Description:

A smallish owl, a little larger than Little Owl. Has relatively large, square-shaped head, greyish-white facial discs encircled with black (with angular upper edge giving rise to alert expression), and white spotting on forehead and crown. Juvenile has uniform brown crown, mantle and underparts.

Distribution:

Vagrant in the Hunza and Nagar districts, with historical records from Nagar. Prefers subalpine forest and mixed woodland, montane pine, pine-spruce and birch forest, old forest stands and coniferous forest with mature trees.

Behavior:

Nocturnal. A sit-and-wait predator, not a pursuer; moves through forest in zigzag pattern, flying short distances between perches. Chiefly feeds on small mammals, birds and insects; diet includes shrews, voles, small to medium sized finches and other birds, thrushes and beetles.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Boreal Owl in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Boreal Owl

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.