Description:

Medium-sized owl with noticeably stocky body, large and round head with dark eyes. Grey and uniform in colour. Mantle is prominently streaked, tertials and flight feathers are less prominently barred, underparts more cleanly streaked (with much less pronounced 'splashes' of white and dark cross-barring).

Distribution:

Locally common resident in Gilgit, Astore, Ghizer and Diamer districts. Prefers open and semi-open forest or woodland of oak, pine and fir; also rocky areas with sufficient tree and bush cover. Mainly in lowlands, but up to 3000m.

Behavior:

Chiefly nocturnal, hunting between dusk and dawn; occasionally diurnal. Prey typically located by sound. Hunts mostly from perch, makes frequent short flights, returning to same perch. Feeds on small mammals, from small rodents and shrews up to size of squirrels and young rabbits, and small birds up to size of pigeon; also amphibians, reptiles, earthworms, snails, beetles and other insects.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

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

Seasonal Occurrence of Tawny 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.