9. The female incubates it, and both parents feed the chicks. Incubation begins with the first or second egg, so the chicks are of different ages. The main diet consists of mouse-like rodents, but also eats birds, insects and other small animals. Hunts exclusively in thick twilight and at night, uses stalking and search flight low above the ground, and can briefly hover in the air in one place.