CreatureData

Red owl

Tyto soumagnei (A. Grandidier, 1878)

VUVulnerableowls

The red owl (Tyto soumagnei) is a species in the family Tytonidae, order Strigiformes. Recorded adults weigh 284 g to 380 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Red owl (Tyto soumagnei)
Photo: Mikael Bauer · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the red owl

Weight
284 g – 380 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the red owl live?

Not recorded

What is the red owl?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The red owl (Tyto soumagnei) is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar red owl, Madagascar grass-owl, Soumagne's owl or lesser grass-owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1876 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1993. It is currently listed as vulnerable because of habitat loss, but recent studies have determined it may have a wider range than first believed, though further research in distribution and ecology is required. It has possibly been overlooked because of its close resemblance to the closely related barn owl.

The red owl resembles the cosmopolitan barn owl but is smaller (27–30 cm) and has rich orange plumage with small black spots. It is known to live in humid evergreen forest and dry deciduous forest in the east of the island, being found in primary forest and in disturbed secondary forest (possibly even human altered open areas). It feeds on native small-mammals like tenrecs (Tenrecidae) and tufted-tailed rats (as opposed to the barn owl, which feeds on introduced species). It nests and roosts in tree cavities and along cliffs with dense vegetation.

From the Wikipedia article “Red owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_owl&oldid=1358568141), 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 red owl endangered?

The red owl is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  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 Vulnerable species.

How is the red owl classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderStrigiformes
  5. familyTytonidae
  6. genusTyto
  7. SpeciesTyto soumagnei (A. Grandidier, 1878)

Synonyms Heliodilus soumagnei

Other names and names in other languages (50)
  • Madagascar grass owlEnglish
  • Madagascar grass owlEnglish
  • Madagascar red owlEnglish
  • Madagascar red owlEnglish
  • Red barn owlEnglish
  • REOWEnglish
  • Soumagne's owlEnglish
  • Soumagne's owlEnglish
  • بومة حمراءArabic
  • Madaqaskar alabayquşuAzerbaijani
  • Мадагаскарска забулена соваBulgarian
  • òliba de MadagascarCatalan
  • sova madagaskarskáCzech
  • tylluan wen MadagasgarWelsh
  • MadagascarslørugleDanish
  • MadagaskarslørugleDanish
  • MalegasseneuleGerman
  • Kleine Madagaskar-SchleiereuleGerman
  • madagaskara turstrigoEsperanto
  • Lechuza malgacheSpanish
  • Lechuza de MadagascarSpanish
  • puna-loorkakkEstonian
  • madagaskarintornipöllöFinnish
  • Effraie de SoumagneFrench
  • Chouette effraie jauneFrench
  • Effraie rousse de MadagascarFrench
  • Ulchabhán SoumagneIrish
  • madagaskarska kukuvijaCroatian
  • vörhenyes gyöngybagolyHungarian
  • Barbagianni del MadagascarItalian
  • マダガスカルメンフクロウJapanese
  • madagaskarinė liepsnotoji pelėdaLithuanian
  • VorondolomenaMalagasy
  • MadagaskargrasuilDutch
  • okerslørugleNorwegian
  • płomykówka madagaskarskaPolish
  • coruja-malgaxePortuguese
  • coruja-vermelha-de-madagascarPortuguese
  • coruja-vermelha-de-madagáscarPortuguese
  • Мадагаскарская сипухаRussian
  • plamienka oranžováSlovak
  • Crvena kukuvijaSerbian
  • Мадагаскарска кукувијаSerbian
  • madagaskartornugglaSwedish
  • Madagaskar Peçeli BaykuşuTurkish
  • сипуха мадагаскарськаUkrainian
  • Cú lợn đỏ MadagascarVietnamese
  • 馬島草鴞Chinese
  • 馬達加斯加草鴞Chinese
  • 马岛草鸮Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the red owl

Other species in the same genus Tyto.

CompareRed owl vs Western barn owlRed owl vs African grass owlRed owl vs Australian masked owlRed owl vs Eastern grass owl

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the red owl?

An adult red owl weighs 284 g – 380 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the red owl endangered?

The red owl is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the red owl?

The red owl (Tyto soumagnei) belongs to the family Tytonidae 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). Red owl (Tyto soumagnei). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-owl

MLA

“Red owl (Tyto soumagnei).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-owl.

BibTeX
@misc{red_owl_2026,
  title = {Red owl (Tyto soumagnei)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-owl},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}