Appearance:

A beautiful, very pale owl with a diagnostic, heart-shaped face and black eyes. Underparts white to buff. Buff-bellied individuals most likely to be confused with other owls, but note lack of barring and streaking. Instead the underparts may be covered in small spots. Underwing almost white. The white bellied birds may recall the much larger Snowy Owl, but has much slender wings, slender body, longer legs and protruding head. Posture upright, both on ground and when perched. Flight-pattern variable, but often hunts from low above ground in slow and buoyant flight.

Sound:

Large repertoire of mainly hissing and screeching sounds. Song consists of a single, drawn screech, lasting about a second and is often performed in flight. Starting in a very hoarse tone, then progressing with a rising pitch into a more burbling sound, before suddenly ending.

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

Largely unmistakable. Male almost pure white with black dots. Female and juveniles white with heavy black barring, and may seem grey at a distance. Juveniles more finely barred than adult females, giving them a greyer appearance, with white neck and face. Body barrel-shaped, head small and rounded. Wing-tips more pointed than in other owls. Flight action both buzzard and owl-like, with surprising agility. Note that several species of owls may seem completely white to the untrained eye when suddenly appearing in car headlights etc.

Sound:

Song consists of single utterances or series of "aooo", recalling Great Black-backed Gull, and is far carrying. Male warning call a deep and harsh "groat grat grat", with accented endings of each syllable. Female warning call higher pitched. Also various other high pitched calls.

Alarm call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-sound:Niels Krabbe, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:ahisgett, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Frank.Vassen, Licence,Link.