Great grey owl
Strix nebulosa J. R. Forster, 1772
The great grey owl (Strix nebulosa), also called the Great gray owl, is a bird in the owl family Strigidae, order Strigiformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 1.062 kg, ranging from 890 g to 1.267 kg, and a wingspan of 1.37 m.
Quick facts about the great grey owl
This sedentary, perching carnivore lives in forest habitats across a geographic range of 19,850,000 km². It lays 4 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 29.5 days, and it is listed as Least Concern, not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 890 g – 1.27 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.37 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 15.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 27 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 29.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4 – 4.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 17.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the great grey owl?
Photos of the great grey owl
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the great grey owl live?
Not recorded
What is the great grey owl?
The great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) (also great gray owl in American English) is a true owl, and is the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and is the only species in the genus Strix found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
From the Wikipedia article “Great grey owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_grey_owl&oldid=1382404797), 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 great grey owl endangered?
The great grey owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the great grey owl classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderStrigiformes
- familyStrigidae
- genusStrix
- SpeciesStrix nebulosa J. R. Forster, 1772
Synonyms Scotiaptex cinerea, Scotiaptex nebulosa, Strix cinerea, Strix nebulosa cinerea, Ulula cinerea
Other names and names in other languages (58)
- Great gray owlEnglish
- بومة رماديةArabic
- بوم رمادي كبيرArabic
- بومة رمادية عظمىArabic
- Барадатая кугакаўкаBelarusian
- Брадата улулицаBulgarian
- Kaouenn laponBreton
- gamarús de LapòniaCatalan
- Сухаллӑ тӑманаChuvash
- puštík vousatýCzech
- Tylluan fawr lwydWelsh
- LapugleDanish
- Owl LapugleDanish
- BartkauzGerman
- Γιγάντιος ΧουχουριστήςGreek
- lapona strigoEsperanto
- Cárabo lapónSpanish
- habekakkEstonian
- lapinpöllöFinnish
- chouette laponeFrench
- Ulchabhán réiscIrish
- Hullad LaplynnaghManx
- לילית אפורהHebrew
- velika sovaCroatian
- szakállas bagolyHungarian
- Burung hantu kelabu besarIndonesian
- LappuglaIcelandic
- Grande gufo grigioItalian
- Allocco della LapponiaItalian
- Allocco di LapponiaItalian
- Gufo della LapponiaItalian
- カラフトフクロウJapanese
- Сақалды жапалақKazakh
- 큰회색올빼미Korean
- laplandinė pelėdaLithuanian
- ziemeļpūceLatvian
- ziemeļu pūceLatvian
- LaplanduilDutch
- lappugleNorwegian
- puszczyk mszarnyPolish
- coruja-cinzentaPortuguese
- coruja-da-lapóniaPortuguese
- Coruja-lapónicaPortuguese
- Huhurez bǎrbosRomanian
- Бородатая неясытьRussian
- Неясыть лапландскаяRussian
- КуйбаҥкыYakut
- RánesskuolfiNorthern Sami
- sámeskuollfiNorthern Sami
- sova tmaváSlovak
- bradata sovaSlovenian
- Laponska sovaSerbian
- lappugglaSwedish
- Lapon BaykuşuTurkish
- сова бородатаUkrainian
- Сова лапландськаUkrainian
- 乌林鸮Chinese
- 烏林鴞Chinese
Relatives of the great grey owl
Other species in the same genus Strix.
Tawny owl
Strix aluco
Ural owl
Strix uralensis
Brown wood owl
Strix leptogrammica
Barred owl
Strix varia
Omani owl
Strix butleri
Spotted owl
Strix occidentalis
CompareGreat grey owl vs Tawny owlGreat grey owl vs Ural owlGreat grey owl vs Brown wood owlGreat grey owl vs Barred owl
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the great grey owl?
The great grey owl is a bird, an owl in the family Strigidae and order Strigiformes.
How heavy is the great grey owl?
An adult Great grey owl weighs 1.062 kg, with reported values from 890 g to 1.267 kg. Its wingspan is 1.37 m.
What does the great grey owl eat?
The great grey owl is a carnivore.
Is the great grey owl endangered?
No. The great grey owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the great grey owl live?
The great grey owl has a lifespan of 15.82 years, with values up to 27 years reported.
How many eggs does the great grey owl lay?
The great grey owl lays 4 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 29.5 days.
Does the great grey owl migrate?
No, the great grey owl is sedentary.
Who named the great grey owl?
The great grey owl, Strix nebulosa, was named by J. R. Forster in 1772.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Great grey owl (Strix nebulosa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-grey-owl
“Great grey owl (Strix nebulosa).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-grey-owl.
@misc{great_grey_owl_2026,
title = {Great grey owl (Strix nebulosa)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-grey-owl},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}