• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Local Navigation
  • Skip to Search
  • Skip to Sitemap
  • Skip to Footer
Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Long-eared Owl

Asio otus ORDER: STRIGIFORMES FAMILY: STRIGIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

  • Similar Species
  • Related Species
  • Go to:
Long-eared Owl Photo

A bird of temperate forests, the Long-eared Owl roosts and nests in trees by day and hunts in open areas by night. Though widespread and relatively common in its range, it is rarely seen.

Learn About Celebrate Urban Birds!

Appearance

Owls
Owls
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Medium-sized owl.
  • Mostly brown and cryptically marked.
  • Conspicuous "ear" tufts.
  • Orange facial disk.
  • White feathers form an X between eyes.

Immature Description

Similar to adult.

Range Map Help

Long-eared Owl Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Field MarksHelp

  • Adult

    Long-eared Owl

    Adult
    • © 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Kern County, California, September 2000

Similar Species

  • Great Horned Owl is similarly marked but is larger and more robust, with more widely spaced ear tufts.
  • Short-eared Owl is paler, with less prominent ear tufts, and no barring on the belly, but is very similar in flight.