# Tawny owl (*Strix aluco*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/tawny-owl  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is a bird in the owl subgroup, belonging to the family Strigidae, subfamily Striginae, in the order Strigiformes. It falls in the small size class, with a representative adult body mass of 472.5 g, reported values from 426 g to 524 g, and a wingspan of 99 cm. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and it has a clutch size of 3.1 with 1 clutch per year.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 426 g – 524 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 99 cm |
| Lifespan | 21.5 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 22.4 years |
| Main food | vertebrates |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 29.7 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.1 – 3.2 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Strigiformes
- family: Strigidae
- genus: Strix
- species: *Strix aluco* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Strix haeluco*, *Strix stridula*, *Syrnium stridulum*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the tawny owl?

The tawny owl is a bird in the owl subgroup, belonging to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.

### How heavy is a tawny owl?

An adult Tawny owl has a representative body mass of 472.5 g, with reported values from 426 g to 524 g. Its wingspan is 99 cm.

### What does the tawny owl eat?

The tawny owl is a carnivore.

### What habitat does the tawny owl live in?

The tawny owl lives in forest habitats, where it has a perching lifestyle and is sedentary.

### Is the tawny owl endangered?

No. The tawny owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a tawny owl live?

The tawny owl has a lifespan of 21.5 years, with values up to 22.42 years reported.

### How many eggs does a tawny owl lay?

The tawny owl has a clutch size of 3.1, with 1 clutch per year and an incubation period of 29.7 days.

### Who named the tawny owl?

The tawny owl, Strix aluco, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Tawny owl (Strix aluco). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tawny-owl