The appearance, sounds, flight and habitat of the 5 most common species or types of owl in the UK:
Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Little Owl, Long-eared Owl and Short-eared Owl
Barn Owl identification
About 330mm tall with a wing span of 900mm.
- Largely white underparts.
- Golden buff upper-parts with grey markings.
- White, heart-shaped face with dark eyes.
- Overall impression in flight of a large white bird.
- Slow, buoyant flight, often back and forth across an open field, searching for prey.
- Lives mainly in open farmland habitat (not woodland).
- Seen more often than heard, they rarely call.
- Barn Owls don’t hoot! They shriek, hiss and snore.
- Click the arrow to hear Barn Owl sounds:
- Click the arrow to hear Barn Owl sounds:
- Often seen at night whilst driving but dawn and dusk sightings are most common.
- Use our sexing Barn Owls photoguide to help identify male and female. Females tend to be darker.
- Owlet identification and ageing.
- Barn Owl pellets are different from other owl pellets.
- Normal and starvation weights.
- Barn Owl facts
Tawny Owl identification
About 430mm tall with a wing span of 950mm.
- Brown or grey underparts and upperparts.
- More rounded brown or grey face with dark eyes.
- Overall impression in flight of a large brown bird (but can look pale in car headlights).
- More direct flight, often from tree to tree.
- The most common owl in the UK.
- Primarily live in woodland habitat but anywhere with mature trees (including cities).
- Familiar and common ‘twit twoo’ call. Usually Tawny Owl females ‘kewick’ and males ‘hoohoo’ – but they can be variable.
- Click the arrow to hear Tawny Owl sounds:
- Click the arrow to hear Tawny Owl sounds:
- Largely nocturnal and rarely seen at other times unless at roost.
- Owlet identification and ageing.
- Tawny Owl pellets are different from other owl pellets.
- Normal and starvation weights.
- Tawny Owl facts
Little Owl identification
About 220mm tall with a wing span of 560mm.
- Mottled brown and white underparts and upperparts.
- Narrow brownish face with pale yellow eyes and dark irises.
- Overall impression in flight of a smallish brown bird.
- Characteristic, direct, undulating flight.
- Lives in mixed farmland habitat, particularly where there are fruit trees/orchards.
- Repetitive call is a plaintive ‘kiew kiew’ and a ‘wherrow wherrow’ (reminiscent of a small dog barking).
- Click the arrow to hear Little Owl sounds:
- Click the arrow to hear Little Owl sounds:
- Largely diurnal, but call may be heard at any time of the day or night.
- Owlet identification and ageing.
- Little Owl pellets are different from other owl pellets (but similar to Kestrel pellets).
- Normal and starvation weights.
- Little Owl facts
Long-eared Owl identification
About 350mm tall with a wing span of 950mm.
- Mottled pale and dark brown underparts and upper-parts.
- Rounded brown face, orange eyes with dark iris and long ear-tufts (when raised).
- Overall impression in flight of a large brown bird (though surprisingly small when perched).
- Buoyant flight in a back and forth motion but rarely seen.
- Lives in woodland and farmland habitat.
- Has a rarely-heard repeated ‘hoo, hoo, hoo’ call uttered only in the breeding season.
- Extremely nocturnal but communal roosts can occasionally be found in thick cover in the winter.
- Normal and starvation weights.
Short-eared Owl identification
About 350mm tall with a wing span of 1000mm.
- Mottled pale brown underparts with upper breast streaked dark brown.
- Mottled pale and dark brown upperparts.
- Rounded brown face, yellow eyes and short, often indiscernible ear tufts.
- Overall impression in flight of a large brown bird (but underparts can look almost white).
- Buoyant flight in a back and forth motion.
- Lives in farmland, moorland and wetland habitats, including marshes and reedbeds.
- A male’s rarely heard song is a low ‘boo-boo-boo-boo-boo’, whilst females give a ‘ree-yow’ call.
- Both nocturnal and diurnal, they can be seen hunting in daylight in suitable habitat.
- Normal and starvation weights.
Other relevant pages:
- Owlet identification.
- Pictures of UK Owl species.
- There is a useful identification guide on the barnowlsurvey.org.uk website