Tawny Owl - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

The Tawny Owl has a distribution stretching discontinuously across temperate Eurasia from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to western Siberia, and India. The subspecies S. a. mauritanica extends the range into northwest Africa. This essentially non-migratory owl is absent from Ireland, and only a rare vagrant to the Balearic and Canary Islands.

This species is found in deciduous and mixed forests, and sometimes mature conifer plantations, preferring locations with access to water. Cemeteries, gardens and parks have allowed it to spread into urban areas, including central London. The Tawny Owl is mainly a lowland bird in the colder parts of its range, but breeds to 550 metres (1,800 ft) in Scotland, 1,600 m (5,250 ft) in the Alps, 2,350 m (7,700 ft) in Turkey, and up to 2,800 m (9,180 ft) in Burma.

The Tawny Owl has a geographical range of at least 10 million km² (3.8 million mi²) and a large population including an estimated 970,000–2,000,000 individuals in Europe alone. Population trends have not been quantified, but there is evidence of an overall increase. This owl is not believed to meet the IUCN Red List criterion of declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations and is therefore evaluated as Least Concern. This species has expanded its range in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Ukraine, and populations are stable or increasing in most European countries. Declines have occurred in Finland, Estonia, Italy and Albania.