CreatureData

Buffy fish owl

Ketupa ketupu (Horsfield, 1821)

LCLeast Concernowls

The buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu) is a species in the family Strigidae, order Strigiformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.29 kg to 1.43 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu)
Photo: Khan Mashuk Ahmed · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the buffy fish owl

Weight
1.29 kg – 1.43 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
riverinesrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the buffy fish owl live?

Not recorded

What is the buffy fish owl?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu), also known as the Malay fish owl, is a fish owl in the family Strigidae. It is native to Southeast Asia and lives foremost in tropical forests and wetlands. Due to its wide distribution and assumed stable population, it is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004.

From the Wikipedia article “Buffy fish owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buffy_fish_owl&oldid=1379852191), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the buffy fish owl endangered?

The buffy fish owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the buffy fish owl classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderStrigiformes
  5. familyStrigidae
  6. genusKetupa
  7. SpeciesKetupa ketupu (Horsfield, 1821)

Synonyms Bubo ketupu, Bubo ketupu ketupu, Ketupa javanensis, Ketupa ketupa, Strix ketupu

Other names and names in other languages (46)
  • Buffy fish-owlEnglish
  • Buffy fish-owlEnglish
  • Buffy fish-owlEnglish
  • بوم السمك البرتقاليArabic
  • Пугач рыбны малайскіBelarusian
  • duc pescador de MalàisiaCatalan
  • ketupa malajskáCzech
  • MalajfiskeugleDanish
  • MalayfiskeugleDanish
  • SundafischuhuGerman
  • Sunda-FischuhuGerman
  • Malaja fiŝgufoEsperanto
  • malajzia fiŝgufoEsperanto
  • Búho pescador malayoSpanish
  • Búho Pescador Malayo de SondaSpanish
  • väike-kalakakkEstonian
  • جغد ماهیخوار مالایPersian
  • sundankalahuuhkajaFinnish
  • Kétoupa malaisFrench
  • Grand-duc malaisFrench
  • קטופה מלאיתHebrew
  • malajska ušaraCroatian
  • szundai halászbagolyHungarian
  • Beluk ketupaIndonesian
  • Beluk KetupuIndonesian
  • gufo pescatore maleseItalian
  • Gufo pescatore camoscioItalian
  • Gufo pescatore della MalesiaItalian
  • マレーウオミミズクJapanese
  • malajinis žuvinis apuokasLithuanian
  • Burung Hantu KuningMalay
  • Maleise VisuilDutch
  • ketupa płowaPolish
  • bufo-pescador-begePortuguese
  • bufo-pescador-malaioPortuguese
  • Малайский рыбный филинRussian
  • ketupa riečnaSlovak
  • Indonezijska sova ribarSerbian
  • blek fiskuvSwedish
  • นกทึดทือมลายูThai
  • นกทึดทือพันธุ์มลายูThai
  • Sunda Balık BaykuşuTurkish
  • пугач-рибоїд малазійськийUkrainian
  • 馬來漁鴞Chinese
  • 馬來魚鴞Chinese
  • 马来渔鸮Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the buffy fish owl

Other species in the same genus Ketupa.

LC, Least Concern

Akun eagle-owl

Ketupa leucosticta

StrigidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBuffy fish owl vs Brown fish owlBuffy fish owl vs Tawny fish owlBuffy fish owl vs Akun eagle-owlBuffy fish owl vs Giant eagle owl

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the buffy fish owl?

An adult buffy fish owl weighs 1.29 kg – 1.43 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the buffy fish owl endangered?

The buffy fish owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the buffy fish owl?

The buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu) belongs to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/buffy-fish-owl

MLA

“Buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/buffy-fish-owl.

BibTeX
@misc{buffy_fish_owl_2026,
  title = {Buffy fish owl (Ketupa ketupu)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/buffy-fish-owl},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}