Long-eared Owl

How to recognise it

• Long ear tufts that can be raised and pointed upwards
• Glowing orange iris
• Rusty yellow and white underparts with blackish brown streaks, mottled upperparts
• Female larger and darker than male, young birds show a black facial mask

Call and song

The male's song is a deep "oh" repeated every 2.5 seconds. The female gives a weak, nasal "peh-äv". The young beg with a plaintive, two-syllable "pii-eh" that can be heard over a kilometre away. During courtship the male flies around striking its wings together, making a clapping sound.

Where and when

It breeds in Sweden and is fairly common in the south and centre, up to about 62° north. Most birds move south in autumn, but some winter in southern Sweden, mainly in Skåne. It is reported from all 21 counties, most in June and rarely in August and September. It is Endangered (EN) on the 2025 Red List, and numbers have more than halved over the last 15 years.

Food and behaviour

It is nocturnal and feeds mainly on small mammals such as voles, as well as insects. By day it sits camouflaged on a branch close to the trunk, drawing itself in so it looks very slim and elongated. Outside the breeding season 6 to 50 owls may gather at shared roosts. It nests in abandoned nests of other birds such as corvids or hawks, usually in conifers.